The students in this course are to learn the basics of 35mm camera operation. They will also learn black and white film processing and printing.

A photograph can be as striking and as haunting as a great painting or a fine poem ~ Anonymous

Course Outline Download :: FA 4th Semester Gallery :: Reference Links ::.

Course Objectives & Outline ::.

You will be taught the basics of 35mm camera operation and black and white film processing and printing. The purpose is to familiarize students with the use of the camera and darkroom as their means to a creative, visually communicative language. The course covers the study of the camera, film, lens and exposure; light, composition, developing and printing; and the history and aesthetics of photography.
          
Course Requirements ::.

::. Six black & white prints demonstrating the transformative powers of framing and play of light.
::. One photogram displaying significant shapes and tonal interest

Assignments

1. The Frame

::. Design and Pattern in Natural and Urban Environments
::. Design and Pattern Using the Human Form

The assignment requires an investigation of natural or man-made designs and patterns in our surroundings with emphasis on the play of light and shadow. This will help develop an understanding of how different ways of framing affect both the emphasis and meaning of the subject matter. The final images should demonstrate how the frame could be used to create compositions of shape, line, and pattern. You are to create three sets of images. Two of the sets deal with inanimate subjects, one will deal with people. Each set will contain two images of the same subject: One should be an overall view clearly communicating what the subject is; the other should be a close-up that is recognisably different from the previous image.

2. Photogram (in the darkroom)

This assignment is to help you learn how to make an image on photographic paper without the aid of a camera. The purpose of the assignment is also to familiarize students with the darkroom facilities and equipment. A photogram is a contact print made by placing something opaque or translucent on light-sensitive material. This blocks some of the light, resulting in a pattern or image on the photographic paper (light-sensitive material) when it is exposed to light and processed.

Material Required ::.

Sheets of photographic paper may be used as the light-sensitive material. You are to select objects with varying levels of translucency, carefully chosen for their shape, texture, and size, to block out the light. Things that have interesting shapes can be arranged in interesting patterns. The possibilities are endless, and the following are some suggested materials:

::. Dried flowers and leaves
::. Toothpicks, pins, other small objects
::. Seeds, marbles, beads
::. Household objects and tools
::. Glassware, lenses
::. Plastic (objects, crumpled sheets)
::. Sand, salt, sugar etc.
::. String, hair, thread, wire
::. Crumpled tissue paper
::. Paper cut-outs, lace
::. Collaged negatives
::. Overhead transparencies
::. Drawings on plastic, glass or tracing paper
::. Use your hands to form interesting shapes
::. Arrange thinly sliced fruit
::. Flashlight pen size (with a cone of black chart paper to control the shape and size of the beam)
::. Small animals or insects

Submission Requirements ::.

Seven prints (the Six best photographs from the first two assignments and one photogram) presented in a portfolio. Canvas size: 5 X 7.5 inches (retain the 2:3 image ratio of the 35mm format and maintain a white border). Use 10 in. square, white/off-white window mounts and visually centralise the image; paste typed labels on the reverse.

The Darkroom and the Rules to Follow ::.

Producing prints calls for wide-ranging handling of light sensitive photographic paper, and processing in developing trays, a darkroom is therefore essential. The three most basic central features it requires are: light-leak proof, plumbing and electricity supplies and adequate ventilation. The best way to check how effectively your room is blacked out is to stand in the room on a bright day, allowing five to ten minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark. Slight beams of light will then be very evident and can be sealed over with black paper or tape. Try to organize your work area into clearly separated DRY (paper, enlarger, negatives, and power-supply) and WET (dishes, chemicals, hot and cold water) zones. This is essential to avoid wet finger marks and chemical stains on prints, negatives and equipment. Equally you must adopt the discipline of rinsing and drying your hands each time you change from a wet operation to a dry one.

::. Each student will leave each workstation in clean condition and neat order.
::. The last person to leave a work session is responsible for cleaning the lab, turning off all lights, turning off water, and locking the door.

Cleaning the darkroom means ::.

::. Returning all chemicals to their containers or disposing of them if they are exhausted.
::. Rinsing all trays, tanks, reels and beakers used.Rinsing down the entire sink.
::. Sponging off all counters.
::. Mopping the floor.

::. Never leave the darkroom alone with water running.
::. Washing and drying film and prints are the responsibility of each student.
::. Never turn on the white light in the darkroom without every current user's permission.
::. Respect other people's work in the darkroom.
::. Dry prints may be taken off dry screens or drying-line and placed in your personal print box.
::. Care must be taken to not damage school's valuable and limited equipment and MATERIALS.


