Levi’s Photo Workshop at the Old Deitch Space

In another example of deep pockets doing good work, Levi’s has opened a free photo studio/lab on Wooster Street, where the Deitch space used to reside. I dropped by yesterday to check it out. I normally try to avoid NY freebies that are open to the public, because they tend to be a bit too much of a zoo for my liking. I was pleasantly surprised by the absence of indignant people trying to horde the free resources. I chatted for a bit, with the guy running the outfit, and he said that really only time he had encountered it was when some DB came in on Saturday and monopolized the large format printer to print off his whole book and ran it out of ink.

They have an entire wall of vintage film cameras for loan (free), as well as film to load in them. Upstairs, is a light table and a library of reference material for photography.

In the rear space (top photo) there is an entire studio setup, with soft box strobes and a seamless background. Again, free. That is also where they have their print lab set up. Oh, they can also print t-shirts.  In the very front of the space, there is a display case with dozens of vintage Leica cameras on display.

And of course, there is a photo booth.

Or, maybe you just need a biga** calibrated monitor to check out your work. They have that too.

Anyway, I think that this is a really cool idea and that is why I’m going on and on about it. I may have to drop by with Reagan to borrow/shoot with some of the awesome old school cameras that they have.