MCC HU 2161 Section 30 CRN#10061
Rooms HH-109 and HH-110
Teacher: Paul Light
781 280 3871
paul@lightwavephoto.com
http://www.lightwavephoto.com
Tuesdays + Thursdays 10:50AM - 1:35PM
Required reading
There is no required book for this class. I expect you to look at the following websites very carefully
1 Keith Carter
http://keithcarterphotographs.com
2 Michael Kenna
http://www.michaelkenna.net
3 Martha Casanave
http://www.marthacasanave.com
4 Jerry Uelsmann
http://www.uelsmann.net
Also look at the student photographs that I have posted of photographs from previous classes.
MCC Catalog Listing
Examines photography as a fine art form and as a tool for communication and personal expression. Emphasis on exposure, development, printing and aesthetics of photographic vision. Students must provide their own camera (35mm or 120 format).
Instructional Goals/Objectives
1 Basic usage of 35mm camera
2 Black and White Film Development
3 Black and White Printing
4 Using Photography to Create Fine Art
Class Description
This class is an introduction to basic photographic principles of using a camera and making black and white prints. All students will be expected to know these principles as well as how to use them in such a way as to produce inventive and original photographs.
Each class will consist of 3 parts
Part 1 Looking at Photographs 10:50-11:20
Part 2 Taking Pictures 11:20-11:50
Part 3 Making Prints 12:05-1:35
During the first class we will not be spending time making prints. During the second class we will only develop film. We will not make prints. This will be the only topic of discussion that day.
Beginning the third class, from 10:50am to 11:20am we will talk about prints. Prints will be graded outside of class time and returned to students at the beginning of the next class. We will talk about your prints, my prints and photographs from the required websites. We will be using the websites as a visual dictionary. We will be using it as a standard to how people use photographs to communicate with the world at large.
From 11:20am to 11:50am we will talk about taking pictures. We will begin by discussing any questions that you have about your camera relative to the camera topic we are discussing for that class. Occasionally I will take a picture with one of my cameras to demonstrate a concept.
This will be followed by a 15 minute break from 11:50pm to 12:05pm where you are free to take a break. During this time I will be setting up the darkroom.
The last part of class, 12:05pm to 1:35pm will be reserved for printing. It will take about 15 minutes to set up the darkroom and the last 15 minutes will be reserved for cleanup. All printing must stop at 1:20pm
Grading and Attendance Policies
All students will be required to produce black and white prints of subjects and techniques of their own choosing. Students who would prefer assignments from me rather than choose a subject on their own should feel free to ask me. Students given an assignment by me are not obligated to fulfill it. It is a suggestion only.
One photograph is due each class except the second class. Prints must be at least 8"x10". No grades are final without proof of negatives and contact sheets. No color photographs or digital prints will be accepted.
The school has a darkroom which you will have access to that is set up for black and white darkroom work only. Work will be graded primarily on one's ability to make an inventive and original photograph rather than on technical things like how dark or light the photograph is or how much textural detail is evident. Photographs passed in late lose 3 points per day. In some special circumstances students will be given an extra class to produce a photograph.
Students will be graded only on photographs produced during the semester. Please do not bring in photographs shot before the class started. Each of the grades will be of equal weight. They will be averaged together to produce a final grade. This average is tabulated after each class and that grade is available on request.
There is no midterm or final exam. You will be given two sick days. After this each absence will cost you 10 points from your final grade. In other words, suppose your final grade was 81, but you missed six classes. The first two absences would not affect your grade, but the other four would reduce your grade to a 41. Each time a student arrives more than 15 min. late or leaves early without my permission 5 points will be deducted from their final grade. If the final class is missed 10 points will be deducted from the final grade.
All grades will be made numerically. The MCC grading system works as follows
A=93-100
A-=90-92
B+=87-89
B=83-86
B-=80-82
C+=77-79
The numerical grade is only a working standard. The registrar's office only records letter grades. So, a person with a 93 will get the exact same grade as a person with a 98.
50% of your grade is based on how well you are using your equipment. That
includes use of camera and darkroom.
50% of your grade is based on the content of your photograph. A content rich photograph or a photograph that shows a sense of vision is very similar to a poem. The poem is slowly and carefully thought out. It is edited very carefully. Each line is constructed with great care. Every word is chosen carefully. I want you to do the same in your photographs. Choose where to stand, the angle of your camera and the lighting very carefully.
Technical competence cannot be substituted for sense of vision and vice versa. Both are expected be clearly evident components of all of your photographs.
I only give straight A's (93-100) to students who have gone way beyond the rest of the group and have clearly demonstrated the ability to produce that is both technically outstanding and shows a sense of vision
A- (90-92) is the grade for work that is somewhat technically outstanding and somewhat shows a sense of vision.
