Upcoming events
Video for Digital Photographers
Finding the transition from still photography to video downright daunting? This hands-on workshop will demystify some of the settings, tools and techniques that are fundamental to capturing video. You'll have to unlearn some things and abandon some tried and true photography tricks but you'll have fun and start shooting better footage right away! Participants must bring their video-enabled camera and 1 or 2 of their favorite lenses. Participants are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with putting their camera into full manual video mode prior to the workshop.
This one day workshop will be held at Oakland Photo Workshop. Signup info at ebpco.org/workshops
June Photo Walk
It’s Photo Walk Time!
We will be meeting on the first Sunday of the month, June 2nd. Bring any camera you like, and be prepared to wander and shoot for up to an hour.
EBPCO’s bimonthly photo walks are a great way to connect with other photographers while exploring and photographing an interesting Oakland location.
Our photo walks are free and OPEN TO ALL! Bring your camera(s) and your creativity. All cameras welcome, including phones.
Zine Making
If you think a zine is just a printed pamphlet, get ready to open your mind! In this one day workshop, Jaya will present a variety of zine making techniques, ranging from the more “traditional” to the most unexpected and experimental formats. You’ll get a taste of what goes into digital zine layouts as well as getting hands-on with your own DIY zine mock up. Participants are invited to bring a variety of their own printed images that they are interested in putting into a zine. All other materials for this workshop are provided by EBPCO.
This one day workshop will be held at Oakland Photo Workshop. Signup info at ebpco.org/workshops
Cyanotype Printing
Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that uses the sun to produce a cyan blueprint. The process is simple but incredibly diverse, lending itself easily to experimentation. In this one-day workshop, learn both the fundamentals of the process and experimental techniques, producing the following works in cyanotype: photograms using natural objects, photographs using digital negatives, and toned & manipulated prints. No previous experience is required, and all materials for this workshop are provided! Participants will be asked to email the images they wish to print in class ahead of time.
This one day workshop will be held at the EBPCO Community Darkroom. Signup info at ebpco.org/workshops
35mm Manual Camera Basics
For those who own a 35mm camera and want to learn how to get the most out of it. In this course, an instructor will guide you through the basics of manual camera function and making images with black & white 35mm film, including ISO, aperture, shutter speed, light metering, focus, and more. This workshop will get you making images that can be sent out for processing or prepare you for your own processing work in the darkroom. Participants must bring their own 35mm camera.
This one day workshop will be held at the EBPCO Darkroom. Signup info at ebpco.org/workshops
EBPCO July Social Gathering
Please join us at Telegraph Beer Garden for a low-key gathering. This is a chance to mingle and meet some fellow photographers, and talk about photography, or whatever else strikes our fancy!
August Photo Walk
It’s Photo Walk Time!
We will be meeting on the first Sunday of the month, June 2nd. Bring any camera you like, and be prepared to wander and shoot for up to an hour.
EBPCO’s bimonthly photo walks are a great way to connect with other photographers while exploring and photographing an interesting Oakland location.
Our photo walks are free and OPEN TO ALL! Bring your camera(s) and your creativity. All cameras welcome, including phones.
EBPCO September Social Gathering
Please join us at Telegraph Beer Garden for a low-key gathering. This is a chance to mingle and meet some fellow photographers, and talk about photography, or whatever else strikes our fancy!
EBPCOfest 2024!
Save the date!! Join us for an unforgettable evening of fun, friends, and photography!!!
October Photo Walk
It’s Photo Walk Time!
We will be meeting on the first Sunday of the month, June 2nd. Bring any camera you like, and be prepared to wander and shoot for up to an hour.
EBPCO’s bimonthly photo walks are a great way to connect with other photographers while exploring and photographing an interesting Oakland location.
Our photo walks are free and OPEN TO ALL! Bring your camera(s) and your creativity. All cameras welcome, including phones.
EBPCO November Social Gathering
Please join us at Telegraph Beer Garden for a low-key gathering. This is a chance to mingle and meet some fellow photographers, and talk about photography, or whatever else strikes our fancy!
December Photo Walk
It’s Photo Walk Time!
