The Houston Center for Photography is excited to present an online photography masterclass with internationally renowned writer, curator, and educator Liz Wells.
'You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus'. Mark Twain, 1889
Through examination of photographic practices relating to land, landscape, place and environment, historically and now, we shall critically reflect on ways in which photographers have deployed photography and associated media to question, investigate and respond to places and scenarios, ideas and challenges. Students will consider the qualities, strengths and limitations of varying practices for documenting, communicating and intervening in cultural discourses relating to land and landscape now.
Our focus will be on environmental images, issues and interventions. Themes will include, landscape as a genre in painting and photography; geography, biography and aesthetics in landscape photography; systematic documentation vs immersive explorations in botany and ecologies; sense of place: land, landscape, nation and identity; tourism: visual impact, cultural implications and environmental concerns; environmental photography now: issues, activism and modes of intervention.
Sessions will open with a presentation from Liz Wells. This will be followed by discussions of set (short) articles that will be circulated in advance. Students will also be asked to prepare brief critical presentations on work by other photographers or photo-collectives (their projects, websites, exhibitions, and publications).
Dates: November 5 - December 17, 2025
Meetings: Wednesdays, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM CST (6 Sessions)
Location: Online Zoom Classroom
Cost: $640 (HCP members can receive a 10% discount)
Instructor: Liz Wells
Skill Level: Intermediate - Advanced
Participants: 10
Objectives:
Familiarize yourself with critical debates relating to photography and environment.
Habitually situate questions of land and environment within broader socio-political contexts and cultural currencies.
Extend your knowledge of photographers, their research methods and practices nationally, and internationally.
Critically reflect on intentions, photographic methods, aesthetic strategies, contexts of working, and modes of visual communication.
Prerequisites:
As photographers, writers, administrators, critics, and curators, you should be interested in and/or engaged with photographic practices relating to land, landscape, place and environment.
Tagged: Masterclass, Courses, Fine Art, Personal Work