GRA2330: Digital Photography 1
Spring 2015 – Room V-111
Professor Matthew C. Lange
mlange@citytech.cuny.edu
Office Hours: Monday 11:00-12:00 in V-111 or by appointment
Section D366: Monday 12:00-3:20 pm. DigPhotoSp14Monday
Section D368: Tuesday 2:30-5:50 pm. DigPhotoSp14Tuesday
Course Description
This course will serve as an introduction to the fundamentals of photography for students in advertising design and graphic arts. Our curriculum will be based on operating digital SLRs and compact digital cameras, with an emphasis is on composition and technical knowledge. In conjunction with digital capture we will examine and utilize file management, fundamental digital darkroom technique, and direct & archival printing.
The course will involve Studio and Location shooting during classroom laboratory sessions. Studio projects will include still and portrait exercises. On location shoots will be designed to put fundamental camera techniques into practice.
Course Objectives
To successful complete this course, you will be expected to develop your technical and aesthetic understanding of photographic media according to the following criteria:
Teaching/Learning Methods
Class sessions will be designed to facilitate course objectives through group discussions, hands-on photo shoots, editing & printing photos, photo gallery visits, textbook readings and peer-to-peer review. Weekly assignments will supplement classroom discussions and activities, and will serve as a journal of your personal growth.
Grading
Learning Journal/Weekly Assignments: 40%
In-class productivity: 20%
Quizzes: 10%
Mid-term Presentation 10%
Final Term Project and Presentation 20%
Note: Weekly shooting assignments, submitted via Flickr, are essential to your success in this course. Expect to shoot at least 40-50 images, and to upload your best 4-5, every week.
OpenLab & Web Resources
We will be using the OpenLab internet application in conjunction with WordPress to provide access to course materials, keep current with course developments and allow students to communicate, collaborate and submit course assignments inside and outside the classroom. Weekly homework assignments and other course materials will be readily accessible to you via this platform. You will be responsible for creating a WordPress and OpenLab profile (if you have not have one already), and joining the Course group for this class.
Our OpenLab Course pages can be found at the following URL:
Monday: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/groups/comd2330-d366-digital-photo-sp2015/
Tuesday: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/groups/comd2330-d368-digital-photo-sp2015/
The WordPress.com site that is connected to OpenLab and will serve as our class website can be found at the following URL:
https://digitalphotospring2015.wordpress.com/
Weekly homework assignments will be submitted through a Flickr group that can be found at the following URLs:
MONDAY: https://www.flickr.com/groups/mondaydigitalphoto/
TUESDAY: https://www.flickr.com/groups/tuesdaydigitalphoto/
Required Equipment
You will need a camera to complete your assignments for this course. To get the most out of this class, your camera should allow manual control.
You may also sign out a camera from City Tech’s equipment room. If you do not have full manual settings on your camera, you should plan to use City Tech cameras for as many assignments as possible.
If you need to buy a camera, you can check reviews and prices of different cameras at http://www.dpreview.com. You can generally find very good deals on used equipment from keh.com or B&H photo. Please also feel free to email me should you have any questions regarding equipment.
Additional Required Materials
– Memory Cards
– Portable External Hard Drive
– Inkjet Paper (Do not rush out to buy this – additional details to follow.)
Recommended Textbook
A Short Course in Digital Photography by Barbara London and Jim Stone
(Second Edition)
ISBN-10: 0205066429 or ISBN-13: 978-0205066421
($45 new from Amazon.com)
w/myphotographykit—special ISBN#020574503
Attendance
College and Departmental policies regarding attendance and lateness will be strictly upheld. Only two absences will be allowed. Students arriving after role is taken will be marked late. 2 lates = 1 absence. After being absent two times or equivalent, a student may be asked to withdraw from the class (code W before the College drop deadline) or may be withdrawn from the class (code WU).
Please notify me in advance if you will be unable to attend a class session. It is your responsibility to obtain notes for missed sessions from your peers. You will be expected to email homework assignments to the instructor before or immediately after any missed sessions.
Absence from class does not excuse you from submitting homework assignments on time.
