Week 10 - Critique, In Two Weeks: Project Ideas

This week we had another critique of 20-30 prints and talked a little bit about the themes emerging that can make their way into your final project. I also talked briefly about the makeup lesson for our lighting workshop. Keep an eye on your email as I'm going to try and reserve the studio space for the Monday after Spring Break next door for an hour to show you guys some basic lighting setups and talk about the principles of lighting. Have a great break!

HOMEWORK

• Any missing or makeup assignments I will accept on or before the Monday after we get back from Spring Break on 4/22. ANYTHING NOT TURNED IN BY THIS DATE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. 

• 20-30 new prints due in class next week PLUS 

• Final decision on book theme - due next week to blog

• Post to your blog:

• 5+ sentences describing the theme of your book

• 4-8 of your photographs from class so far that best show this idea

Week 09 - Oral Presentations

This week the class presented a slideshow and oral presentation on a photographer of their choosing.

HOMEWORK 

• 20-30 images due as prints for next week
• If you are behind with showing prints bring extra prints
• The same images are due to your Google Drive in a new folder with Week 10 and your name in the folder and filenames

Week 08 - Critique - Sequencing - Prep for Oral Presentations

This week we had our second round of critique of new prints. We also had a sequencing exercise where the class edited and arranged a group of prints into a coherent edit of 12 and 10 images. Hopefully some of the strategies you came up with will help you with editing down and sequencing your own work. What should have been apparent from this exercise is that there is no one way to edit, but there are some methods that can help make the process easier. Sometimes images we really connect with and love may have to be left out for the benefit of the body of work as a whole, but it only makes the work stronger. 

Selections of work from this week:

Clara Battle

Marty Kineavy

India Master

Abbie Steuhm

Also due this week was two ideas for your final project in the form of a blog post. It is okay for these ideas to expand and evolve, but please make sure you are sticking to one idea and seeing where it goes and how you can push it conceptually and visually.

Oral presentations are due next week

• Please come to class ready to present 
• Bring 12 physical paper copies of your written component for the whole class 
• I will have all digital versions of your slideshows loaded onto the teaching station from your digital materials (see below)
• ALL DIGITAL MATERIALS for your oral presentation are due SUNDAY APRIL 7 BY 11:59PM to your Google Drive folder.  
• Please locate the folder ahead of time leave and leave yourself extra time in case of any technical difficulties or questions.
• The new assignment for this week is either another 20 photos toward your final project or 20 photos of a domestic still life. 
• This assignment is due in two weeks on April 8th. 

Week 07 - First critique - Photography Series/Books

We had our Midterm exam on camera settings and exposure, as well as the Barrett readings. We will review the answers on Monday. I will be working on plugging in grades and sending out a mid semester progress report so please keep an eye on your Marymount email inbox this weekend.

This week we had our first critique sharing the first images from the weekly assignment of 20-30 prints. These assignments are leading up to our final book project that will be based around a body of work that you develop through the shooting assignments. We took a look at some books including Rich and Poor and Raised By Wolves by Jim Goldberg, Sylvania by Anna Beeke, Illuminate Naturally in Darkness by Judith Stenneken, and Grays the Mountain Sends by Bryan Schutmaat. Hopefully some ideas around sequencing and creating a cohesive theme or narrative are starting to emerge. We will be looking at more photographic work throughout the semester to give you guys some insight to how other artists put together a body of work, especially work that is centered around the photographic book.

For next week:

• Research and prepare for your oral presentation (due class 9)
• 2 possible ideas for your final - due next week. Post to your blog:
• Writing describing each of your ideas 
• At least 5 sentences per idea
• Images as visual aids
• At least 3 per idea

• Visual aids could be:
• Images you’ve shot that you want to include
• Sketches for photos or book
• Mood board/inspiration
• 20-30 new images as prints (please bring all your old prints from past critiques to subsequent critiques from now on)
• From the responses I got last week, it was clear that most of you had not looked at the critique guidelines posted in your handouts folder. Please take a look at these before next week, especially the "three before me" rule which means you let three other people speak before you talk again. It's a great rule of thumb and ensures different voices are being heard which ultimately benefits the artist who is having their work critiqued. We will review these quickly in class before critique next week.
• Please know that there are no exceptions to the 20-30 print assignments and participating during critique. You will be graded on bringing in prints as well as making comments and asking questions during critique. 
• Anyone who did not bring in prints last week has double the amount of images due next week. So if you did not show this last week, you have at least 40 prints due on Monday. 

See you all next week!

Week 06 - New 20-30 Weekly Images for Final Project - Midterm

This last week, after an unexpected snow day, we came back to discuss the reading for Barrett Chapters 2-3. We discussed the process of engaging critically with images starting with describing the work and then interpreting what we see and learn about the images. This will be helpful for next week as we will be looking at your first round of 20-30 images that should be working towards developing your final book project.

Next week in addition to your first critique, we will be taking a short Midterm Exam that will be reviewing camera functions, exposure, and the ideas covered in the Barrett readings. Please take a look at all the handouts we've discussed. The slideshows we've looked at might be helpful as well. It also might be helpful to re-read Barrett based on the discussion we had in class.

Next week:
Midterm Exam - review handouts on exposure, camera controls, and Barrett readings

20-30 Prints - bring 20-30 NEW images as 4x6 prints, review critique guidelines
- Wallgreens, CVS, Adorama are just a few of the affordable places to get prints made by uploading your jpegs online. Please allow ample time to get your images printed. Waiting until the last minute, mishaps with printing, and prints not being ready in time will not be an excuse for not having work each week. Plan ahead. 
- You will also be graded on your participation in critique of your peers work. Bring a notebook to jot down ideas and comments, and review the critique guidelines to give you some ideas for how to engage verbally with your classmates' work.

