Penland Photography Studio Information

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Equipment
The photography studio is equipped with the following:

This list of equipment is intended to give you an idea about what the studio is like. It is a general description of equipment, and may change before your session. The equipment used by your class will be determined by your instructor, and will be appropriate to the techniques covered in your class. Students are welcome to bring favorite personal hand tools for use in the studio.

Supplies and Materials.
The studio is fully stocked with Sprint and Kodak chemicals for black and white film and paper development. These are shared supplies and most of these materials are normally included in your summer tuition. An additional studio fee will be assessed in classes that use a large volume of these supplies or require special materials. You will be notified in advance if a studio fee greater than $50 is expected. During concentration, shared supplies are not included in tuition, therefore each class will be assessed a studio fee based on all shared materials usage.

You are responsible for bringing your own camera equipment and supplies needed for your individual work. Please refer to your instructor's material list for specifics about materials needed for the class. Other than rolls of 35mm color film and negative storage sheets found in our supply store, you will need to come to Penland armed with enough photo supplies for the session (especially if you have inexpensive sources or ones with wide selections available to you at home). It is strongly recommended that you bring a good supply of photo paper with you. Penland is about an hour away from cities with photo stores and mail ordering takes time, so plan ahead. Please bring hand towels for your own personal use. In order to reduce waste, paper towels are NOT provided, so please bring 3-4 cotton towels. If you feel the need to use paper towels, please bring enough rolls for the duration of your session.

The school maintains a comprehensive hazardous waste program and asks that you limit the materials you bring to campus to those classified as non-toxic. The material must be in its original packaging. A $25/person environmental fee will be assessed for classes generating hazardous waste. In order to limit the hazardous waste generated in the studios, we cannot allow students to bring toxic materials outside of the class supply list into studios.

Toolkits
Toolkits that contain lenses, timers, negative carriers and grain focusers are provided at no cost for each enlarger. At the beginning of each session, students are assigned an enlarger kit for which they assume responsibility throughout the session. Any damaged or lost tools will billed to the student at the end of the session.

Classroom
Photography classes are held in a large, well-equipped studio on the ground floor of Northlight Building. The main classroom is equipped with two developing closets, a film drying closet, a large sink and a smaller stainless steel sink, drying racks, a small refrigerator for resale items, a blackboard, three cabinets for equipment storage, and a chemical storage closet. There is a large darkroom and three smaller darkrooms. All are ventilated, have sinks and safelights. The gang darkroom is equipped with Beseler 23CIII enlargers - a few Omega D5 enlargers are available for certain classes. Equipment such as timers, easels, micro-sights, and developing tanks and reels are available through the studio, but students are also welcome to bring their own tools and equipment. The average class size is 10 students.

Student Workspace
In the classroom students work two to a 34" x 60" worktable with padded chairs. The lighting in the studio is primarily fluorescent with clip-on desk lights for individual work areas. In the gang darkroom, each student works from his/her assigned enlarger workstation.

Storage
Shared flat file drawers and lockable storage cabinets are available for students use. Each student will be assigned a key at no cost for a cabinet at the beginning of each session if he/she agrees to pay the $25 replacement fee if the key is lost.

Safety Information
A first-aid kit, fire extinguisher, and eyewash station are located in the studio. A safety shower is available in the printmaking studio, adjacent to photography. There is a mandatory safety walk through at the beginning of every class. The walk through is to introduce you to the studio space and to show you the safety equipment. North Carolina Health regulations do not permit Penland to provide safety equipment for shared use, therefore items such as dust masks, respirators, gloves, and aprons are sold in the supply store. You may prefer to bring your own from home. Please refer to your instructor's material list for specifics about safety equipment needed for the class. Chemical barrels are provided to collect hazardous waste, such as fixative, developers, and toners. These chemicals are periodically picked-up by a licensed hazardous waste-removal company. For this service, photography students are assessed an estimated $25 hazardous material fee per student which is calculated at the end of each session.

Alcohol is not permitted in the studios. Working in the studios under the influence of alcohol is not permitted. The use of illegal drugs at Penland is prohibited.

Shared Studio Equipment

Shared air space/ music: Each class should discuss the playing of music and reach a consensus on the time of day, the volume, and the type of music to be played. Tolerance and consideration are expected from everyone.

If you wish to use equipment in other studios on campus during your session, you must work with the instructor, studio assistant or coordinator of that studio to arrange access. They will determine if the desired usage is compatible with their class's activities, and if you are able to work safely and independently with the equipment. Any equipment found in the printmaking or book arts studios is available for use, BUT only with the permission of the instructor of that studio. The studio coordinator and both studio assistants must be advised in each case.

Session Schedule
Each session starts with an all school meeting Sunday evening at 5 p.m. followed by dinner in the Pines. Classes start Sunday at 8:30 p.m. Classes end and studio clean-up takes place the day before your session ends. The last day of each session is reserved for farewells and an all school exhibition of work created during your time at Penland.

Everyone must participate in studio cleanup; if you must leave early, please ask the studio assistant to assign you clean-up tasks you can accomplish before your departure.

If you have questions contact:
Studio Coordinator: Mark Boyd
Office: 828-765-2359 x39
Voicemail: 828-765-2359 x39
E-mail Address: markboyd@penland.org
Revised April, 2008