"I just wanted to write you a quick note to thank you again for a wonderful workshop. It was, at once, greatly informative and detailed--and fun. I really enjoyed it and appreciate your low-key approach. I learned so much. Thanks, too, for your patience and good humor, which set the tone for a really nice weekend. I've always liked the platinum/palladium process, but adding a gum layer definitely gives the work so much more depth and dimension. I'm excited about trying this at home, alone, on my own . . . yikes--as scary as that sounds--as I think it will work well with the type of images I like to make. So... in one weekend, you've managed to make me enjoy and look forward to printing again."

-Diana Bloomfield, Raleigh, NC - September 2006 (Philadelphia, PA)

"I had a great time at the workshop and I want to thank you for helping us all by adding another creative tool to our arsenals.."

-Robert Puckett, Cleveland, OH - September 2006 (Philadelphia, PA)

"It was a great workshop! The small size of the group really enhanced the learning process, both allowing for individual instruction, and learning from the questions of other participants. I've been interested in alternative processes, and your workshop has catapulted me into action! I have begun the process of altering my darkroom to accommodate more experimentation with the processes I learned from you. I'm building a light source and I've ordered the chemicals, contact printing frame, papers, and other supplies. I believe I'll look back on your workshop as a pivotal point in my photography. Your instruction has provided a foundation on which I can confidently build my knowledge of the platinum/palladium printing process.Thank you, again, for being willing to share your knowledge. I appreciate your offer to be there for us to provide help along the way."

-Karen Buckland, Garden Valley, CA - May 2004 (Placerville)

"I want to thank you for an enjoyable and knowledge building weekend. This was by far the best workshop I have attended!!! My wife even liked the images. The other participants added to the workshop with their different ways of approaching their vision. So this is my heartfelt handshake for all of your time and knowlege that you passed to all of us. Thank you again."

-David Distefano, Bakersfield, CA - December 2003 (Yosemite)

"I recently returned from a weekend one-on-one platinum printing workshop at the home of Kerik Kouklis. I wanted to recommend Kerik as a superb teacher for anyone wanting to learn this beautiful process. Not only is Kerik a wonderful artist (it was worth the very reasonable cost simply to watch him at work) but he was extremely patient, passionate about his photography and a most polite and personable host. It was quite a privelege to be there and particularly spend time with someone who was all to happy to reveal 'secrets' of his trade (not an all to common trait these days)."

- Rick Abraham, Melbourne, Australia - August 2003 (Placerville)

"Just wanted to say thanks for putting on an awesome workshop! I had a great time and learned a lot. Now I have to resist the urge to find an 8x10 camera and take over a corner of my apartment for a uv light box!"

- Ed Bystrom, San Jose, CA - February 2002 (Yosemite Nat'l Park)

"So all I need now are the chemicals and I can turn our library and bathroom into one huge production facility - at least that's how my wife views it. I wanted to thank you again for a great workshop...as you can tell I'm still pretty geeked about the process and can't wait to do more."

- Mike DeGrow, Lansing, MI - February 2002 (Yosemite Nat'l Park)

Thoughts on a two-day (one-on-one) Kerik Kouklis workshop:

Kerik's approach to teaching is to give you the information you need that will enable you stop sweating the technical stuff and start shooting and making good platinum images. The two day workshop in his home lab begins with a morning spent exposing negatives, either on your own gear or one of his great monster cameras. He orients this part of the session to the abilities and knowledge of the individual, from beginners to experienced photographers. He makes practical suggestions about lens selection, camera placement, metering and exposure. He relates his own approach to using different films to match the particular exposure range of the subject.

Back in the lab, you will process the film using the efficient techniques he has developed that work for him. He uses pyro-based developers and both tray and rotary processing. You'll probably do both. You'll see and soon believe the incredible freedom that staining developers can bring to the UV sensitive printing processes by making development times a whole lot less fussy.

