Photographic Center Northwest

10/13/2026

Only 3 days left to bid on the Silent Auction!

PCNW’s Filter Silent Auction closes this Friday, October 16 at 7:45pm, so now is the time to find a favorite and get your bids in on our artwork!

We are excited to say that we are completely sold out for Filter, so if you didn't get a ticket, but see something you are interested in that's in this video and in the live auction, you’re welcome to place a proxy bid on live auction items by emailing Jennifer Brendicke at [email protected] in advance.

You will find artwork ranging from serene landscapes to rock and roll, and experimental alternative processes. This year’s auction features an incredible collection of work from talented artists.

Every bid helps support PCNW’s scholarships, resources for artists, and free exhibitions and public programs, keeping our photographic community thriving.

Discover the collection through the link below, and place your bids before the auction closes this Friday!
https://pcnw2026.ggo.bid/n/package-list

10/10/2026

What does a landscape photograph say beyond what we see?

This fall, photographer Daniel Gregory joins us for a special Landscape Photography Masterclass, exploring how landscape can become more than a subject. Through composition, place, memory, identity, and experience, you’ll look at how photographers can use the landscape as a visual language to communicate ideas and develop a more intentional voice in their work.

Landscape Photography Masterclass Schedule:
- Friday, November 6 | 12–5 PM | PCNW
-Saturday, November 7 | 8–11 AM | 8-11am at Kubota Garden, break for lunch, 2-6pm at Location TBA (within 90-minutes of Seattle)
- Sunday, November 8 | 12–5 PM | PCNW

Before the masterclass begins, join Daniel for a FREE public lecture:

The landscape speaks: photography, place and identity
📅 Thursday, November 5 | 6 PM
🎟️ Free with RSVP

In this lecture, Daniel will explore how our relationships with landscape, memory, identity, and belonging shape the way we photograph and understand place. He’ll look at historical and contemporary landscape photography and ask how our experiences and cultural histories influence the images we make.

The accompanying masterclass takes these ideas into practice through lecture, group critique, and guided shooting sessions. You’ll explore how choices like point of view, framing, depth of field, and location can become part of your own visual language, while also considering how editing, sequencing, titles, and words continue to shape the meaning of your work.

Whether you’re drawn to intimate details or sweeping landscapes, familiar places or the remote, this masterclass will help you ask deeper questions of your work: What does this place mean to you? What are you trying to say, and is your image actually saying it?

Learn more about the Landscape Photography Masterclass through the link below.
https://shop.pcnw.org/collections/fall-2026-photography-classes-workshops-seattle/products/landscape-as-language-developing-meaning-in-place

Image credit: Daniel Gregory

10/09/2026

The wait is over! PCNW’s Filter Silent Auction is officially LIVE!🎉

Our annual auction features a curated collection of photographs from an incredible group of artists, including artist and educator Brian Allen.

In this week’s artist spotlight, Brian shares the story behind his photograph “Bradley Field, Bicentennial Celebration,” taken in 1976 during the American Bicentennial celebrations on the East Coast. Brian intentionally composed many of his images around the edges of these events, where he found more freedom to experiment. The photograph captures a moment during the celebration, with a story behind the hidden figure in the truck.

Brian’s photograph, along with many other unique works, is now available to bid on through the Filter Silent Auction. Explore the collection, find a favorite (or a few!), and start bidding today!

All funds raised support resources for artists, our scholarship fund, and PCNW’s free exhibitions and public programs.

🔗 View the auction through the link below. Happy bidding!
https://pcnw2026.ggo.bid/n/package-list

10/07/2026

What stories get preserved, and who gets to tell them?

This fall, photographer and educator Zorn B Taylor leads Memory and Healing: Photographic Archives and Community Documentation, a workshop exploring photography as a tool for preserving community memory and documenting stories that are often left out of traditional archives.

Through presentations, technical demonstrations, hands-on activities, and personal projects, participants will learn how to approach documentation with both technical skill and care. The workshop will cover archival practices like artifact lighting, high-resolution scanning, and metadata, while also exploring informed consent, community ownership, and ethical approaches to documenting personal and collective histories.

The course is designed for photographers, artists, archivists, activists, educators, community storytellers, and beginners looking for a purpose-driven entry point into photography. This workshop is a space for those who believe the preservation of history is a shared responsibility.

Together, participants will work toward a Community Documentation Project, creating a meaningful record that combines photographic practice with a trauma-informed approach to storytelling.

📅 November 2, 9, 16 & 30, 2026
Mondays | 6–9 PM
📍 PCNW

If you’re interested in using photography to preserve stories, honor community memory, and make space for narratives that have historically been overlooked, this workshop is for you.

Learn more and register through the link below.
https://shop.pcnw.org/collections/fall-2026-photography-workshops-seattle/products/memory-and-healing-photographic-archives-of-marginalized-experiences

Scholarships are still available via our workshop scholarship application: https://pcnw.org/education/workshop-scholarship/)

Image credit: Zorn B Taylor

10/05/2026

Registration is now open for Winter 2027!

Light up the dark days of winter in the Pacific Northwest with photography classes and workshops here at PCNW. It’s the perfect time to hunker down in the darkroom, learn to harness light in the studio, tackle digital editing projects, and explore interventions that push the boundaries of what a photograph can be.

Winter session: January 4 - March 18, 2027.