Final Book Project- Review the final book assignment prompt to get an idea for the eventual goal of your 20-30 images assignments. I will be bringing in some books next week for us to look at and suggest some places for you to go to look at other photography books for inspiration.

See you all next week!

Week 5 - Color and Composition

After looking at the homework, we did a crafty composition exercise arranging squares on a blank canvas to create illustrations of different words.

  

Then we used that as a jumping off point to discuss the basic elements of photographic composition.



We did an overview of the oral presentation which will be due in week 9 (04/01). The next step is to start looking at other photographer's work so you can choose a photographer to present on for your oral presentation in week 7 (03/18). The blog post to claim your photographer should include the photographer's name, 2-3 images of their work and a few sentences about why you chose them. Each student must choose a unique photographer - first one to claim that photographer via blog post gets to present on them.

Good resources for finding a photographer's work include:

• Going to see shows 
• See last week's blog post with suggestions for your exhibition review 
• You might like to do your presentation on a photographer whose work you see in person
• If you would like to do this be sure to claim your photographer sooner rather than later via blog post as multiple students may see the same show
• The library
• Marymount library (limited collection, but some photo books)
• New York Public Library, Mid Manhattan Branch has a great collection of photo books that you can walk through and browse the stacks 
• Looking at magazines or photo books in bookstores (Kinokuniya, Dashwood Books, Rizzoli, MoMA bookstore, Strand, Housingworks Bookstore are all good sources of art and photography books)
• Online research is ok but if you find a photographer this way make sure you there is enough information out there about this photographer that you can give a comprehensive presentation including historical information about the photographer's life and contextual information about specific photographs

HOMEWORK

• Assignment 4 - Composition, due next session (03/04) as blog post and image files due to your Google Drive folder
• Assignment 5 - Exhibition Review is also due next session (03/04)
• Start thinking about which photographer you'd like to present on for your oral presentation

Week 3 - Lenses and Depth of Field

This week we discussed lenses, focal length, depth of field, and shooting modes.



Two handouts with further information on focal length and shooting modes can be found in this folder.




We also discussed Assignment 5 which will be an Exhibition Review. Here are two organizations in NYC that specialize in photographic exhibitions:

• Aperture, 547 W 27th St 4th fl, New York, NY 10001

• International Center of Photography Museum, 250 Bowery, New York, NY 10012

Another way to find shows to see is to visit nyartbeat.com and click on the “photography” heading which will give you a list of many of the photographic shows currently on view in NYC.

Here are a few recommended shows that are currently on view:

• Larry Sultan “Domestic Theater” Yancey Richardson Gallery
• “Aperture Photographs” Exhibition Aperture Gallery
• Andy Warhol “Polaroid Portraits” Paul Kasmin Gallery (297 10th Ave.)
• Andy Warhol “From A to B and Back Again” The Whitney Museum of American Art
• David Lachapelle “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” Staley-Wise Gallery
• Candida Höfer “In Mexico” Sean Kelly Gallery
• “Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now” Exhibition Guggenheim Museum
• For Freedoms: Where Do We Go From Here? and Your Mirror: Portraits from the ICP Collection - International Center of Photography Museum

Week 01 - Welcome

Welcome to Digital Photography class and to the class blog. 

HOW TO USE THIS BLOG
Here you will find reviews of what happened in class each week as well as assignments and a look forward to what's happening next/due in subsequent weeks. 

You are responsible for saving this url and checking this blog WEEKLY for updates on class assignments. In the case of missed classes students are responsible for checking the blog, looking at any missed course materials (which are all linked and listed on this blog) and completing any/all assignments on time. 

This week in class we went over the basics of how the camera works. 

HOMEWORK

• Create your own personal class blog on blogger.com (see details below)
• Email the URL of your blog to the instructor
• Make sure you have successfully accessed the class Google Drive folder (this is restricted access, and necessary for completing assignments so if you cannot access it please email the instructor)
• Read Exposure handout - QUIZ on this information next week (know how to define exposure, aperture, shutter speed, ISO and stop)
• Shoot and upload Assignment 1 to your new personal blog and images for Part 1 to personal Google Drive folder - DUE NEXT CLASS

How to create your class blog

• Go to blogger.com
• Click on "Create Your Blog" (or "Sign In" if you already have an account)
• Sign into your Google account (or create one)
• Click on "Create Your Blog"

• If prompted by Google Domains for a domain name simply click "no thanks"

• (1.) Choose a professional, school-appropriate title for your blog that includes at least your first name
• (2.) Choose a blog address
• (3.) Then click "Create Blog"

• Once your blog is created, click on "Theme" in the lefthand column
• Change your blog's theme to "Simple"

• Click on "View Blog" (left panel, underneath blog title)
• Copy and paste the link address/url of your blog and email it to your professor (see syllabus on Google Drive for email address)
• To create new posts for your homework assignments click on "Posts" and then "New Posts" (orange button to the right of blog name). 

Google Drive How To

To view the Google Drive class folder with all course materials simply follow this direct link to the class folder and login with your Google account credentials. Or you can always go to drive.google.com, login with your Google credentials and then search for "Digital Photography Fall 2018" in the search bar.

To upload your photos to your own student work folder follow this direct link to the Student Work folder. Within that folder you should see only one folder with your name, double click -> Find the appropriate folder for your assignment, double click on it, click and drag all images into the folder. 

Throughout the semester if you have any issues with Google Drive please see support.google.com/drive to try and troubleshoot. If you still cannot resolve the issue, please contact your professor.