B+ (87-89) is for work that goes beyond the basics of making a photograph and shows some merit.
B (83-86) signifies that you have successfully completed the assignment.
B- (80-82) indicates that the photograph has some deficiencies.
C+ (77-79) is given to photographs that demonstrate a limited grasp of what are the elements that make up a good photograph.
Grades below C+ (0 - 76) are given for various degrees of deficiency or more often as a penalty for handing in any given photograph after the deadline.
Method of Evaluation
Your grade for each print is made up of 3 parts
25% Technical camera use
25% Technical printing ability
50% Content
This is a measure of your ability to observe animals, people or spaces amd then turn this into a photograph that is more than a simple visual record of what you saw. You will be judged on (1) choice of where to stand, (2) choice of camera angle, (3) choice of lighting. In all of these situations I expect bold experimentation resulting in surprising and original visual images.
Decide on each of these very carefully. Look at the required websites and see how professional photographers use distance, angle and lighting.
Assignments submitted that ignore content issues will be given a maximum grade of 50.
One print is due at the beginning of each class beginning the fourth class. Prints passed in at the end of class will be graded as one day late. Prints must be at least 8"x10".
The Darkroom
The darkroom is Room 110 in Henderson Hall (Building 3) on the Bedford campus. In addition to class time, there are open darkroom sessions. The days and hours will be posted on the darkroom door. A darkroom monitor will be there at all times to assist you. Darkroom work will be limited to black and white processing only.
Supplies
Students may work with any materials they find appropriate to make photographs. Some recommended materials are Kodak Tri-X Film, Kodak t-Max 100, Ilford HP5, Ilford FP4+ and Ilford Multigrade IV RC Deluxe Paper.
One good store to buy photography supplies is Zeff Photo Supply (617 489 3311) - Belmont, MA. An excellent nearby store is Cameraland at 98 Main St. in Nashua, NH (603 883 7911). I buy most of my supplies online and by phone from B&H, Calumet, Freestyle, and Levine's.
Bedford Photo at 363 Great Road (781 275 4388) - Bedford, MA offers film processing and printing for both black & white and color. They are in the Great Road Village mall across from the Shell station and next to D'Angelo's. They are open from 8-6 on weekdays and 9-3 on Saturdays. They offer a 15% student discount providing you bring in a current syllabus and a Middlesex ID card. Another nearby lab that offers quick and high quality black and white film processing and printing is Image Inn at 1167 Massachusetts Ave. (The cross street is Forest St.) (781 646 7158) - Arlington, MA.
A good place to have broken cameras fixed is down the street from Image Inn at Sanford Camera Repair at 1056 Massachusetts Ave. (781 648 2505) - Arlington, MA
Handle processed film with great care. It fades with too much exposure to direct sunlight and scratches very easily. Negatives should be stored in archival quality plastic storage sheets, such as those produced by Print File. I use Print File pages #35-7BXW. Each page will store 42 frames of film. These are only available in large quantities of 100 sheets and cost ~$22.50.
Do not leave cameras, lenses, film or paper in your car on hot days. All of these things are easily damaged by exposure to heat over 80ºF.
Schedule
You will be expected to do at least 3 hours of work outside of class between each class. Outside work will include taking pictures, making prints and looking at websites. Look over the schedule carefully as to what days we will be in the darkroom and what days we will not be in the darkroom.
#1 May 30
Photography as Art
Emmet Gowin
Harry Callahan
Keith Carter
Michael Kenna
Mark Citret
Olivia Parker
Types of film
Exposure meters
Choosing a camera
#2 June 1
Developing black and white film
We will not be printing during this class
Negatives should be stored in archival quality plastic storage sheets, such as those produced by Print File. I use Print File pages #35-7BXW. You will need a plastic storage sheet to take your negatives home.
For the next class bring the negatives developed today, printing paper and your camera. Please bring printing paper and your camera to all of the remaining classes.
#3 June 6
Work Prints
#4 June 8
Printing Filters
#5 June 13
Contact Printing
For the next class bring negatives and printing paper as well as Spotone #3 and a 000 Sable Watercolor brush.
#6 June 15
Spotting.
#7 June 20
Burning
#8 June 22
Dodging
#9 June 27
Shutter Speed
#10 June 29
Aperture
#11 July 6
Wide Angle Lenses
#12 July 11
Long lenses
#13 July 13
Adding Light
#14 July 18
Camera Filters
#15 July 20
Moving Beyond Boundaries
Paul Light
paul@lightwavephoto.com
http://www.lightwavephoto.com/mcchu2161su.html
All text by Paul Light is copyrighted 1987-2006 Paul Light
All rights reserved on text by Paul Light
Last revised May 25, 2006
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