PHOTOGRAPHY

CRN 10002

Distribution

 F
Course No. PHOT 101
Title

Introduction to Photography
Professor Vik Muniz
Schedule Tu 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm WOODS
An introduction to both the techniques and the aesthetics of black-and-white photography as a means of self-expression. Systematic instruction in darkroom techniques and weekly criticism of individual work provide the student with a solid basic understanding of the use of the camera as an expressive tool. The student must obtain within the first week of classes a camera (35mm or 2 1/4) with fully adjustable f/stops and shutter speeds and a handheld reflected light exposure meter. No previous photography experience is required. Admission is by portfolio (portfolio photographs do not have to have been printed by the student).

CRN 10003

Distribution

 F
Course No. PHOT 104
Title

Introduction to Photography for Non-Majors
Professor An-My Lê
Schedule Th 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm WOODS
An introduction to both the techniques and aesthetics of black and white photography as a means of self-expression. Systematic instruction in darkroom techniques along with weekly criticism of individual work will provide the student with a solid basic understanding of the use of the camera as an expressive tool. The student must obtain within the first week of class: 1) a camera (35mm or 21/4") with fully adjustable f/stops and shutter speeds, 2) a hand-held reflected light exposure meter. No previous darkroom experience is required. This class is open only to Upper College students who have successfully moderated in disciplines other than Photography.

CRN 10004

Distribution

 F
Course No. PHOT 105
Title

Photographic Seeing
Professor Stephen Shore
Schedule Fri 9:30 am - 12:30 pm WOODS
Beyond the material technique of photography lies a visual technique. This involves learning to see the way a camera sees; learning how a photograph, by its nature, transforms the world in front of the camera. The first half of the semester is devoted to exploring this visual grammar of photography and how it clarifies a photograph's meaning and the photographer's intent. During the second half of the semester, students pursue independent projects, putting their visual understanding into practice.

Prerequisite: Photography 101 or 103.

CRN 10005

Distribution

 F
Course No. PHOT 106
Title

Light
Professor Larry Fink
Schedule Mon 1:30 pm 4:30 pm WOODS
Light is the co-author of image. Light can be brazen or bland. It can dramatize or simply describe. This course deals with the exploration of found light or artificially detonated light  strobe. Each week the assignments alternate between real or natural light and artificial or created light. These exercises attempt to clarify the differences and the similarities between the two kinds and how light serves the vision of the light within. In the second half of the semester each student undertakes an individual project based on what has already been experienced. Learning how to control light broadens a photographer's perception of the ambient options it offers.

Prerequisite: Photography 101 or 103.

CRN 10012

Distribution

 A/C
Course No. PHOT 110
Title

History of Photography
Professor Laurie Dahlberg
Schedule Tu Th 11:30 am - 12:50 pm OLIN 102
The discovery of photography was announced in 1839, almost simultaneously by several inventors. Born of experiments in art and in science, the photographic medium combines vision and technology. It possesses a uniquely intimate relation to reality, and for this reason has many applications outside the realm of fine art, but from its inception photography has been a vehicle for artistic aspirations. This course surveys the history of photography from its earliest manifestations to the 1970s and considers photography's applications as art, science, historical record, and document, among others. It is a general introduction to the subject and is open to all students. This course is the prerequisite for most other courses in the history of photography.

CRN 10006

Distribution

 F
Course No. PHOT 201
Title

The View Camera
Professor Vik Muniz
Schedule Wed 9:00 am - 12:00 pm WOODS
View cameras were the first cameras and were the primary photographic tool for the first half of photography's history. They offer unexcelled clarity, tonality, and image control. The operation of the view camera and advanced darkroom techniques are demonstrated in this course. The class explores the expressive potential of the conscious use of the camera's precise control of the image. Students are supplied with 4" x 5" camera outfits.

Prerequisite: Photography 105 or 106. Admission is by portfolio.

CRN 10007

Distribution

 F
Course No. PHOT 203 A
Title

Color Photography
Professor Stephen Shore
Schedule Mon 9:30 am - 12:30 pm WOODS
An introduction to the problem of rethinking photographic picture-making through the medium of color photography. Transparencies, color negatives, and type C prints are the technical areas explored. Interested students should bear in mind the higher costs of color materials. Admission is by portfolio.

