Program: Lenny Eiger - Landscape and People Photography using large and medium format



The event was held on Monday, November 21, 2022 from 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM.

Landscape and People Photography using large and medium format by Lenny Eiger


Talk description:

Can you make a museum quality print from a digital camera (I have found that it is possible).  I've spent a lifetime using film to make nearly every kind of print at the highest level; darkroom prints, alternative process prints, and inkjet. From 2 inches to 26 feet.

A year ago I purchased an expensive top end digital camera, capable of 102 megapixels, to see if I could reproduce the quality of my 8x10s. The easy answer was no. Cameras, from the iPhone to the most expensive ones, do not work as advertised, however, they do work, each for their own purpose, and there are advanced techniques that will make the difference.

It took a lot of research to discover what the camera could and couldn't do. Ultimately, with very specific techniques, I achieved the goal. I will show you a new set of images in a new color portfolio and tell you how they were done. You can accomplish in digital most of what film can do - but it takes a different way of thinking, and a bit of doing. I'm here to help you get there.



Bio:

60 years ago in a darkroom in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 10-year old Lenny Eiger carefully loaded 120 film into a stainless steel reel making sure he doesn't put a crimp in the film. He was doing  E6 (Ektachrome) developing for his dad, Conrad. Dad had moved from New York City, where he was a well-known photographer with credits in Vogue, Town and Country, Life Magazine, and CBS Music. In 1959 dad moved to the tropics and changed his focus to marketing, architectural photography, and snorkeling!
  
Lenny had the fortune to experience the warmth and hospitality of the Latin culture, and learned to speak, think, and dream in Spanish. College-age Lenny tried to find himself; it took a few years to finally come to his senses and go back to school to study Photography in earnest.  
  
Pratt Institute has a rich Photography program. Lenny's quest for quality took him from 35mm to medium format to working with 5x7 and 8x10 view cameras, and printing in platinum. Taking advantage of NYC, Lenny tuned his printing skills by going to the previews at auction houses and holding historic prints in his hand. How did those prints get that much atmosphere while using egg whites?  
  
In addition to being a photographer, Lenny is a researcher. When platinum printing first resurfaced in the late 1970's he tested over 200 papers and optimized the chemistry of the process. He was the first person in 1980 to scan film for the purpose of making a digital negative for alt process printing. In 2004, he took on the challenge of making an inkjet print that was as good as a platinum print. He mixed up his own black and white inks to get exquisite prints from his inkjet printer, and exceeded his goal. This year Lenny took a first-rate medium format digital camera and made it sing. 

Standing in front of one of Lenny's images it is easy to find one's self falling into the image and walking around. You don't just see an image; you experience it. He combines technical skill with a sophisticated visual sense. He is deeply connected to what he photographs and the result is that the viewer is connected as well.
  
He taught for over a decade at the College Level at Cooper Union; Parsons School of Design (NYC); The New School in NYC; and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. His work has been in galleries on both coasts and in museums. He sold a collection of his platinum prints to the Springfield museum. His current company in Santa Cruz, EigerStudios, does museum-quality printing and high-end drum scanning. Notable clients include Richard Avedon.  


Location:

Congregation Shir Hadash

This is where we have our regular meetings on the first and third Mondays of the month with a few exceptions when it conflicts with Holidays. All meetings currently at Shir Hadash are also streamed over Zoom. See the Zoom link on the home page under meetings. The link below the picture will download a photo of the exact location of the meeting room on the Shir Hadash campus.

20 Cherry Blossom Lane
Los Gatos,, CA 95032

Map to this location

Photo

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If you have questions or require further information please contact Jeffrey Pawlan.
Email: jeffrey@jeffreypawlanphotography.com.Phone: (408) 371-0256



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