Field Trips
There are 3 scheduled field trips throughout the semester. Any student who is not yet 18 years old must have a signed permission form from their parent or guardian for each trip beforehand.
Academic Integrity Standards
Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions, and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting, and citing sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the College recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion.
Course Schedule
Week 1 – February 2/3
Introduction and Course Overview
A Very Brief History of Photography
For Next Week:
Composition 1: Light & Shadow
Recommended Readings: Camera p. 3-16, Automatic Focus p. 41, Histograms pp. 58-59, Responding to Photographs, pp. 147-151, 170-1
Week 2 – February 9/10
Physics, Optics, Capture
Camera & Exposure Settings: Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, File Formats
Paul Strand, Paul Outerbridge, Margaret Bourke-White, James Welling….
For Next Week:
Composition 2: Form & Shape
Recommended Reading pp. 22-25, 40-49, 152-153
Week 3 – FEBRUARY 17/18 (Wednesday Follows a Monday Schedule)
Photographic Composition: Rule of Thirds, Perspective, Foreground/Background
Image Processing: Adobe Bridge, RAW Conversions, Histograms
Walker Evans, Bill Brandt, Susan Meiselas, Adam Bartos….
For Next Week:
Composition 3: The Frame
Recommended reading: pp. 74-75, 82, 122-126
Week 4 – February 23/24
Field Trip: Brooklyn War Memorial Park (behind City Tech)
Group Shooting Session: Depth of Field, Highlights & Shade, Focal Length
For Next Week:
Characteristics 1: Depth & Flatness
Recommended reading pp. 16-19, 24-25, 154-155
Week 5 – March 2/3
Field Trip: Main Street Park (waterfront between Manhattan Bridge & Brooklyn Bridge)
Group Shooting Session: Movement, Action
Eadweard Muybridge, Jacques Lartigue, Francesca Woodman, Stan Douglas…
For Next Week:
Characteristics 2: Time and Movement
Recommended reading pp. 158-9, 164-169
Week 6 – March 9/10
Capturing and Using Color
Digital Workflow: Color Management, Adjustment Layers, Curves
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, William Eggleston, Nan Goldin, Fazal Sheikh
For Next Week:
Characteristics 3: Color
Plan for Mid-term. Select a photographer to discuss.
Recommended reading pp. 76-79, 86-87
Week 7 – March 16/17
Digital Workflow: Color Correction for print, local adjustments
Lab Session & Discussion: Printing
For Next Week:
Complete Mid-Term Assignment: Presentation on a contemporary photographer
Week 8 – March 23/24
Quiz 1.
Mid-term presentations.
For Next Week:
Mid-Term Response
Recommended reading pp. 134-139
Week 9 – March 30/31
Studio Lighting: Controlling Intensity, Angle & Quality of Light
Man Ray, Edward Weston, Fischli & Weiss, Laura Letinsky…
For Next Week:
Studio 1: Still Life
Recommended reading pp. 140-145
NO CLASSES APRIL 6/7 – Spring Recess
Week 10 – April 13/14
Studio Lighting: Portrait
Julia Margaret Cameron, Seydou Keita, Alec Soth, Deana Lawson…
For Next Week:
Studio 2: Portrait
Recommended reading Chapter 10, History of Photography, pp. 173-192, pp. 193-203
Week 11 – April 20/21
Digital Workflow: Manipulating & Altering Images
Introduce Final Project: Series
Aaron Siskind, Cindy Sherman, Sarah Charlesworth, Carrie Mae Weems…
For Next Week:
Ideas for Final Project
Recommended reading pp. 109-112
Week 12 – April 27/28
Field Trip TBD
For Next Week:
Final Project
Write 3-4 Paragraph Statement for Final Project
Week 13 – May 4/5
Digital Workflow: Output and Color, Understanding devices and media
Printing Session: Final Project
For Next Week:
Final Project
Week 14 – May 11/12
Quiz 2.
Contemporary Uses of Photography
Broomberg & Channering, Trevor Paglen, The Jogging…
Work Session: Printing Final Project
For Next Week:
Finish Printing Final Project
Post Final Images
Week 15 – May 18/19
Presentations & Critique – Final Project
Digital Photography 