The Language of Black and White

with Cira Crowell

June 23 – 27, 2025

Tuition $1895.00

(includes meal plan, see below)

Model and Location Fee $300.00

Standard Deposit $400.00

Course Description

Are you ready to up-level your black-and-white photography?

Black and white is a way of seeing and appreciating the world with insightful, illuminating, timeless consistency. In this workshop with acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Cira Crowell, we focus on the big picture, exploring the technology, aesthetics, and individual artistry that goes into creating evocative monochrome imagery.

We slow down during this special week in Santa Fe, taking time to consider how the progression of technology has shifted the character of black-and-white photography over the past century. By delving into the characteristics of light, you learn how to control your camera and digital editing tools to express your inspiration.

As we engage in a range of photographic experiences, you hone your style and focus your skills, deepening your concept of what it means to create your own dynamic black-and-white photographs. Daily lectures and group discussions, image reviews, guest photographer presentations, and on-location photographic opportunities leave you with an expanded vision, fresh inspiration, and a sense of mastery over the medium.

If you already love black and white and want to dive deeper and push your work further, join us for a magical week surrounded by the beauty of Santa Fe.

Additional Information

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

Amateurs, Advanced Amateurs

What You Should Know:

Working knowledge of digital workflow and manual mode on your digital SLR or mirrorless camera. To participate in the class and workflows you will need to use a camera with a color sensor. Smartphones and cameras with monochrome/monochrom-only sensors that generate black and white files are not suitable for participation in the workflow or assignments.

Participants must be able to download, select, and transfer images for daily group reviews. Please bring a personal laptop computer with you for processing and assignments. Cira will demonstrate black and white processing using Lightroom and minimal Photoshop during the workshop, focusing on a digital workflow to express your creative intent. Familiarity with both software programs is important and participants should have the software installed on their laptop.

Activity Level:

To get the most from your workshop experience, participants should be in good physical (mobility, stamina) and mental health. Come prepared for the high elevation of Santa Fe, long days, and seasonal weather including high temperatures. You must be able to carry your own photographic and personal gear at all times, both on campus and on location. You are responsible for being open and honest about your physical fitness, and we reserve the right to remove you from the workshop if we find your fitness to be less than that which you have described.

Participants should be able to engage in moderate outdoor exercise for up to an hour or more at a time including off-trail walking on uneven terrain including sand, dirt, and loose rock. Location work is likely to include early morning and/or late evening shoots.

Policies:

View Payment, Refund, Withdrawal, and Transfer Policies for domestic workshops.

Accommodations:

Participants are responsible for making their own accommodation arrangements in Santa Fe. On-campus accommodations are not currently available.

Meals:

Lunch Monday through Friday, dinner before the Friday evening Image Presentations, and daily beverage service are included.

about

Cira Crowell

Cira Crowell is based in Santa Fe and Los Angeles, and is founder of InLightWorks Productions. She is a fine-art photographer, mountaineer, philanthropist, and executive producer whose initial film Dream Mountain won “Best Mountainfilm” at the London Mountainfilm Festival and has been shown at festivals globally. Her passion for black and white photography began thirty years ago with her grandfather’s film camera and darkroom work. She still uses many of the same forty-year-old lenses in her current digital workflow.

Her love for photography and Leica has continued as she travels internationally photographing some of the world’s most engaging natural and urban landscapes. She has spent much of her career working at very high altitude, including trekking over 2,000 miles in Nepal and summiting four Himalayan peaks over 20,000 feet (6,000m+). Most recently, she summited India’s highest mountain, the otherworldly Kangchenjunga at 28,269 feet (8,586m+), the subject of her latest body of work.

Cira’s photographs have been exhibited worldwide, most recently at the Leica Gallery in Los Angeles and in the Leica USA corporate headquarters. When not abroad, she teaches close to home at Santa Fe Workshops.

Website: ciracrowell.com