courses taught

Photo I is a silver-based photography course that develops competent skill with a 35mm camera and in the darkroom. Projects include: photograms; learning the camera, its controls, and the processes of negative and print development; understanding motion and depth of field; the challenges of portraiture and photographing "strangers"; and a final project of the students own design, as inspired by works of established artists shown in class.

Syllabus: Photo-I-Syllabus-Fa08.pdf

Sample Project Descriptions:
Project 1, Project 2, Project 3, Project 4, Final Project

In Photo II, students are introduced to advanced darkroom practices (fiber-based paper, split-filter printing, and medium and large format cameras), advanced digital techniques, and studio lighting. Students are encouraged to find their own vision through projects seeking meaning in images, making portraits, and developing a final portfolio project. Readings that lead to critical writings in contemporary photography are also included.

The Digital Photography class introduces students who are already familiar with 35mm cameras to the workings of DSLRs, camera flash, and digital printing. Color theory, effective composition, and non-destructive Photoshop editing techniques are emphasized. Projects range from an exploration of color and emotion, to a theme-based cohesive set of images, to "fabricated reality" using Photoshop, to using the scanner as an artistic capture device.

In Alternative Process Photography, students learn about hand-made approaches to photographic art. Skills are developed in pinhole photography as well as creating analog and digital negatives from film and digital originals. Artworks are created using liquid light, cyanotype, Van Dyke, and gum bichromate printing processes. Students are encouraged to explore and develop their own approaches, and they learn to approach the image and the medium as complementary.

The Photographic and Digital Imagemaking course develops the core principles of photography through understanding the controls of a 35mm camera and learning the processes of scanning film for manipulating and printing digitally. Emphasis is given to effective use of camera controls, proper exposure, conceptualizing images for future manipulation, solid skills in Adobe Photoshop, and quality digital printing techniques.

[Taught in a lecture/lab format: a professor presents weekly lectures and adjunct instructors / graduate assistants cover weekly lab sessions and grading.]

Syllabus: Digital-Photo-syllabus-2941-3-Fa06.pdf

Sample Project Descriptions:
Project 1, Project 2, Project 3, Final Project

This intro-level digital photography course introduces students to the basic concepts and principles of lighting for photography. Students progress from natural lighting, to reflector-enhanced and fill-flash lighting, to studio lighting using hot lights and strobes. Emphasis is placed on proper light metering, color balance, and camera settings being established before image capture. Students learn how to shoot in full-manual mode, work with subjects from landscapes to objects to people, and begin to develop computer skills for manipulating RAW image files on the computer.

Syllabus: AI-Lighting-Syllabus-Fa13.pdf

Sample Project Descriptions:
Project 1, Project 2, Final Project

In this follow-up to the Lighting course above, students build upon their skills with studio lighting by using more complicated multiple-light setups, by learning how to use strobes on location, and by beginning to understand the intricacies of photographing complex surfaces such as glass and metal. Emphasis is placed on mastering light-control devices such as soft-boxes, snoots, grids, reflectors/cutters, and gels. Students are also introduced to professional studio practices, developing a final project that could serve as a portfolio for a studio business.

Syllabus: AI-Studio-Photography-Syllabus-Wi13.pdf

Sample Project Descriptions:
Project 1, Project 2, Final Project

View Camera Theory teaches students the principles of large format photography and tilt/shift lenses for digital photography. Students learn how to properly use lens shift and tilt by first employing tilt/shift lenses on their digital SLRs and then applying these skills with a studio view camera using a PhaseOne medium format digital back. Emphasis is placed on properly using shift to correct or manipulate perspective, on using tilt to enhance focus (Scheimpflug Principle) or to isolate focus, and on medium format digital capture. Students are also introduced to a number of large format photographers, choosing one about whom to write a research paper.

Syllabus: AI-View-Camera-Syllabus-Su14.pdf

Sample Project Descriptions:
Project 1, Project 2, Final Project

Advanced Lighting builds upon the skills taught in Lighting and Studio Photography. Students continue to enhance their professional studio skills and explore creative applications of studio and location lighting. Emphasis is placed on working with off-camera flash and multi-flash setups as a portable alternative to studio strobes. A professional and/or artistic body of work is created as the final project.

Syllabus: AI-Adv-Lighting-Syllabus-Su14.pdf

Sample Project Descriptions:
Project 1, Project 2, Final Project

Time-Based Media I and II are a pair of courses that introduce photography students to the principles of video and the video-capture capabilities of a digial-SLR. Students develop image and video editing skills in Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro. Commercial applications are emphasized for the photographer who may want to add video skills to his/her repertoire.

Syllabus: AI-Time-Based-Media-I-Wi14.pdf

Sample Project Descriptions:
Project 1, Project 2, Project 3, Final Project

E-Portfolio teaches students in their final year how to develop their work to be shared in various digital formats. Students learn how to prepare their work for sharing on a CD/DVD in cross-platform format, to prepare a PDF Portfolio Book of their work, and to give a PowerPoint presentation showcasing their portfolio. Through these skills, students are prepared to present their work in seeking employment in the photography industry or to promote themselves to potential clients.

