This course is designed to familiarize the intermediate photographer to all aspects of photography with the use of a film or digital camera. The prerequisite for this course is Introduction to Photography in the Digital Age AND Digital Darkroom. You should be familiar with the use of your camera and the essential workflow of Adobe Camera Raw processing. Though technical in nature, this class is an art photography course, and as such, will emphasize the creation and exploration of photographic imagery both technically and conceptually. Experimentation in any form is not only encouraged, it will be expected of you as a photographer!

Attention will be focused on producing a final portfolio which will live solely on the internet. It is my intention to prepare you for a web-based pressence, which is essential for all successful photographers (gone are the days of a paper-based portfolios). It is time to be 2.0 Web Savvy.

1. You will create a web based portfolio on the website moonfruit.com. It is a free template based hosting site so there should be no problem with acquiring an account. No experience in designing web sites will be necessary;
2. The course will require bi-weekly photographic assignments which will be reviewed and uploaded to FLICKR for critique.
3. By the end of the quarter the "about me" page will contain an analysis of your work (othewise known as an ARTIST STATEMENT) and a self-portrait (for extra credit).

The Asssignments for the quarter will be as follows:
1. What is HOME to you?
2. Environmental / Portraiture /Emulation
3. Fragments, Abstraction or Pattern
4. Light and Shadow, Reflection and/or Point of View

Assignments #3 and #4 will reflect a THEME of your choosing for your portfolio. These assignments are merely an exercise in creative "vision" and are here to help you develop a greater sense of creativity and individuality in photography. My goal in this course is to educate you in the freedom of your own creative voice.

Grading is based on, but not limited to: participation in class critiques, technical ability, personal progress and/or improvement, and innovation. Personal progress and improvement will be based on each individual and not based on the class as a whole.

For your final portfolio will rest on a web presentation critiqued by both Students and Instructor and will take place on the last day of instruction. The final portfolio will consist of ten (10) images taken from the class assignments.

35% Attendance and classroom participation
25% Weekly Assignments
35% Final portfolio of images
5% Extra Credit Photographs - produce an 11th photo of your choice which is a SELF-PORTRAIT to be included in your ABOUT page.

Final Grades:
A = 90% - 100%
B = 80% - 89%
C = 70% - 79%
D = 60% - 69%

This course requires the use of a camera of your choosing. You may use a Point-and-Shoot camera, an iPhone, a HOLGA camera, a LOMO, a toy camera, basically equipment that records a visual image. For those of you who are shooting with a DSLR, I do expect you to be shooting in RAW format, processing in raw and uploading jpegs to the internet. Please be familiar with the use of your camera and RAW processing. You will also need a USB thumb/drive which allows you to save any assignments in progress (or completed) during the class for later reference. An external firewire drive is also acceptable.

If you are a MAC or PC user and own your own laptop (with photoshop CS4 installed), you may use it in lieu of the PC TOWER computers in our lab.

Recommended The Photoshop CS4 Book by Scott Kelby

Introduction by Instructor
Introduction of Students

REVIEW:
Let's go over the syllabus!
What is a digital chip (Charged Coupled Device) and how does it work in the camera vs. a CMOS chip?
What is RGB
What is ColorSpace?
The color default in Photoshop and your camera: sRGB
Why shoot in RAW?
What does each colorspace occupy in the color spectrum?

Moonfruit.com

Read Social Networking Article!

Homework:
1. OPEN A FLICKR ACCOUNT AND JOIN THE INTERMEDIATE PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP

2. OPEN A MOONFRUIT ACCOUNT AND START DESIGNING YOUR WEBSITE. For the purposes of this class I made a moonfruit website as an example

Examples of Photographer's Web Sites that represent themselves according to a theme:
Kevin Malella
Nick Veasey
Life on White
Rachael Devine
New Catalogue
Amy Stein
Orange Turtle Wedding Photography (former student)

PHOTOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT: HOME

This week your assignment is to take an image that represents "home" to you. The interior of your home, your grandmother cooking, a pile of laundry, shadows on a wall, your vegetable garden can all represent home. Show us what home means to you. Take your best shot(s) and post three (3) photos and one (1) diptych to the group FLICKR page. We will have a class critique of the work presented. If you do not know how to make a diptych follow this online tutorial.

HOME:
Ansel Olson
One Love Photo
Lauren

REVIEW: Bridge, CRW and Photoshop
1. Raw to JPEG workflow
2. How to convert properly from RAW to sRBG (print/web)
3. How to resize images for your website
4. How to convert to black and white

Week 4: April 29

DOCUMENTARY: RICHARD AVEDON, DARKENESS AND LIGHT.
Review the links on Richard Avedon and be familiar with his work in advance of this screening.

In Class Workshop: How to take a portrait. Please bring your camera and let's work on your skills taking pictures of people (we will use each other as models).

CRITIQUE: The Portrait and/or the Environmental Portrait.

What is a Portrait?
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer.

