I recently made the decision to join The Arcanum, a new and unique way to teach, learn and practice photography. Launched around a year ago by Trey Ratcliff and Peter Giordano, The Arcanum is rooted in the ancient tradition of mentorship, but designed for the wired 21st Century.
When I was approached about teaching photography through The Arcanum, I had my reservations. I've taught elsewhere both in a classroom and online, but had become frustrated with some of the experiences I'd had with both. I love teaching, sharing what I know with others, but I didn't want to add something else to my already full plate.
But as I learned more about The Arcanum and the opportunity it provides to build relationships and community as well as teaching, I became more intrigued.
One of the things I had found frustrating was that once a workshop or class was over, the relationships with some great and interesting people ended as well. Despite the accessibility to social networks, it was difficult to maintain a dialog that continued over time. We would have an amazing experience, which spurred creative growth, but soon we were back to traveling our paths.
I have had that experience as a teacher and as the student and it seemed both a shame and waste.
The Arcanum provides an opportunity to create and nurture relationships that don't end abruptly, but that grow and change. I think it's the most fertile ground for learning and developing as a photographer. It's a chance to help others to identify who they are as an creative person and help guide them in developing their own unique voice.
I am excited about it, because it's an opportunity to do more than just share what I know about shutter speed and aperture and white balance. It provides me the chance to share my love and passion for photography in a way that allows me witness the growth of the people who choose to take the journey with me. It's more than just a means of passing along information, but nurturing a community of like-minded creative people.
On Friday, you can get a taste of The Arcanum with a special event being held this Friday.
Critiquepocalypse is 24-hour of critiques from masters from the Arcanum. It's a unique opportunity to learn from other's imagery, but also be introduced to some of the amazing talents that are part of this innovative form of photo education. It's all free and I encourage you to check out. I'm scheduled to take part in a one-hour session on Friday afternoon.
I am currently looking for photographers to be part of my cohort, which is the group that I will teach and guide over the coming months. If you are interested in studying with me, I encourage you to fill out an application. If you are interested in studying specifically with me, please refer to me by name in your application. I'm limited to only 20 students. So, I can't guarantee that you will be a member of my cohort, but there are other great photographers who are eagerly looking for passionate and talented photographers.
Check out the video below to hear about how the Arcanum works from Trey himself.
Nick Carver is a working photographer and photography instructor based in Southern California with over eighteen years shooting experience and a professional career spanning more than a decade. Although his teaching and commercial work hinges primarily on digital photography, his passion is fueled by a love for analog film and creating fine art prints. Nick has sought to educate, entertain, and inspire other photographers both in the classroom and through his YouTube videos.
Robbie Quinn is an award-winning, New York–based commercial photographer specializing in environmental portraits. His work, which has brought him to more than a dozen countries, speaks to current issues, including race, immigration, gender identity, and sexual orientation, emphasizing promoting diversity and inclusion.
Rachelle Steele is a Master Photographer based out of Northern California. She is most known for dynamic black and white environmental portraiture and her ability to fill a single frame with design elements of intense storytelling and passionate compositions. Her unique background brings depth and power to her images, communicating something from the eye, heart, and mind.
Joel Meyerowtiz is an award-winning photographer whose work has appeared in over 350 exhibitions in museums and galleries worldwide. Celebrated as a pioneer of color photography, he is a two-time Guggenheim Fellow, a recipient of both the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities awards and The Royal Society’s Centenary Medal. He has published over 53 books. His latest release is titled. The Pleasure of Seeing.
Kirsten Elstner is the founder and director of National Geographic Photo Camp, whose mission is to work with youth from diverse communities worldwide, guiding them as they use photography to tell their own stories and develop meaningful connections with others.
George Lange is a photographer whose pictures have appeared in almost all major magazines, ranging from Entertainment Weekly to Esquire. George has shot advertising photos for many movies and TV shows, including; Seinfeld, The Today Show, Cake Boss, and Jim Carrey’s movies. Most recently, he has worked with Norwest Venture Partners, Twilio, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, and the Grammy Award-winning Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. George's new book, Picturing Joy: Stories of Connection, is a lively guide to George’s approach to life and the highlights of his career.