PCNW offers scholarships to ensure anyone who wants to participate has an opportunity to join our programs. Winter Scholarship Application Deadline is November 2, 2026.
https://pcnw.org/education/scholarships/

Browse through our offerings and enroll today through the link below!
https://shop.pcnw.org/collections/winter-2027-photography-classes-workshops-seattle

Image credit:
Zorn Taylor, teaching How to Look: Developing Your Photographic Eye
Kate Baldwin, teaching Introduction to Food Photography: Working with Natural Light
Kate Haley, teaching Travel Photography: Capturing the Stories of Your Adventures
Annie Rierson, teaching Polaroid Transfers
Ray Bidegain, teaching Working with Polymer Plate Photogravure
tom manzanares, teaching Intermedia and Performance Art

10/02/2026

This week we highlight local artist and owner of Gallery Frames, Daniel Arturo Carrillo-Lozano. Daniel shares interesting details of his creative process, as well as insights into making and displaying daguerreotypes. Who knew how important the case is to properly seeing the highly-reflective image!

A daguerreotype is the first publicly available form of photography, which featured a unique, highly detailed image captured on a polished silver-coated copper plate. It uses no negatives, meaning that each plate is a single, irreplaceable object.

Daniel used this method to create his piece, which is a self-portrait, as he smushed his face against aluminum foil to create an imprint, which is then reflected back by the daguerreotype's shiny surface. As he mentioned, he also fabricated the box, hinges, and engraved a photon on the front, and his initials on the back.

This year’s auction features a broad spectrum of photographic processes—from collage and silver gelatin prints to daguerreotypes and digital c-prints—we’ve got something for every photography lover. Check out the full line-up of artists Here: https://pcnw2026.ggo.bid/n/package-list, where you can favorite those you want to bid on when the silent auction opens on October 9th.

The last day to purchase tickets is October 8th—don’t miss out on the party of the year, get your tickets today! https://pcnw.ejoinme.org/pcnw2026
,
,
,

09/27/2026

Our October schedule is here! This month will, of course, be packed with workshops, but also with the biggest night of the year: our annual PCNW Benefit, Filter!

With Filter comes the Benefit Auction Preview Exhibition, running through October 11 and showcasing a pool of talented artists whose work is part of our annual auction. Head to the link in our bio to start favoriting the auction items and be part of the silent auction!

We’ll also be hosting a curated photography and w**e pairing event on October 2.

So many things to look forward to this month! Find out more about each event, or sign up for our upcoming workshops through the link in our bio.

09/26/2026

Whether you are curious about 19th century processes or interested in setting up your own laboratory for experimenting with ambrotypes, tintypes, and wet plate collodion, this workshop will familiarize you with the chemistry, equipment, and techniques for creating one of a kind images using these processes. Join noted photographer Daniel Carrillo to learn how to make expressive work from portraiture to still lifes using the wet plate process. Students will have an opportunity to create several plates over the course of the weekend using a large format camera. All materials are provided and cameras will be available for students to utilize throughout the workshop.

October 10 - 11, 2026 | Saturday & Sunday 12:30-5:30pm

https://shop.pcnw.org/collections/fall-2026-photography-workshops-seattle/products/working-with-wet-plate-collodion-in-the-studio-1

Daniel also has a piece in the Filter auction (a daguerreotype) that we will be featuring here soon, but in the meantime, you can come check it out in the PCNW Gallery through October 11th!

FACULTY Daniel Carrillo & Danielle Quenell DATE / TIME October 10 - 11, 2026 | Saturday & Sunday 12:30-5:30pm TUITION $425 (All materials included; Note, due to the special nature of materials…

09/25/2026

Our biggest event of the year is just three weeks away! Join us on Friday, October 16, 2026, for "Filter", an evening celebrating the people and experiences that shape our creative community. This is your chance to clink glasses with new and old friends, discover new artists, and raise funds for our collective home for photography. October 6th is your last day to get tickets, so don’t delay.

This week we’re spotlighting Lance Mercer, who shares the story of his haunting portrait of Layne Staley from Alice In Chains—and waxes poetic about photography and PCNW.

Thank you, Lance, for explaining the meaning behind your photograph of Lane Staley, from Alice In Chains performing at the Paramount Theater.

In Lance’s own words: “Layne was so talented; not only did he have an amazing voice, but you could feel everything he sang. I never could visually convey the emotional impact he had, but this image always reminds me not only of what a beautiful person he was, but also the struggles with which he lived.”

This photograph will be up for auction as part of our annual PCNW benefit, Filter. You can start viewing the available artwork in the PCNW gallery through October 11, and online on our website. The silent auction will open for bidding on October 9th, but if you want to get a jump on the competition, you can create an account in Greater Giving and then “favorite” the items you want to bid on later.

Thank you for supporting PCNW and making sure this keeps being a place for everyone to explore the photographic arts.


https://pcnw.org/benefit/

09/24/2026

Spend the day with noted photographer Tara Champion photographing the Autumn colors of Seattle's renowned Kubota Garden. Use the opportunity to brush up on basics and learn new techniques working with long exposures, abstraction, and filters to enhance your landscape and nature photography with Tara alongside to give real time critique and suggestions. A follow-up critique via group e-mail thread occurs approximately one week after the workshop concludes, giving participants an opportunity to download, select, and share their favorite photographs with the group.

October 24, 2026 | Saturday 9am-1pm

https://shop.pcnw.org/collections/fall-2026-photography-workshops-seattle/products/photographing-autumn-colors-at-kubota-gardens