Sassamatt

In this hands-on workshop, participants made photograms of plant materials, and discover how to leave marks and traces on photosensitive paper. There were opportunities to participate in the entire process from gathering materials, composing two images and developing two prints (8 x 10 inches). The workshop extends the concept of analogue photography as the pencil of nature. Schwartz rediscovered this process while studying the Victorian botanists who sought a method of documenting their fieldwork. Lumen Prints are both photographic and x-ray like, producing both documentation of nature and artistic renderings of botanical specimens. Phyllis Schwartz is a multi-disciplinary artist who works in photography, ceramics and publishing based in Vancouver, Canada. Her work at Emily Carr University consolidated these interests with a concentration in photography. She was the recipient of the Canon Photography Award. As a visual artist, she seeks detail, texture, and poetic elements. She uses photography to investigate and record what eludes the eye. Her photography has been exhibited and published across Canada and internationally; her works are in both public and private collections.

Photographs Above Courtesy of Participants

Learning to See

The Learning To See course, on my photography website, has been developed for photographers learning to navigate the digital camera but with an emphasis on the art of photography. Through an exploration of techniques, compositional strategies, master photographers and various styles of photography, I try to help each individual to capture their unique way of seeing the world around them. 

As Dorothea Lange has suggested "a camera teaches you how to see without a camera. Seeing is more than a physiological phenomenon. We see not only with our eyes but with all we are and all that our culture is. The artist is a professional see-er. No country has ever closely scrutinized itself visually. I believe what we call beautiful is generally a by-product. Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still. The good photography is not the object, the consequence of the photograph is the objects. — Dorothea Lange