© Juergen Nogai 2009
4-DAY WORKSHOP (three full days plus morning session on fourth day)
THE ART OF ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY
This is a hands-on workshop! You’ll be shooting for three days at some of the wonderful mid-century masterpieces in Palm Springs, California.
Architectural photography is about truly seeing the spirit of a building and striving to capture the impact of that first regard. There is that instant of creative consciousness, which takes place when you attempt to communicate your response and understanding of the design. The architectural photographer finds herself or himself in dialog not only with the architect’s vision, but also with the building itself.
Nogai will discuss the process of creating such an image. To really look at it, study it; how the; texture reveals itself in different lighting situations, how the inside and outside relate to each other, how it flows. The architectural photographer has to make decisions in order to capture the vision he has in front of him. “What do I want to show, what is the story I want to tell about the building, how do I construct the view/image?” Which camera is right for the job? Analog versus digital – Why, for example would one choose to stand under a black focusing cloth, use a rather bulky, heavy and slow-working camera where the images are upside down and backwards? How to decide when it is appropriate to use a 35mm or medium format camera? Which film is right for which situation? Or should I decide to work digitally? Which is the right tripod. These are but a few of the endless technical considerations.
The goal of this workshop is to answer some of these questions by discussing and photographing a number of carefully selected buildings in Palm Springs, which present different challenges and obstacles. Together we will develop the ability to tell a story about the structure, context and space of realized architectural design. The course will be designed to explore how we relate to and capture our sense and understanding of each architectural example.
Every participant will have the possibility to create their own original images, have them reviewed and discuss the results at the end of the workshop. 4×5 cameras and lenses will be available to attendees. Nogai will demonstrate and explain the use of large format cameras for those interested in working with them.
This workshop is supported by FujiFilms.
Photographers working with digital cameras should bring their laptops and be conversant with their hardware and software in order to facilitate downloading and projecting their work for critiques in class. Digital projectors with standard VGA cables will be provided. If you require DVI connectors and / or adapters, please bring one to class.
A & I Lab in Hollywood will process and proof a reasonable amount of film for this workshop at no charge. Click here for details
Monday, March 29 – Wednesday March 31. 9:00am – 4:00pm (plus Thursday 9:00am – 11:00am)
Price: $800
Register Now
BIOGRAPHY
Juergen Nogai was born in Germany in 1953. There, he spent most of his professional life. While completing his degree as a Fine Arts major, he began a parallel course of study in Film, Theater and Television Production. This eventually led him to artistic photography as well as advertising and architecture photography for museums and private collectors, a career that began over 20 years ago.
In 2000 he married, moved to Los Angeles and almost immediately began a rewarding collaboration with the legendary nonagenarian Julius Shulman which continued until Shulman’s death in 2009. As well as working on his own assignments, projects and books, Juergen worked together with Julius producing books, publications, numerous magazine features and countless private assignments.
Juergen’s photography appears with those of Shulman as modern examples of the vintage black and white photographs in The Case Study Houses (Taschen 2002). Juergen and Julius also completed a new project concerning the architectural history of Malibu, Malibu: A Century of Living by the Sea (Abrams, May 2005). Nogai has had major monographs published by Abrams and Taschen to name a few of his publishers. Juergen and Julius had exhibitions at the Design and Architecture Museum in Frankfurt, Germany as well as the Barnsdall Municipal Gallery in Los Angeles in 2006.
WEBSITE
http://www.juergennogai.com
