The Black-and-White Image
with Carlan Tapp
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Course Description
Many of the greatest photographs ever made were created in black and white. Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Walker Evans, and Margaret Bourke-White were all masters of the color-free medium and their iconic images are testimony to the inherent beauty and timeless qualities of the monochromatic image.
While most of us now capture images in color, there is certainly a place in the world for black-and-white imagery. In this new online workshop with Carlan Tapp, we take the time to stir the gray matter and explore the creative visual possibilities of the monochromatic image. We begin with learning how to see in black and white, then move through the technical aspects of transforming a color digital image into monochrome. We explore subjects including places, portraits, abstracts, and landscapes to help master our singular black-and-white vision. Bringing together the aesthetic and technical considerations for the black-and-white image opens an entirely new vision for thoughtful and timeless image creation.
Carlan gives assignments at the end of each group session to stir your imagination and spark your creativity. During each class meeting, we review the assignment images from the previous session, learning more from every photograph we make. As we move from the expected to the unexpected, we break personal barriers in this exploration of a unique way to see the world around us. In the process, we discover how to express ourselves using the soulful qualities of black-and-white imagery.
Additional Information
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
What You Should Know:
Working knowledge of digital workflow and manual mode on your digital SLR or mirrorless camera. Participants must be able to download and select images using image editing software for class sessions.
Policies:
View Withdrawal and Transfer Policies for online programs.
For the convenience of participants, recordings of each class session are posted privately for one month after the end of each session. Santa Fe Workshops takes the recordings down after one month to protect the intellectual property of our instructors.
about
Carlan Tapp is a documentary filmmaker and photographer. In the late 1970s, he assisted Ansel Adams for three years at his Yosemite Workshops, and shortly thereafter, he enrolled in Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. A descendant of the Wicocomico Tribe (Taptico family), Carlan, together with his wife, founded Naamehnay Project-Question of Power, a federal nonprofit focused on creating a visual voice for Native American homelands and sacred sites impacted by energy industrialization in America. Carlan’s work has been featured in Harley-Davidson HOG Magazine, New Mexico Magazine, Bloomberg, MSNBC, Associated Press, and NPR’s “Living on Earth.” His photo essays are syndicated by Redux Pictures in New York.
Between 2004 and 2011, Carlan documented opposition to the proposed Desert Rock power plant on the Navajo (Diné) Nation near Farmington, New Mexico. The power plant construction was officially cancelled in 2011 due to widespread public opposition, falling electricity demands, and uncertainties surrounding climate change legislation. The body of work was used by Navajo Women in legal litigation to halt the building of the Desert Rock Power Plant. The Question of Power photographs, video stories, and audio interviews with Diné people are presented in an exhibition at the Palace of the Governors, New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe, NM, opening April 19, 2026 through June 27, 2027.
Websites: carlantapp.com, naamehnay.org
Instagram: @carlantapp