We will be meeting on the first Sunday of the month, June 2nd. Bring any camera you like, and be prepared to wander and shoot for up to an hour.
EBPCO’s bimonthly photo walks are a great way to connect with other photographers while exploring and photographing an interesting Oakland location.
Our photo walks are free and OPEN TO ALL! Bring your camera(s) and your creativity. All cameras welcome, including phones.
EBPCO May Social Gathering
Please join us at Telegraph Beer Garden for a low-key gathering. This is a chance to mingle and meet some fellow photographers, and talk about photography, or whatever else strikes our fancy!
Printing with Plant Developer
Delve deeper into the world of sustainable gelatin silver developing with plants by making darkroom prints using plant-based developers. In this workshop participants who have taken a Developing Film with plants workshop will have the opportunity to make prints from their negatives. They will have the option of bringing their own plant brews and/or choosing from a selection. Participants will also learn to mix chemistry and observe how their negatives respond to different developers.
This one day workshop will be held at the EBPCO Community Darkroom. Signup info at ebpco.org/workshops
Dr Philm is in the House!
Do you have a film camera sitting in your closet or collecting dust in an attic, inherited from a relative or borrowed from a friend, or recently purchased at a yard sale or on eBay? Bring your cameras and question to this informal workshop where we will share with others and with EPBCO member and film camera obsessive Philip Krayna (aka “Dr. Philm). Philip will test and assess your camera, if possible help with minor repairs, and explain how to use it, so you can start enjoying the magic of film photography.
This workshop is free to attend but advance registration is suggested, sign up here.
Opening Reception and Zine Release Party: NOTICE
Please join us for our Oakland Street Photography Collective group show + zine release in collaboration with @camerasandcoffeeclub
NOTICE invites viewers to engage in a visual dialogue with the world around them, highlighting overlooked and subtle moments that demand closer attention. This exhibit delves into the concept of noticing – the act of observing with intention and discovering the beauty of fleeting moments in our surroundings.
We live In a world saturated with stimuli, and, together, we hope to slow down and truly see the world with you. Through the lens of talented photographers, NOTICE prompts us to reconsider our perspectives and appreciate the intricate details that often elude our attention.
DJ set: @Ovrkast
2024 Gear Sale - Day 2 - PUBLIC ACCESS
Oakland Photo Workshop
312 8th Street, Oakland, CA
This two-day event will feature a wide variety of items donated to us by our community members - your purchases will help support EBPCO’s activities (gatherings, workshops, gallery shows, darkroom, and more) throughout the year!
2024 Gear Sale - Day 1 - MEMBER ACCESS
This two-day event will feature a wide variety of items donated to us by our community members - your purchases will help support EBPCO’s activities (gatherings, workshops, gallery shows, darkroom, and more) throughout the year!
Processing Film with Plant Developer
This one day workshop will be held at the EBPCO Community Darkroom. Signup info at ebpco.org/workshops
Discover the time-honored technique of developing film negatives, not with conventional chemicals, but with the power of plants! This unique workshop will immerse you in the magic of alternative photography where art, science, and nature converge. In this hands-on workshop, Participants will work with developer brews made from California native and non-native plants, and are asked to bring 1-4 rolls of exposed black and white film for developing.
Raymond Cooper's Oakland Closing Reception
Join us at Oakland Photo Workshop for the closing of Raymond Cooper’s Oakland!
April Photo Walk
It’s Photo Walk Time!
We will be meeting on the first Sunday of the month, April 7th. Bring any camera you like, and be prepared to wander and shoot for up to an hour.
EBPCO’s bimonthly photo walks are a great way to connect with other photographers while exploring and photographing an interesting Oakland location.
Our photo walks are free and OPEN TO ALL! Bring your camera(s) and your creativity. All cameras welcome, including phones.
Q&A Session: Aja Cooper in coversation with Liam O’Donoghue
In-Person Conversation with Aja Cooper and Liam O’Donoghue
Friday, April 5 2024
7 - 8:30 PM
THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT!
