AWT3 Course Outline

Welcome! AWT3M is a Visual Arts course, officially titled “Non-traditional Media”. You might think of it as “Photography”, and you’d be mostly right. Our medium of choice is photography, and we explore Visual Art themes this way. We don’t just learn how to shoot pictures – we approach photography as artists, looking at things like aesthetics as much as the technical side.

Photography is about the capturing of light to create images.

Major Themes include:

· Capture Technology: how are images recorded – cameras, film, photo paper, sensors; photograms, pinhole cameras, film cameras, digital cameras; history of photography

· Display/Development – darkroom chemistry & procedures; monitors, display software (single image, slide show, collage/montage, animation, projection); printing

· Exposure : reading light, controlling the amount of light and exposure time; compensation

· Composition & Critiquing: elements and principles; rules of thumb; what makes a "great" photo vs. an ordinary photo? What ruins a photo?

· Manipulation: darkroom tricks; Photoshop; layering, collages; digital file storage

· Significance: why shoot photos?; photographic art; photojournalism; commercial photography; great photographers

Photo Shoots

Of course a major part of the course is shooting and processing photos. Here are some of the variables:

• Alone or in pairs? You’ll do both.
• Film or digital? We start with older technology – exposing and developing film and photo paper, then leap into the digital age.
• Photo Exposure Record – Every image that you hand in, whether printed or in a digital file, must be documented: what were the conditions, the camera settings, and your intentions.
• Assessment or Evaluation? Some of the photo shoots are for practice. I’ll give you feedback, and check that they’re done. Other shoots will be evaluated as part of your course mark.

Photo Shoots We’ll Do (we’ll try to squeeze in as many as possible):

Photogram; Pinhole: DOF, ghost, time; film basics: exposure, focus, clarity; B&W art; motion & panning blur, frozen action (digital); portrait; sports; documentary/photojournalism; lines; contrast; texture; still life composition; repetition; sequence; a process; micro/macro/wide angle; landscape; nature; shadow/traces; low light; night; flash; into the light; colour; theme shots

Class Activities

There’s a lot going on in this course. Here’s a list of some of the common activities you’ll take part in:

• Slide Shows – view, critique & learn from photos shot by the teacher, students, or found on the net
• Critiques – learn from commentary on your work as we go
• Lectures, writing notes
• Lessons
• Videos
• Guests
• Demonstrations
• Photo Shoots
• Processing shots – tanks, darkroom, computer, scanner
• Printing
• Investigation e.g. file sizes; comparing the same shot with different ISO or compression
• Documenting shots & assembling for display/submission
• Research: finding photos, techniques, photographers, social aspects
• Work sheets
• Tests
• Journaling
• Tests

Notebook/Journal

You are required to bring your notebook every day. What should be in it?

• Some classes will include lectures and demonstrations where you need to take notes. These will assist you with assignments and when studying for tests
• Photo shoots require documentation. Your notebook is the place to jot down details of what you shot, when, and how, as well as your comments
• Journaling – As you develop as a photographic artist, chronicle the advances you make. Use words and sketches and pasted-in prints to capture the discoveries, the experiments, the mistakes, the successes, the thoughts you have on the process, ideas for future work, reactions to your own and other artists’ work, and random inspirational doodles! This is your soul on paper!

Evaluation

The list of assignments and other evaluations shifts every semester, because I like to respond to the needs and abilities of the class, as well as opportunities that spring up. Follow the links and dates on the main index page to see what’s due and when.

Here are the evaluation categories:

Photo Shoots	40%
Research assignments	15%
Tests & Quizzes	15%
Summative Activities	30%