Friends and readers of this blog know that I am indebted to Sam Abell for his mentorship and aesthetic. I have just finished assisting Sam in his private workshop in Shepherdstown with a group of great photographers. We had four days of fellowship and fine photography, kicked off by a wonderful dinner hosted and prepared by Dianne and Paul Chalfant. (to continue the alliteration…..fabulous family festivities!)
Seriously, we spent each day engaged in conversation and creation of photography on a very high level. I’m posting a sampling of great images made during our time together, but they don’t illustrate the willingness to engage and stretch creatively that each of the photographers brought to the workshop. The thing that sets a workshop above another is not the instruction or the work produced, but the enthusiasm the participants bring to their work and to the conversation. Because of that, this workshop achieved a high water mark for earnest, thoughtful work.
Sam and I thank each of you for your spirit and your work. I am energized by your devotion to your craft and am carrying that force with me into my next project now that I am back in Portugal. Soon I’ll be on Whidbey Island for Sam’s first of two workshops with the Pacific Northwest Art School. Then I will be preparing for my own workshop there! I hope you’ll think of joining me. Later, in August, I’ll return to assist both Sam Abell and Arthur Meyerson! August is always a high point in my year. The students that come to the workshops are inspiring and marvelously creative….but they’ll have a long way to go to top our Shepherdstown Group!
- Scott Avetta, Burnside Bridge, Antietam National Battlefield, NHP
- Scott Avetta, Mumma Cemetery, Antietam National Battlefield, NHP
- Scott Avetta, Antietam National Battlefield, National (Union) Cemetery, NHP
- Scott Avetta, Mumma Farm buildings, Antietam National Battlefield, NHP
- Rip Smith, Auctioneers, Martinsburg, WV
- Rip Smith, Sam surveying prints by Mark Muse, left, with Curt Mason, center.
- Rip Smith, Earth Day Festival, Shepherdstown, WV
- Keron Psillas, Having fun on the night of the full moon.
- Rip Smith, Guitar, Martinsburg, WV
- Mark Muse, 1Day after Full Moon
- Mark Muse, Eric Scouten and Mary Beth, Blue Moon Cafe, Shepherdstown, WV
- Mark Muse, Blue Moon Interior/Exterior, Shepherdstown, WV
- Mark Muse, Sam, in Cuba. Photo courtesy of Gary Budke.
- Mark Muse, Curt Mason, Contemporary Art and Theater Building 1, Shepherdstown, WV
- Keron Psillas, From Left, Mark Muse, Sam Abell, Gary Budke, Scott Avetta….Mark Muse prints.
- Gary Budke, Above Bloody Lane, Antietam National Battlefield, NHP
- Frank Robbins, Summit Point Race Day!
- Gary Budke, Dunker Church Interior/Exterior, Antietam National Battlefield, NHP
- Gary Budke, Mumma Cemetery at Dawn, Antietam National Battlefield, NHP
- Gary Budke, Battlefield Detail
- Frank Robbins, O’Hurleys Gather Hall, Shepherdstown, WV
- Frank Robbins, Train Station Inquiry, Harpers Ferry, WV
- Frank Robbins, Waiting for the Whistle, Harpers Ferry Train Station
- Eric Scouten, Battlefield Moonset, Antietam National Battlefield, NHP
- Curt Mason, O’Hurley’s shopkeeper, Shepherdstown, WV
- Eric Scouten, Shepherdstown Library
- Eric Scouten, Portrait, Curt Mason
- Eric Scouten, Train Station, Sharpsburg, MD
- Curt Mason, Time for Ice Cream
- Curt Mason, Lost day at Lost Dog, Shepherdstown, WV