So far, I have placed winning bids on three different “experiences” offered by The Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP) during their annual fundraiser. In 2022 I purchased a private tour of a LACMA exhibition that Rebecca Morse curated. It was one of the best museum experiences I have ever had, Rebecca is amazing. In 2023 I purchased a private tour of the Huntington Library’s Photography Collection with Linde Lehtinen who is the Curator of Photographs at the Huntington. I saw unbelievable artifacts and photographs. The experience expanded my knowledge, and she was a fantastic host. In 2024 I was outbid for a private printing lesson with Eric Joseph, but I was not outbid in 2025.
Eric Joseph is the Co-President, Chief Products, Education, Sales & Support Officer at Freestyle Photographic Supplies here in Southern California. He is also one of the leading experts in digital image printing in all of North America, quite possibly the best. Not only does he teach all over North America he also consults with a number of well known photographers.
I was blessed to grow up in a Silver Gelatin world. I learned so much about the medium of photography by using a manual film camera and a dark room to make photographs. You cannot replicate that process with digital technology. You also can not have an understanding what a great photograph is without viewing great prints. I am confident in my darkroom skills and my image capture skills with digital cameras, but I knew I was only okay with digital printing. I have been using a lab in Georgia to print my work the last few years but I there was a quality issue this year and it amplified the fact I needed to be able to print my own digital images or at least be closer to oversee the printing. I knew I had lots of questions about digital printing and that someone like Eric could probably answer them.
On September 10th I drove up to Los Angeles and met Eric at LACP for my printing lesson. It was six hours of one-on-one printing theory. I comprehended most every concept, but I don’t know if I will be able to remember all the algorithm and dynamic range information. Luckily, he can set up presets for every printer - computer - paper combination to do all that. The biggest thing I wanted to learn was what were the optimal printer and paper combination for my images, and I think we found that. He led me through the maze of papers on the market, and I am at least headed in the right direction not. He also convinced me that Canon printers are amazing. I just need to reorganize an office to accommodate one of the beasts. Eric also taught me there are more papers out there with optical brighteners than I thought.
Eric gives classes all over North America and I would suggest that if you desire to increase your knowledge of digital printing you seek out one of his classes. He has a passion about printing, it isn’t just about selling units, he wants to help others improve their images.
There is no way for me to write out everything I learned but hopefully the photographs below give you an idea. Thank You LACP for another incredible Photography Experience. Also, the LACP digital print lab is awesome, great gallery space too, I impressed by their staff, they have a lot to offer the Los Angeles Photo Community.
