I’ve been talking about doing this for sometime and now it is in the works. I am writing to give you advance notice of a pinhole photography workshop I've planned for this autumn, in Italy's beautiful Umbria region. My workshop this fall offers a chance to explore pinhole photography, in the same environment where Leonardo da Vinci once experimented with similar image projection techniques. (You may not be surprised to hear that the food and drink in Umbria are also pretty good.) No darkroom or camera experience is necessary. The workshop will be housed at The International School of Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture in the beautiful hill town of Montecastello di Vibio, halfway between Rome and Florence. I've spent time at Montecastello and it is just beautiful.  The little town itself is full of opportunities for inspired photographs--you can see some that I took there and in Rome on my website - www.diannebos.com The course will run for one week, August 30 to September 6, 2008 — with the option to keep our studio space and retain darkroom access for a second week (at the same weekly rate) (September 6-13, 2008.) The weekly rate will be 1,300 Euros.

Artist’s Studio, Montecastello di Vibio, 2001, Pinhole Photograph, Dianne Bos

• Pinhole photography instruction each morning: you will learn how to construct your own cameras, how to take photographs and make positive prints in the darkroom, plus how to develop your own images while traveling.
• There will be opportunities to pursue your own photography each afternoon.
• All basic materials and developing chemistry (if you already have pinhole cameras of your own, feel free to bring these along)
• Room and board in local residences at The International School of Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture.  The single rooms (with shared bathrooms) are in a former convent with a view of the Tiber River Valley, or in nearby apartments in town. Accommodation runs from Saturday to Saturday. See www.giotto.us for details and photos.
• More private accommodation can be arranged at a local hotel, for a supplementary cost.
• A day trip to Rome, with visits to sites of early pinhole projections (meals in Rome at you own expense).
• Transportation to and from Fiumicino airport in Rome.
• Airfare to Rome is NOT INCLUDED.
• Small group instruction (enrollment is limited to a minimum of eight and a maximum of 12 participants).
• We will wrap up the week with an exhibition of work produced in the class at the school's exhibition space.

Ciao!
Dianne