Herb Ascherman, Platinum Printing Master, Profiled in Documentary 'The Eye of Cleveland'

On October 17, a 12-minute documentary titled The Eye of Cleveland, showcasing the work of Cleveland photographer Herb Ascherman, was presented at the PhotoMuse Festival of Photography in Thrissur, India. This film, crafted by filmmaker Jim Koenigsaecker as part of his master's project during the 2023-2024 Knight Fellowship at Ohio University, was released in 2025. It earned the accolade of Best Documentary Short at the Columbus International Film and Animation Festival and has garnered over 100,000 views on YouTube. Ascherman, born in 1947, has dedicated more than 40 years to capturing Cleveland, amassing over 9,000 portraits with a 15-pound Deardorff 8×10 view camera and platinum/palladium processing. He established the Cleveland Photographic Workshop in 1977 and the Cleveland Society of Alternative Photographers in 2006. The film includes interviews and wraps up with Ascherman capturing the skyline following a Guardians win.