The second day is spent printing the new negatives. You will learn his own approach to printing in platinum and palladium. You'll learn how to make Platine paper behave like it should. He has found THE brush that will make the clothesline full of damp, stinking hake brushes a thing of the past when you return home. He shows you how he avoids even using sensitizer #2 for contrast control and the salutary effects it will have on your print quality when you kick the #2 habit. He will show you how combining the small effect of a lot of little changes in your process can give you an immense amount of flexibility in your printing. As an example, you will see that small gains in contrast can be had just by double coating, and that developer temperature also has an effect on contrast.

If you're interested, he will show you how the gum-over platinum process works. Once you've seen the sublime results of this process that hang on his walls, you will probably return home and immediately call Bostick and Sullivan.

In short, the two day workshop offers an assortment of tips and techniques that, when integrated into your own personal workflow, will make you a tremendously more adept and versatile image maker in this beautiful process."

-Clay Harmon, Houston, TX - December 2001 (Placerville, CA)

"Kerik you are a gifted artist and such a wonderful teacher. Your patience was very much appreciated. You did a wonderful job of covering all the material and you could easily market the workbook as a textbook. I've never gotten as much from a workshop as I have from yours. I will, and have, recommend you to all the photographers that I can. I'll keep you posted on how my work progresses."

-Tori Nelson, San Diego, CA - April 2000 (Sacramento, CA)

"Just wanted to drop you a note and say "Thanks" again. What a terrific workshop! I learned so much about a wonderful process.  I am amazed that in just a weekend I was able to produce some nice platinum prints.  I have received more compliments about those prints than anything else I have done."

-Pete Mikalajunas, Chicago, IL - April 2000 (Sacramento, CA)

"Also wanted you to know that the workshop provided some significant inspiration for me. Being among a bunch of photographers who were dedicated to using photography as a way to see and experience life more vividly was a wonderful experience in itself. That alone jumped my work with photography up a level. So besides learning about platinum printing, my motivation and technique were improved. Further, your five minute zone system lecture helped me get a handle that's enabled me (in conjunction with rereading the Adam's text) to more consistently predict the outcomes of my images. I genuinely appreciate what I learned at your workshop, and it's facilitated significant progress for me in working with photography as a path of discovery and aesthetic experience."

-Jim Travers, OR - February 2000 (Yosemite)

"Just wanted to say thanks again for a great workshop. This has really gotten my enthusiasm up and I can hardly wait to start working on many of my old negs. I hope you might consider a follow-up workshop sometime in the future."

-Curtis Griffin, Fremont, CA - February 2000 (Yosemite)

"Thanks for showing me how to do something I knew to be impossible. Great fun."

-Doug Lavendar, Ontario, Canada - July 1999 (Ontario, Canada)

"Wonderful workshop! I feel confident to continue on my own."

-MaryAnn Donohue, Ontario, Canada - July 1999 (Ontario, Canada)

"I want to thank you again for the wonderful workshop this last weekend. Your teaching style helped to relax those of us who were a little apprehensive. Your small class size allowed for the neccesary individual instruction that we needed. I know that I only scratched the surface of platinum printing. The basics that you demonstrated, will, with continued practice, lead the other students and myself on our quest to develop our talents to the upmost."

-David Distefano, Bakersfield, CA - February 1999

"I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know how much I enjoyed your workshop this past weekend. I thought it well worthwhile, informative and well presented."

-Gary W. McLaughlin, Sacramento, CA - August 1998

"I really enjoyed the class. I am hooked on platinum."

-Wayne Firth, Manassas, VA - November 1998

"I want to thank you for a very good class this week-end. I enjoyed it immensely. You provided a superb level of information and knowledge."

-Jeff Sully, Santa Rosa, CA - May 1998

"Just wanted to thank you again for the wonderful workshop. I thought it went so well! Thanks for presenting the material in such an organized fashion and with such good swift visual results at hand. It made everything so much easier to learn and understand. I really cannot tell you how great a success the weekend was for me! While the artist inside of me got re-stoked, the conservator in me got a good handle on what's inside a platinum/palladium print. An awesome achievement, due in large part to your guidance, I must say. By the way, everyone here is stunned at the gorgeous pictures I brought back with me. More platinum/palladium fans have been born!"

-Susan Rogers, Conservator, The Huntington Museum
Los Angeles, CA - September 1997