Biography:
Tillman Crane, of Camden, Maine, is a photographer and
writer with a singular style. Working solely with the "big" cameras (12x20-5x7),
he photographs the quiet, often overlooked corners of our lives. When printed
in palladium, these photographs reveal an elegance in scale and radiate
with spirit.
He began his career as a photojournalist with The Daily
Times in Maryville, TN, and worked for the State of Tennessee as a photographer
for Governor Lamar Alexander before joining the resident faculty of the
Maine Photographic Workshops and the University of Maine at Augusta in
1987. He earned a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Delaware in
1990. In 1996, he moved his family to Utah and became the Director of the
Photography program at the Waterford School. While there, he organized
and ran the Mammoth Camera Workshop, an international workshop for large
format manufacturers, teachers and enthusiasts. He has also taught workshops
for The Maine Photographic Workshops, Peters Valley Craft Center, Coupeville
Art Center, Inversnaid Photography Center in Scotland and the Scottish
Royal Photographic Society.
Tillman's portfolios include Echoes of History, Spirit
of Structure and Cathedrals of the Industrial Revolution. Recently completed
projects include McLellan House, Portland, ME, commissioned by the Portland
Museum of Art, Last Days of Thomaston Prison, Thomaston, ME, Crossing the
Tracks for the Center for Documentary Arts, Salt Lake City and his photographs
of the Baron Woolen Mill, UT. His work is found in the collections
of the Portland Museum of Art (ME), Farnsworth Museum of Art (ME), Brigham
Young University Museum of Fine Art (UT), and the Gibbs Museum of Art (SC).
Tillman has written extensively on the craft of black and white photography
for a wide range of publications, including View Camera Magazine, Ilford
Photo Instructor and Darkroom Techniques.
In 2001 his first book, Tillman Crane/STRUCTURE, was published.
His newest release, TOUCHSTONES, resulting from three years of traveling
and teaching in Scotland, was released April 2005.
Exhibitions and Workshops
2013 Workshops:
Spirit of Structure: Abandoned Farms of North Dakota
May 12 – 17, 2013
Rugby, North Dakota
Tuition: $1500
Imagine the unique opportunity to photograph in isolated abandoned farmhouses and nearly deserted towns in north central North Dakota. Conditions of the structures range from mere windowless shells to intact buildings containing personal belongings of the long gone occupants. Despite the perception that photographing buildings falls under the genre of “architectural” photography these structures also provide the photographer with rich possibilities for still life, portrait and abstract, as well as landscape interests.
Platinum Printing in the 21st Century, Peters Valley Craft Center, NJ
June 27 – July 2, 2013
Peters Valley Craft Center, New Jersey
Register at www.petersvalley.org
Any photographer, working in any format, film-based or digital, can make platinum prints today. This workshop will provide the beginner platinum printer the information and knowledge to make platinum prints in your own home. The more experienced platinum printer can use this workshop to build their skill set and problem-solve printing issues. We will work with both the traditional and the NA2 platinum/palladium printing processes. Topics to be covered include, but are not limited to, paper choices, image color, contrast controls, basic hand coating methods, use of step wedges and masking techniques.
Extraordinary Images in Ordinary Places
July 7 – 12, 2013
Maine Media Workshops, Rockport Maine
Remember the excitement you felt on making your first photograph? Has some of that enthusiasm been lost as life’s demands cut into time for your passion? Are you ready to revitalize and bring fresh ideas into your images? This workshop, open to all levels of photographic experience, is a great place to begin – whether you are looking to shake old habits, reacquaint yourself with good ones or enjoy the surprise of discovering a new point of view.
Platinum Printing in the 21st Century
July 21 – 26, 2013
Register at www.photoformulary.com
Any photographer, working in any format, film-based or digital, can make platinum prints today. This workshop will provide the beginner platinum printer the information and knowledge to make platinum prints in your own home. The more experienced platinum printer can use this workshop to build their skill set and problem-solve printing issues. We will work with both the traditional and the NA2 platinum/palladium printing processes. Topics to be covered include, but are not limited to, paper choices, image color, contrast controls, basic hand coating methods, use of step wedges and masking techniques.
The New Pictorialist: Working with Soft Focus Lenses
August 4 – 10, 2013
Rockport, Maine
Tuition: $1500
Instructors: Tillman Crane, Dr. Russ Young PhD
This workshop will cover the history, technical design, use of and aesthetics of working with soft focus lenses, from the earliest view camera lenses to the modern digital soft focus lenses. The workshop is open to all photographers, whether using digital, roll film or sheet film. This is an intermediate level class and familiarity with manual operation of your camera and a basic knowledge of composition and design encouraged to get the most from the workshop.
Spirit of Structure: Ghost Towns of Western Montana
September 8 – 13, 2013
Tuition: $1500
Imagine photographing the streets of a classic western ghost town as well as an old mining community – both in the same week! Gold was discovered in 1862 in Bannack, Montana’s first territorial capital, and approximately 3000 people called it home by 1863. It is an intact, high plains western town containing nineteen buildings, including a saloon, school, Masonic Hall, two hotels, jail and variety of other businesses and houses. Garnet was settled three decades later by miners and their families who worked for the mining companies using industrial equipment to dig out the hard-rock mines. In its heyday over 1000 people lived in this high mountain area in the Garnet Mountain range. Many of the original buildings are still intact, although to a lesser degree than the ghost town of Bannack.
For further information email us or call (207) 230-0199.
Work in the Davistown Museum Permanent Collection