Course Reference Links ::.

http://www.jennifershaw.net/index.html ::. When I go walking with my camera, the act of seeing becomes a process of emotional intuition, and these pictures serve as evidence of the strange and wonderful things I find. Most of the work presented here was created in New Orleans, my adopted hometown. It is, in part, a document of a fascinating city. It is also a personal exploration of the world I inhabit and a search for the sublime.

http://www.nickbrandt.com/popup.html ::. "The photographs of Nick Brandt are both beautiful and haunting. They come upon you in a flush of abundance that is almost impossible to recover from.... You are about to enter a world of the imagination where all the animals are real, both fragile and full of grace."

http://www.romanloranc.com/photographs.html ::. Loranc shapes the photo from start to finish. He operates a 4x5 Linhof field camera, shoots the majority of his photographs with a 210mm Nikkor lens, using Kodak's classic Tri-X film, and hand prints his negatives on multigrade fiber paper. The innate drama of the landscapes is reproduced through a variable split-toning (sepia and selenium) technique. All the printing, spotting, and archival mounting are done by the photographer.

http://www.anitaandrzejewska.netlin.pl/fotografie.html ::. a n i t a    a n d r z e j e w s k a     f o t o g r a f i e / p h o t o g r a p h s

http://www.barnbaum.com/imagery.html ::. Bruce Barnbaum: His photography expands upon the dynamics he finds in both nature and the works of man, relating forces to the sweeping forms that dominate his vivid imagery.

http://www.88.com/exposure/lowrez_i.htm ::. Welcome to EXPOSURE, this site was created to explain the concepts of modern photography. Total beginners and amateurs alike should find something of interest. You are highly recommended to check out the SIM-Cam a virtual camera to learn with.

http://library.thinkquest.org/11355/html/edindex2.htm ::. Expand your knowledge about photography. Whether you are an amateur or a professional studio photographer, you should find this information useful and intriguing. Continue on and see what the world of photography is all about.

http://home.earthlink.net/~chernewski/cubist.html ::. Photographer Anita Chernewski’s photogram's well worth a visit to look at.

http://www.galleryprint.com/micevski/curtains.html ::. Goran Micevski: “In my work I am trying to discover the material’s level of transparency. The technique of the photogram”....

http://www.sausage.boom.ru ::. Have a peek at black and white photography at its best, diverse subject matter.

http://members.aol.com/domesgrace ::. Cece Wheeler the photographer takes ordinary household objects and photographs them in such a way, that they appear graceful and magically beautiful.

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/pictureTaking ::. Welcome to Kodak's Guide To Better Pictures. This is a great reference site which you could refer to for as long as you are in this field of learning photography.

http://www.rhinn.com/ ::. Gérard RHINN’s black & white photographic works are probably the best examples for your assignments requirements. If this guy was in your class he would most certainly get an “A”.

http://www4.tpg.com.au/users/purdy ::. Susan Purdy’s photograms: This technique of image making requires a light source be passed through the white flowers to record their pellucid forms on light sensitive paper.

http://www.josefhoflehner.com/portfolios.html ::. "Josef Hoflehner takes a landscape and turns it into art" - Elizabeth Roberts, Black & White Photography Magazine, UK

http://www.marioabbatepaolo.com/index.html ::. Mario Abbatepaolo was born in Polignano a Mare, Italy, a small town near Bari. His artistic background includes studies at the Istituto Statale d'Arte in Bari . There he specialized in design and fine art ceramics. In Italy, he also worked as a graphic designer. Later, in New York, he studied at the International Center of Photography.

http://www.billschwab.com/index.html ::. Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1959, Bill Schwab’s fascination with photography began at an early age. With a Kodak Brownie and a home darkroom kit received as a gift from his father, he taught himself to process film and contact print at age twelve.

http://www.michaelkenna.net/html/index2.php4 ::. Simply one of the best Master black and white photographers around.

http://www.f45.com/html/mainfram.html ::. Art is an expression of life that transcends both time and space.  We must explore our own souls through art to give a new form and a new meaning to the nature of the world. Photography is my chosen medium to project my inner vision into the world, to state in aesthetic creation the deepest psychic and personal experiences of my being.  The creation of a photograph is the unfolding of the personality, the deepening of the personal dimension of the soul. There is a certain point in time, where the harmony of light, atmosphere, and spirit collide, a place in the cosmos where the rhythm of nature unfolds in front of the camera.  This can only happen once. I hope my fortuitous images bring to you the wonder I have seen.