Raymond Cooper lived and photographed in Oakland in the 1970s and 80s, but his archive of thousands of images was damaged by fire and then lost in a burglary. Some images were later found on the street and returned to the Cooper family. This exhibit shows over 100 of his recovered works, exploring in wonderful and colorful detail the fashion, hair styles, and street scene of the era as well as Cooper’s own experimental photographic work and family history.
Join us for a conversation with Raymond Cooper’s daughter Aja Cooper, and learn about her mission to preserve her father’s creative and cultural legacy. She’ll be talking to Bay Area writer and historian Liam O’Donoghue in his podcast East Bay Yesterday, followed by an article in SF Gate in October 2022
Online Show and Tell: Lost & Found Photography, Inspired by the Raymond Cooper Archive
Theme: Lost & Found Photography, Inspired by the Raymond Cooper Archive and the current OPW exhibition, Raymond Cooper’s Oakland.
Hosted by Vince Donovan.
Darkroom Print Finishing
Get that pile of black & white darkroom prints out of the box in your closet! In this one day workshop, an instructor will guide you through a variety of darkroom print finishing techniques. Topics covered include hand-retouching (aka spotting), pressing, and dry-mounting prints. Bring your own darkroom prints to work with for this workshop or use some of ours. All other materials for this workshop are available through EBPCO!
This one day workshop will be held at the EBPCO Community Darkroom. Signup info at ebpco.org/workshops
35mm Manual Camera Basics
This one day workshop will be held at Oakland Photo Workshop. Signup info at ebpco.org/workshops
For those who own a 35mm camera and want to learn how to get the most out of it. In this course, an instructor will guide you through the basics of manual camera function and making images with black & white 35mm film, including ISO, aperture, shutter speed, light metering, focus, and more. This workshop will get you making images that can be sent out for processing or prepare you for your own processing work in the darkroom. Participants must bring their own 35mm camera.
EBPCO March Social Gathering
Please join us at Telegraph Beer Garden for a low-key gathering. This is a chance to mingle and meet some fellow photographers, and talk about photography, or whatever else strikes our fancy!
Opening Reception: Raymond Cooper's Oakland
Join us to celebrate the incredible archive of photographer, business owner, Black Panther, and sailer Raymond Cooper. As featured in SF Gate, this exhibition features a small selection of Cooper’s remaining archive.
Join us 6-9pm for refreshments, and music by Vinyl Richie!
Dollar Bill Lens Making Workshop Day 1
This two-part series will be held at Oakland Photo Workshop on February 11th and March 3rd. Signup info at ebpco.org/workshops
Camera lenses are, at their base level, shockingly simple: A single piece of glass and a tube. As time has gone by lenses have gotten increasingly, mind-bogglingly complex. But one can still, with some very basic materials, make your own camera lenses that render surprisingly good images.
This is a two part series that will cover the basics of making your own camera lens. We will talk about the simple calculations required to combine lens elements, where to find and purchase the elements, and in class make an elementary lens out of two optical elements and a pair of dollar bills.
Online Show and Tell: Your Top 10 Favorite Photographs You Made in 2023
Theme: Your Top 10 Favorite Photographs You Made in 2023
February Photo Walk - CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN
It’s Photo Walk Time!
We will be meeting on the first Sunday of the month, December 3rd. Bring any camera you like, and be prepared to wander and shoot for up to an hour.
EBPCO’s bimonthly photo walks are a great way to connect with other photographers while exploring and photographing an interesting Oakland location.
Our photo walks are free and OPEN TO ALL! Bring your camera(s) and your creativity. All cameras welcome, including phones.
WE ARE WATER, WE ARE EARTH, WE ARE SKY - Closing Reception
We are water, we are earth, we are sky - closing reception
At Oakland Photo Workshop on Friday, February 2nd from 6-9pm!
Asian Americana; Balancing Tradition and Modernity Opening Reception
Join us for an opening reception for our satellite exhibition Asian Americana: Balancing Tradition and Modernity on Friday January 12th from 6-8pm.
This exhibition marries two powerful projects in a multimedia tapestry of art, culture, identity, and human connection and features the work of Paulina Hoong and Stephanie Shih
EBPCO January Social Gathering
Please join us at Telegraph Beer Garden for a low-key gathering. This is a chance to mingle and meet some fellow photographers, and talk about photography, or whatever else strikes our fancy!