Syllabus: AI-E-Portfolio-Wi14.pdf

Sample Project Descriptions:
Midterm Project, Final Project

This course was created as a “Special Topics” class for upper-level students. Students learned to master the use of an electronic flash, from manual and TTL modes, to bouncing and diffusing, to off-camera use, to multi-flash portrait setups utilizing wireless syncing. Students practiced and applied techniques for photographing events with a focus on professional skills for satisfying client needs.

Syllabus: AI-Flash-and-Event-Su13.pdf

Sample Project Descriptions:
Project 1, Project 2, Final Project

This advanced course in Photographic Lighting & Studio is a survey of the effects of light on the photographic image, from natural light through studio strobe setups. A wide variety of cameras are considered, from digital to film, 35mm to large format. Students learn to make photographic images, not just take them.

Syllabus: Lighting-and-Studio-Syllabus-Fa08.pdf

Sample Project Descriptions:
Project 1, Project 2, Final Project

This two-part web design course is an introduction to page and site design through the use of the Adobe Dreamweaver software. Students learn to incorporate both visual and textual methods to web design as they develop an understanding of the underlying HTML and CSS code. Projects progress from acquired-content single pages to self-defined multiple-page sites meeting students' individual needs for presence on the web.

[At the Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham, this pair of courses is specifically for Photography majors. At Florida State University, this curriculum was taught to graphic design and studio art majors in a single-semester course.]

View Course Site: www.pixelweavers.org, www.pixelweavers.net

Syllabus:
Web Portfolio I: AI-Web-Portfolio-I-Syllabus-Sp13.pdf
Web Portfolio II: AI-Web-Portfolio-II-Syllabus-Wi13.pdf
FSU Web Class: Web-I-Syllabus-Fa08.pdf

Sample Project Descriptions:
Web Portfolio I: Project 1, Project 2, Project 3 , Final Project
Web Portfolio II: Project 1, Project 2, Project 3, Final Project
FSU Web Class: Project 1, Project 2, Final Project

The main objective of the Catalyst for Art Making course is to show students new possibilities, ideas, and approaches – to provide them with a catalyst for their art making. The course structure consists of weekly slide lectures, each introducing a different artist and his/her approach to art making, and a film/video series that augments these slide lectures with additional perspectives, both traditional and unconventional.

[As a Teaching Assistant, filling in for Professor Jim Roche who had to take leave mid-semester.]

Syllabus: Catalyst-for-Art-Making-Syllabus-Fa08.pdf
[this syllabus is my direction to the course for the second half of the semester]

In Survey of Studio Art Practices, students are introduced to the approaches and critical methods of the study of contemporary visual arts. The course looks at the many ways and media that artists use to create their works. An emphasis is also given to visual perception in contemporary art and design and basic art-making skills.

Syllabus: Survey-of-Art-Sp09.pdf

Sample Project Description:
Survey-of-Art-Book-Project.pdf

The Photography for Non-Majors course presents the basic and essential skills to using a camera effectively along with the important concepts to creating compelling compositions. Students’ own photographs taken throughout the course are used as the primary teaching tool, complemented by looking at the work of contemporary photographers. An emphasis during the Florence Study Abroad program is given to “travel photography”, so that students go home with an exciting and visually-appealing record of their time abroad.

Syllabus: Photo-NonMajors-Sp09.pdf

During this course, students study how photographic images are used in advertising and publication, both through the review and discussion of current work in the field as well as learning the techniques for creating their own promotional pieces. An additional goal of this workshop is to address social and environmental issues in Taiyuan and the surrounding areas through the use of advertisement.

Syllabus: China-Advertising-Photo-syllabus.pdf

The Photographic Composition course covers the important elements to producing effective and compelling composition. Students learn how the elements of composition can make the difference between an average and a great photograph, and to recognize the best composition as they look through the camera’s viewfinder – learning to see through the lens.

Syllabus: China-Composition-Syllabus.pdf

During the EnviroChina program, students explore the city of Taiyuan and the surrounding Shanxi province through digital photography and other imagery, with a focus on the environmental and social issues faced in this large, coal-mining-economy city. Students in the program then create design artworks from their imagery, which are shared through the envirochina web site and developed into an exhibit for display at their university gallery and for later exhibition in America.

Syllabus: EnviroChina-syllabus.pdf

Lighting Techniques
Carrboro ArtsCenter, Carrboro, NC (Winter 2005, Spring 2005)
Durham Arts Council, Durham, NC (Spring 2004, Fall 2004)

Exploring Photographic Composition
Durham Arts Council, Durham, NC (Spring 2004, Fall 2004)

[Both of these courses were part of the Making a Living in Photography certificate program through Durham Technical Community College.]

Workshops led in:
Composition
Preparing PDF Portfolios
Flash Photography
Studio Lighting
Matting, Mounting, and Framing