The images on this section of web site consists of the work done by the students of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. This is a not-for-profit degree awarding institution. Its three faculties focus on undergraduate degrees in the fields of Architecture, Design and Fine Arts, developing and training highly sought after graduates for the local industry.

I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it.  ~ Author Unknown

About IVS ::.

The Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture was founded in 1989 by a group of professional architects, designers and artists who believed that Karachi was in critical need of a school of excellence encompassing the disciplines of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture. All the degrees share a broad-based Foundation Studies course in the first year of studies, with slight variations for students of different faculties. The second year leads to more focused studies directly under each department. The studies are supported throughout the curriculum with Liberal Arts studies as well.

Photography at the IVS :: The How Why and What ::.

It’s been over ten years now since I started to teach at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. So much has changed since my earlier years here. The key new addition is the chance to teach and work with the fine art students, which is in the school’s history, a first time ever at a minor level. In these past years I have had a wonderful and a diverse bunch of young ladies and gents, who not only impressed me with their potential in learning and expressing themselves with photography, but also in reviving in Karachi – Pakistan the lost art of black and white photography.

The curriculums in the following pages have evolved and grown with an assortment of experimentation, trials and errors, after a research work of nearly seven years. These photography courses are shown on the website in 5 levels, which comprise of photographic galleries, course outlines plus selected course reference web-links and are at present being taught here in the Communication Design Department. With the passing of time the number of students have grown and their skills have excelled to new levels, which in its own way facilitated photography much, as its being finally recognized as a valid form of expression in the fine art realm. Future plans are bright as the school has recently expanded the studio and darkroom spaces. Since other departments have enlisted this subject, as a part of a course completion requirement, photography is taught as a minor subject to the fine arts students as well, which will in the near future lead to more specialized courses (Alternative Photography Processes).

Of course, there will always be
those who look only at technique, who ask "how,"
while others of a more curious nature will ask "why."
Personally, I have always preferred
inspiration to information.

~ Man Ray

Communication Design Department ::.

The department of Communication design incorporates Graphic design and Advertising Design as a consolidated major.The minors offered are Photography, Illustration, Printmaking and Film & Video.The photography course provides a communication design student with the general principles of photography relevant to the field and applicable to designers. The basic concepts and terminology, traditional and digital photography, composition, color methods and equipment are covered. Students learn to place and optimize captured images for print projects. In the 4,5,6,& 7 th semester students may choose photography as their minor.

The first section of the page to the gallery has the course outlines and suggested links collection for the students to use as a study guide to the course, and the following gallery holds the images contributed by various students over the years the course has been taught .Visit the various levels to understand the courses and the galleries to see the work over the years.

Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution

~ Ansel Adams

Communication Design Photography Galleries ::.

The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking

~ Brooks Anderson

Fine Art Photography Galleries ::.

FA 4th Semester :: Gallery ::. basics of black & white photography and 35mm camera operation. [ sorry under constrction please try later]
FA 5th Semester :: Gallery ::. intermediate level; also the first minor in photography with special effects techniques.
FA 6th Semester :: Gallery ::. second minor in photography; learning the fundamentals of studio lighting skills.
FA 7th Semester :: Gallery ::. final minor project; developing a visual conceptual theme for the final portfolio, plus experiments in Alternative Photography Processes.

::. Optimized for PC Viewing - Mac monitors will render the images lighter than intended.