We are water, We are earth, We are sky: Annual EBPCO Member's exhibition Opening Reception
Join us to celebrate EBPCO’s creative and amazing members! We are water, We are earth, We are sky is a photographic celebration of humanity’s interconnectedness with nature, curated by EBPCO member and OPW volunteer, Amanda Bensel. Light refreshments, music, and good times will be provided!
Online Show and Tell: We Are Water We Are Earth We Are Sky
Theme: We Are Water We Are Earth We Are Sky
December Photo Walk
It’s Photo Walk Time!
We will be meeting on the first Sunday of the month, December 3rd. Bring any camera you like, and be prepared to wander and shoot for up to an hour.
This month’s walk starting location: The EBPCO Darkroom!
EBPCO’s bimonthly photo walks are a great way to connect with other photographers while exploring and photographing an interesting Oakland location.
Our photo walks are free and OPEN TO ALL! Bring your camera(s) and your creativity. All cameras welcome, including phones.
Dr. Philm is In the House
Do you have a film camera sitting in your closet or collecting dust in an attic, inherited from a relative or borrowed from a friend, or recently purchased at a yard sale or on eBay? Bring your cameras and question to this informal workshop where we will share with others and with EPBCO member and film camera obsessive Philip Krayna (aka “Dr. Philm). Philip will test and assess your camera, if possible help with minor repairs, and explain how to use it, so you can start enjoying the magic of film photography.
This workshop is free to attend but advance registration is suggested, sign up here.
This workshop is hosted at Oakland Photo Workshop.
The Gun Next Door Closing Reception
Join us Friday November 17th from 6-9pm for the closing reception of The Gun Next Door, Judy Dater’s series of carefully crafted portraits of Bay Area gun owners. Featured in the East Bay Times, SF Gate, and Alta Magazine!
EBPCO November Social Gathering
Please join us at Telegraph Beer Garden for a low-key gathering. This is a chance to mingle and meet some fellow photographers, and talk about photography, or whatever else strikes our fancy!
Visualization and the Zone System
The Zone System was designed as a method for enabling the (analog) B&W photographer to control the technical aspects of exposure, development and printing. It starts with what Ansel Adams called “Pre-visualization” or more specifically the visualization of the subject as a finished black and white print, before the shutter is tripped.
Starting with an introduction of how we transcribe into shades of grey, from deepest black to whitest of white, we will explore how to realize that abstraction of reality into a finished print. We will learn about the characteristics of the materials (film, development and print) and both the possibilities and limitations of how these materials can be manipulated to most closely realize the artists’ (pre)visualization of their subject.
Most importantly, we will emphasize that the technique itself is not the work of art, but rather a means to that creation. In my own experience, an early fascination and preoccupation with the technique led to losing sight of the art of the photograph. Once the photographer understands the full possibilities and limitations of the media, then they may freely view their subjects through the prisms of lens, film and print.
This workshop will be lecture only. No darkroom demonstrations. Participants are encouraged to bring in one or two prints with negatives to ask any questions they may have. This part will not be a critique, rather a chance to assist in understanding how to control the materials.
Purchase a ticket here.
Developing Film with Plants w Beatrice Thornton
Art, science, and nature converge in harmony in this extraordinary workshop. In this hands-on experience, you will discover the time-honored technique of developing film negatives, not with conventional chemicals, but with the power of plants.
Led by Beatrice Thornton, this unique workshop will immerse you in the magic of alternative photography. Learn how to harness the organic properties of various plants to reveal stunning images from your film rolls. Witness the beauty of chemistry in action as natural compounds transform your negatives into captivating masterpieces.
Participants will work with developer brews made from California native and non-native plants. Before coming in for the workshop, participants will receive instructions on making suggested brews from foraged plants. Participants should bring 1-4 rolls of exposed black and white film for developing. A set of instructions for making the brews in addition to suggested film stocks will be provided 2 weeks before the workshop date. While it is not required to prepare a brew in advance or shoot with only the suggested film stocks, this is encouraged.
This workshop has sold out. Stay tuned for news on upcoming workshops!