Digital Photo and Imaging I
Fall 06
Dr. Andrew Atkinson
Mondays, Wednesdays 10a-12.30pm, 5.30-8pm Room 230 Calcia Hall.
Office hours: Mondays 12-1pm, Tuesdays 10am-12pm, Tel. x4103
Email: atkinsona@mail.montclair.edu
Course Objectives and Description
to further your personal vision, and contribute to their body of work
to introduce you to digital photography, digital cameras and the digital darkroom
to encourage you to examine issues within contemporary photography, and how to describe, interpret, evaluate and contextualise photographs -
- and to use these issues and ideas to advance their aesthetic-critical abilities, through critiques and written papers
This studio course is centred around the student developing their artistic voice, and their written and spoken critical skills through set and open assignments. This development will be guided through critique, buttressed through museum and gallery visits and reinforced through their attendant papers. Technically, photographic software is introduced, as is the use of the 35mm format in digital photography, and of scanners and printers.
Grading
You will be evaluated upon the quality of the body of work, with greatest emphasis upon the large final project and your ability to contextualize it through a statement and defend it through group discussion; through the scholarship in the written essay; and finally through their technical ability, attendance and contribution to the class.
A an 'A' grade will show excellence in the execution of the work, in active discussion and participation in the class, and the presentation skills of the work.
B will demonstrate the same but with above average quality
C with average quality
D showing below average quality
Attendance is mandatory, two absences are allowed, beyond that a grade will be deducted for every class that is missed. Turning up more than 15 minutes late will result in attendance marked as absent. Work that is submitted late will also be reflected in a lower grade.
Required Materials
A digital camera - if you do not wish to buy a digital camera, these can be rented from the Photo Lab in Rm.131. We have a selection of Nikon Coolpix cameras and several of the brand new Nikon D70.
Flash drive for transporting data
Writable CD's for archiving data.
The Books Below.
Reading List
required
Kelby, S., The Photoshop CS2 Book for Digital Photographers, New Riders, 2005.
Barrett, T., Criticizing Photographs, McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Suggested further reading
Anon., The Photo Book, Phaidon, 1997.
Batchen G., Each Wild Idea, MIT Press, 2002.
Bayer. J, Reading Photographs, 1977.
Brown, Russel, The PhotoShop Show, Peach Pit/Adobe, 2004.
Eismann, Katrin, Real World Digital Photography, 2nd Edition, Peach Pit, 2004.
Fraser, Bruce, Real World Camera RAW with PhotoShopCS, Peach Pit/Adobe, 2003.
Grey, Tim, Color Confidence, Sybex, 2004.
Litt, S., et al., Mac OS X Bible, John Wiley and Sons, 2004.
Lister, Martin (ed.), The photographic image in digital culture, Routledge, 1995.
Marien, M., Photography: a Cultural History, Lawrence King, 2002.
Milburn, Ken, Digital Photography Expert Techniques, O'Reilly, 2003.
Mitchell, W., The Reconfigured Eye, MIT Press, 1992.
Sabau, Luminita, The Promise of Photography, Prestel, 1999.
Thompson, Jerry, Truth and Photography, Dee, 2004.
Outline
Week 1 Syllabus, lecture: introduction to 35mm digital photography and cameras.
Out of class: “roll” of images – i.e. 35
Week 2 Lecture: the digital aspects of digital photography
(file formats, resolution, bit depth etc, etc)
Aperture, shutter speed, ISO lecture and assignment
Out of class: “roll” of images
Chapters 1 + 2 Criticizing Photographs
Week 3 Basic editing: color-to-B&W, cropping, contrast, levels, curves.
Preparing images for the web
Setting up online portfolios
Quiz: Chapters 1 + 2
Out of class: posting images online,
variations of edited images,
Chap’s. 3 + 4 Criticizing Photographs
Week 4 Critique on
shutter speed, aperture, ISO
demo on more basic editing: selecting, copying, moving.
Chapters from editing text book.
Quiz: Chapters 3 + 4
Out of class: Chap. 5 Criticizing Photographs
Week 5 Lecture: portraiture
Re-touching the self-portrait
basic color correction, liquifying, extraction.
Assignment: roll of self-portraits, retouched
Out of class: Chap. 6 Criticizing Photographs
Week 6 Demo: printing
Survey lecture on lC19th – mC20th photographers
Assignment: prints of self portrait, 5 others
Quiz: Chapters 5 + 6
Assignment: begin paper, Chap’s. 7 + 8 Criticizing Photographs
Week 7 History composite
basic compositing techniques
Assignment: B&W portrait, 3 composites, 3 prints
Week 8 Street Photography
lecture: modernist photography and surrealism
Kertesz, Cartier-Bresson, Evans, Frank et al.
Assignment: street photography – 4 rolls, 5 prints
plus 'Mystery Project' - with graduate assistant
Week 9 Mid term critique
Week 10 Environmental Portrait
lecture: photojournalism / Environmental Portrait
Assignment: social landscape – 4 rolls, 10 prints
Week 11 final project – 20 images - printing and critiques
Week 12-14 final project – 20 images - printing and critiques
Week 15 Final critique and assessment