CRN 10008

Distribution

 F
Course No. PHOT 203 B
Title

Color Photography
Professor Barbara Ess
Schedule Wed 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm WOODS
See description above.

CRN 10296

Distribution

 F
Course No. PHOT 234
Title

Writing on Photography
Professor Luc Sante
Schedule Th 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm OLIN 309
Photography is omnipresent in the world today, yet compared to its younger sibling, cinema, it has produced only a very small body of critical literature. Writing about photography is a particular discipline that intersects not only with art criticism, but also with reportage and the writing of history. This course will function both as a survey of the literature and as a practical writing ocourse. There will be weekly readings, weekly writing assignments, and a great deal of looking at pictures. Readings will include the canon, such as it is: Benjamin, Sontag, Barthes, Gisele Freund, Janet Malcolm, among others. Students will also compare Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage with the photographs by Brady, Gardner, and O'Sullivan that inspired him, and James Agee's and Walker Evan's halves of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Students will look hard at newspaper photographs and contrast them with the stories they accompany, and will review exhibitions.

CRN 10009

Distribution

 F
Course No. PHOT 302 A
Title

Advanced Photography
Professor Larry Fink
Schedule Tu 9:30 am - 12:30 pm WOODS
To prepare the student for ongoing independent work, this course emphasizes the exploration of visual problems. At the heart of this exploration is asking good questions of oneself and one's work, seeing how other photographers and artists in other media have dealt with such questions, and "answering" the questions for oneself through individual projects.

Prerequisite: Photography 201 and 203.

CRN 10392

Distribution

 F
Course No. PHOT 302 B
Title

Advanced Photography
Professor Barbara Ess
Schedule Th 9:30 am - 12:30 pm WOODS
See description above.

CRN 10010

Distribution

 F
Course No. PHOT 307
Title

Advanced Digital Imaging
Professor Oliver Wasow
Schedule Fri 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm WOODS
This is a course designed for students with a basic understanding of the Adobe Photoshop software application. Emphasis will be placed on exploring digital photography from both a technical and theoretical perspective. In addition to learning various advanced imaging techniques, students will be encouraged to critically examine the ways in which digital imaging effects how we make and look at photographs. Through hands on practice and in-class critique and dialogue, the class will examine a variety of issues central to photography in the digital era, such as "What is the relationship of digital photography to traditional, analog photography? To what degree has our faith in the veracity of the photographic image been altered by the seamless editing capabilities of digital photography? How have issues of authorship, ownership, and copyright been effected? How might photographers best utilize the interactive arenas of multi0media and the internet? Students will be expected to bring work to class on a weekly basis and to participate in class critiques. Open to both photo and non-photo students.

Prerequisite: Digital Imaging 1, or permission of the instructor.

CRN 10013

Distribution

 A/C
Course No. PHOT 312
Title

Travel and Exploration in 19thCentury Photography
Professor Laurie Dahlberg
Schedule Wed 1:20 pm - 4:20 pm OLIN 309

Cross-listed: Victorian Studies

This course will survey the far-ranging work of the peripatetic photographers of the nineteenth century. Travel and exploratory photographs of landscapes, people, and architecture were made by European and American photographers throughout the world. They reflect the photographers' preconceptions and expectations, as well as the inherent properties of their subject matter. Such photographs were produced as government surveys, historical records, souvenirs for travelers, scientific documents, and picturesque views. Imperialist expansion of European powers, the Romantic poets' reverence for nature, and the projection of the photographers' (and their audiences') fantasies upon alien realms and peoples are among the forces that helped to shape the travel photography of this period. Of interest to history and social science students as well as art history and photography students.

CRN 10394

Distribution

  
Course No. PHOT SEM
Title

Senior Seminar

Schedule Th 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm bi-weekly
The senior seminar is a requirement of all seniors majoring in photography. The seminar meets on a bi-weekly basis and carries no credit.