Meet Photoworks instructors and get guidance about what courses are right for you. On Saturday, September 4, as part of Labor Day Weekend Open House festivities throughout Glen Echo Park, Photoworks will be open and faculty will be present to answer your questions. We start at 11 am when we’ll be featuring a gallery talk for “Mind and Matter” our current exhibition featuring work by four additions to the Photoworks teaching team: Sora DeVore, Robb Hill, Mike Lang, and Terri Weifenbach. Doors will be open until 3pm. Join us!

You can meet Terri, along with Sora DeVore, Robb Hill and Mike Lang, on Saturday September 4, 11am to 1pm, when all four of these new faculty members present a gallery talk in conjunction with”Mind and Matter,” their current exhibit in the Photoworks Gallery.

Below, as part of our series profiling new Photoworks instructors, Terri answers our FIVE QUESTIONS FOR NEW FACULTY:

Describe your first camera.
My very first camera was given to me when I was 8.  It was a Polaroid Land camera. I had to coat the prints to keep them stable.

What was the turning point when you knew you were hooked on photography?
I was a fine arts major (BFA) torn between painting and photography.  I felt I needed to make the choice so I could focus my attention and energy specifically.  Photography won because I could walk IN the world physically to work.

Who or what inspires you?
Life is very inspiring!

What will you be teaching at Photoworks and why are you excited about it?
I’ll be teaching two separate classes, one about color and one about the book.  Really I’ll be teaching how to think in those vocabularies.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give a person who wants to grow in their practice of photography?
Photograph as much as humanly possible.  Then look at the results as if you didn’t take the images….without expectation, be demanding.

Image by Terri Weifenbach

First up is Michael Lang, Mike is active as a documentary photographer with a particular focus in the photo essay form. He’ll be teaching the course Image Sets: Creating Portfolios, Photo Essays, and Multi-Media Presentations. You can meet Mike, along with Sora DeVore, Robb Hill and Terri Weifenbach, on Saturday September 4, 11am to 1pm, when all four of these new faculty members present a gallery talk in conjunction with”Mind and Matter,” their current exhibit in the Photoworks Gallery.

What was your first camera?
A Leica IIIC (screw mount, WWII series), 35mm and 50mm lenses; Rolleiflex 2.8D.

What was the turning point when you knew you were hooked on photography?
I knew from early on that cameras would be my preferred tools of communication.  My parents used photography as a shared hobby, but had abandoned it in the early 1950s.  At 14 I used the equipment to set up a darkroom in the basement of our house and submitted one of my first photographs to a Maryland state-wide salon.  I was awarded third place in my class, and my involvement took off from there.

Who or what inspires you?
People inspire me.  I’m interested in social documentary photography, observing people in their own environment; and creating artistic presentations.  The artist who most inspires me is Toulouse-Lautrec, with whom I have a visual empathy.

What will you be teaching at Photoworks and why are you excited about it?
The course I’ll be teaching will emphasize visual editing of the participants’ own images as they create multimedia presentations using the basic canned programs from Apple iLife.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give a person who wants to grow in their practice of photography?
Visit museums and look at collections of art, including photography to develop an aesthetic sense.

IMAGE: Tattoo Artist by Michael Lang

Among Photoworks most popular offerings are Barbara Maloney‘s regular workshops teaching the Temperaprint process. Temperaprint is a hands-on method that produces unique, vibrantly colored prints using some surprising ingredients — including eggs. Work by some of Barbara’s Photoworks students has just been posted to Alternative Photography, photo artist Malin Fabbri’s authoritative website and one-stop destination for all subjects related to alternative processes in photography. Check it out and watch this website for upcoming information on Barbara’s fall workshops.

Image: “Fire Engines” by Isaac Afrangui

For a listing of summer classes and registration information, click here.

Image by Rebecca Drobis.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR SUMMER CLASSES AND CAMPS

Digital or darkroom, portraits or storytelling, elementary, middle or high school-aged photographers — the opportunities are endless for summer fun and learning at Photoworks. And its never too early to register.

Check out the offerings.

And register online.

Registration is now open for all Photoworks Spring and Summer 2010 classes and workshops. Browse courses using the categories under “class descriptions” at left and visit the Glen Echo website to register online.