ClassInfo

This is an introductory digital photography class. This is an asynchronous, fully online course. We will emphasize a balance of technical skills, exploration of personal vision, and development of critical thinking and vocabulary relating to photography. Your own image making will be considered in the context of photography as a fine art. Class activities will consist of lectures, demonstrations, lab time, readings, discussions, and critiques. The core of the class work is a series of assignments, as well as exercises. Students' work will be constructively discussed by classmates and instructor. Students will learn the fundamentals of camera operation, composition, moment, light, and subject. Students will be introduced to digital hardware and software tools for image adjustment/manipulation.

You are required to provide your own advanced digital camera capable of producing RAW files, and with manual control of shutter speed and f-stop. You are also required to purchase a software subscription to Adobe Lightroom Classic.

Grading of the work in this course is determined including but not exclusive to this criteria and considerations:

Achievement of the criteria of the assignment

Understanding, discovery, and quality of the resolution of the ideas in your work

Evidence of intention behind the work

Challenged yourself and quantity of work, making enough of it to explore and claim your ideas

Technical quality of work with appearance and presentation

Attendance and class participation to create a forum for critical dialogue, sharing ideas, and speculating on possibilities in each-others work

About 6 hours of online work each week plus additional time making photographs and editing/post-processing in Adobe Lightroom Classic.

This introductory class incorporates digital technologies and alternative processes to the black and white darkroom. Through several photographic approaches, we will emphasize a balance of technical skills, exploration of personal vision, and development of critical thinking and vocabulary relating to photography. Photography is a means of understanding and interacting with both the world and ourselves in it. Though this is a remote class, it will provide many opportunities and prompts to engage with the world and your own surroundings during this moment in time. Class activities will consist of online lectures, demonstrations, discussions, virtual visiting artists lectures. The core of the class work is a series of assignments prompting you to engage with your surroundings and think critically about it. Students' work will be constructively discussed by classmates in class via small-group online critique sessions, and one-to-one with the instructor. The course meetings will be semi-synchronous, meaning a combination of synchronous meetings and asynchronous learning.Students will learn the fundamentals of digital camera operation, composition, light and subject. Students will be introduced to digital hardware and software tools for image adjustment/manipulation (primarily Adobe Camera Raw and the basics of Photoshop); making a "digital negative" and one or more forms of alternative printing. Work will also be done with cell phone cameras and found images. You are required to provide your own advanced digital camera: one capable of producing RAW files and with manual control of shutter speed and f-stop. Please contact the instructor if you have questions. For the first day of class, I will hold an optional first meeting. This is fully optional and we will stream this online.