What is an Environmental Portrait?
An environmental portrait is a portrait executed in the subject's usual environment, such as in their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject's life and surroundings. The term is most frequently used of a genre of photography. By photographing a person in their natural surroundings, it is thought that you will be able to better illuminate their character, and therefore portray the essence of their personality, rather than merely a likeness of their physical features. It is also thought that by photographing a person in their natural surroundings, the subject will be more at ease, and so be more conducive to expressing themselves, as opposed to in a studio, which can be a rather intimidating and artificial experience.

ASSIGNMENT: EMULATE YOUR FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THEIR PHOTOGRAPHS. Produce three (3) photos of the original and your interpretation of that phone, and upload to FLICKR. WHY am I making you do this? READ THIS ARTICLE

environmental portrait photographers
Gene Smirnov
Bill Cramer
Isaac Hernandez

portrait photographers
Diane Jones (former student)
Heather Jazner (former student)
Jennifer Greenberg
Dulce Pizon

CRITIQUE: Light and Shadow, Reflection and/or Point of View (high.low)


1. LIGHT AND SHADOW: Light makes it possible for us to see. Shadows are areas of darkness caused by objects that do not let light pass through. Cast shadows may also make an object look more three-dimensional. Take pictures that emphasize the shadows cast on or cast by an object.
2. REFLECTION: Pictures of glass, mirrors or other surfaces that show reflections. Take pictures of windows, mirrors or other surfaces such as water, a pair of glasses, a shiny car.
3. Point of View: The Point of View is the position from which you are looling at something. Often photographers can get a dramatic effect by taking a picture of something from a low point of view, an ant's eye view, or from below looking up.

TODAY YOU WILL PRESENT YOUR THEME TO THE CLASS. This is of course a very rough draft. You will be expected to present five (5) Fragment/Abstract/Pattern images and upload to FLICKR. Be careful to reflect your thematic structure. Shoot in RAW and export to JPEG web ready.

THINKING IN THEMES:
There are two main requirements for building a strong portfolio. First, there must be a coherent theme. For example, you could pick a theme of landscapes that relate to water. Possible images could include waterfalls, rivers, lakes, or the ocean.

The second criterion is that there should be no one image that is of lesser quality than another. Remember that, in any situation where you show your work, great images are diluted by the average images that you might use to "fill out" your presentation, and the overall impression of your photography is reduced. I wish that more photographic instruction emphasized the importance of editing.

The next step is to go through your files to find your very best "water landscapes," or whichever theme you’ve chosen. If you adhere to my second premise, you will find the editing difficult! Being self-critical is critical! Don't be surprised if you only find a few images that are of equally high quality. The ultimate editor is you, the artist, but you may find it valuable to have your work evaluated by other, more experienced photographers, such as a workshop instructor. This "second opinion" approach will either confirm, or force you to reconsider, the level of your imagery.

You should now have the foundation for your portfolio, be it two or twenty images, and a baseline from which to measure your progress. When you continue to photograph for the portfolio, your planning, exploring and image making is concentrated on the theme. As you refine and add to your theme, consider the balance and coherence in terms of subject, lighting, compositional style, scale, and overall creativity.

ASSIGNMENT TO BE ANNOUNCED.

CRITIQUE: Fragments, Abstraction or Pattern

1. FRAGMENT: Pictures that only show part of an object, not the whole thing.Take pictures of parts of an object, a detail.
2. ABSTRACTION: Photographs which represent reality mainly as patterns and/or shapes and not as recognizable objects. Take pictures of lines, shapes or unrecognizable three-dimensional forms. Abstract photography is a method of creating an image using colors and pattern with the absence of its true meaning and clear subject.
3. PATTERN: The repetition of lines or forms in an arranged sequence.

You will be expected to present five (5) Fragment/Abstract/Pattern images and upload to FLICKR. Be careful to reflect your thematic structure. Shoot in RAW and export to JPEG web ready.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT

Glossary of Photographic Terms
How to Make a Photoblog
Digital Camera Review and News
Creating an Easy Portfolio

Sports Photography
Wildlife Photography
Digital Darkroom
Pro Techniques

AK47 — an online art photography magazine showcasing both fine arts and documentary photographers.
BLIR — for emerging artists.
Blueeyes — an online documentary photography magazine devoted to publishing new long-term project work. It is a labor of love created by a dedicated group of people who believe in the power of still photography.
F-STOP — a photography magazine.
mooncruise* — featuring photography and music by international artists.
Revolver — photojournalism, street & travel photography.
seesaw — observation full and felt.
LOOK AT ME — a collection of found photographs.
PIXELPRESS — encouraging documentary photography through a new paradigm of journalism, one that encourages an active dialogue between the author and reader and, also, the subject.
lens culture — photography and shared territories.
MakingRoom — a magazine about the process, intention and results of image-making.
FILE — a collection of unexpected photography.

Photography Bags for Women
Botkier
Kettie Bags
Epiphanie Bags
Gypsy Rose
Jill-E
Martilina Bags
Xcessrize-Designs