AndrewAtkinson.net

Digital Photo and Imaging I

Spring

Dr. Andrew Atkinson

Mondays 5-10pm Room 230 Calcia Hall.

Office hours: by appointment: 3-5pm monday.

Email: atkinsona@mail.montclair.edu

Web: www.andrewatkinson.net

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 in a group discussion; through an exam; through scholarship and thoroughness in the presentation (see the guide); and finally through your technical ability, attendance and contribution to the class.

Specifically the grade is broken down as this:
Initial Assignments - 15%
Self Portrait - 10%
Mid Term - 20%
Presentation - 10%
Street Photography - 10%
Envrironmental Portrait - 10%
Final Project - 15%
Studenship/Contribution - 10%

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 twice will result in attendance marked as absent. Work that is submitted late will also be reflected in a significantly lower grade. No work is excepted after the final exam.

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.