Michael Honegger is a visual artist born in Germany with a B.A. in History & Spanish from Duke University, a M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and a Professional Certificate in Visual Arts from Maine Media College. His practice as a fine art and documentary photographer explores the performative nature of self-portraiture, the complexities of memory and family, and an investigation of the ironies of American culture with an expatriate’s eye. His most recent book is The Need to Know.
Barbara Mensch is a fine art photographer who probes her subject matter with the curiosity and stamina of a detective. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she began to draw at an early age, attending classes at The Brooklyn Museum Studio School and the Art Students League as a teenager.
James Payne is a social documentary photographer based in Los Angeles, California.
He is fascinated by how people interact with the places they inhabit, particularly in their homes and on the streets. He has been capturing images of both for decades. American Portraits (in 3D) are a unique series of environmental portraits that are rendered in three dimension using his own approach for showcasing these images.
Jorge Delgado-Ureña is a photographer and the co-founder of The Raw Society. Originally a commercial and fashion photographer, an assignment in Nepal opened up a whole new world of photography and inspired him to create The Raw Society.
Christelle Enquist is a photographer and co-founder of The Raw Society. She speaks four languages and was raised in Singapore; her curiosity about other cultures and passion for travel started at an early age, instigated by her mother and father. A 6-month solo travel at 33 awoke her passion for photography.
Sandy Sugawara and Catiana Garcia Kilroy collaborate on a book project titled Show Me the Way Home. It is an immersive, visual journey through the incarceration camps that held 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War 2. Sugawara and Kilroy tell the story of each camp through original and archival photographs, personal stories, and government documents. It’s a frightening tale of a society that failed to protect its vulnerable.
Jason Langer is an American photographer best known for his psychological and norish visions of contemporary photography urban life. Langer apprenticed with renowned photographers including Ruth Bernhard, Arthur Tess, and Michael Kenna. Langer is known for his fine-art black-and-white photography. His latest book is titled Berlin.
Richard Sandler is a street photographer and documentary filmmaker. He has directed and shot eight non-fiction films, including “The Gods of Times Square,” “Brave New York,” and “Radioactive City.”
Nina Welch-Kling is a New York City-based photographer originally from a small town in southern Germany. Her background in fine art and architecture, combined with a love for roaming the city streets, inform her photographic depictions of everyday life.
Raquel Natalicchio is a photographer from Los Angeles, CA, now based in Houston, TX as a staff visual journalist for The Houston Chronicle. Raquel documents social issues, community-driven stories, political mobilization, and migration across the US/Mexico border. Her work focuses on the universality of humanity, including themes of love, struggle, resilience, and community.
Bob Patterson is the founder and publisher of Street Photography Magazine. For the past 10 years, Bob has produced a magazine dedicated to showcasing a diverse range of street photography and documentary photographers. An early adopter of digital publications, Bob combined his savvy for web design with his personal love for photography.
Larry Niehues is a French-born author and photographer who immigrated to the United States in 2010. While working as a commercial photographer for a variety of brands and publications, Mr. Niehues has tended to his passion for motorcycles, music, and the open road, traveling intensively over the last seven years creating the images that compose Nothing Has Changed, a photographic journey across America that connects the present with the past in ways that make us contemplate our collective future. His latest book is Mississippi Dream.
After graduating from California State University, Los Angeles with a Master of Arts Degree in Pictorial/Documentary History, Mark Edward Harris started his professional photography career doing the stills for the Merv Griffin Show and various television and movie companies. Mark has worked on numerous documentary projects. His latest project focuses on the challenges of orangutans, their habitat, and the people that are helping them to survive.
Barbara Peacock is a photographer and director living in Portland, Maine. Since having started American Bedroom in 2016, she has won the Getty Editorial Grant, the Women Photograph/Getty Grant, three LensCulture Awards, four Top 50 Critical Mass Awards, and was named one of the Top 100 Photographers in America 2020.