Photography Graduate at Minneapolis College Of Art & Design
This course introduces students to the tools and techniques of analog black-and-white photography. Technical lectures and demonstrations cover 35mm camera operation, film processing, and black-and-white wet-room printing with a variety of paper types. Camera operations covered include aperture, shutter speed, film speed, depth of field, movement, and light meters. Students are encouraged to create a dynamic work flow that includes shooting, processing, interpreting contact sheets, printing, and critique. Class lectures, readings, library visits, and research introduce students to the canon of photographic history, including a broad range of genres, historical contexts, and artistic practices.
This class is designed to develop and expand ideas about photographic representation through expanding students’ range of interests and uses of the medium. Both digital imaging techniques and silver-based materials are explored with an eye toward expansion and experimentation. Projects include invented persona writing, pinhole pictures, the body and expressive gesture, cross-media appropriation, and an independent project. Critiques, discussions, readings, writing, visual lectures, field trips, and student presentations augment assignments, projects, and the use of the digital photo lab and medium-format cameras.
This course concentrates on various photographic color materials. Students acquire a working understanding of color film, Kelvin scale, medium-format cameras, the relationship of analog and digital output, mural printing, and professional presentation. In addition, students discuss image relationships and meaning, editing, curating, and post-production as opportunities to improve their work through critique and discussion. An oral presentation and semester-long project concentrate on the roles research, ideation, image selection, and writing play in the creation of a cohesive body of work. Lectures, readings, research, class discussions, and field trips support all aspects of the course.
This course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the aesthetic, technical, theoretical, and conceptual issues related to artificial lighting. Although photographic lighting is emphasized, a variety of media image production is addressed. Topics include the physical properties of light and shadow, continuous light and electronic flash, metering, studio lighting, location lighting, and color compensation. Assignments cover a range of subjects including portraiture, still life, and architecture. In addition to the technical and practical aspects of this course, students are expected and encouraged to develop a personal aesthetic and conceptual foundation for their work. Topics will be addressed through a series of lectures, demonstrations. and critiques for each assignment.
This class is a thorough exploration of the materials, processes, and techniques of large-format (4×5″ negatives or larger) photography. Students acquire a working understanding of large-format camera technique, including camera movements such as tilts, swings, and shifts, as well as perspective correction. This course emphasizes advanced understanding of negative exposure, sheet-film processing, tonal-range manipulation, digital scanning, and large-format output. Contemporary issues and concepts are explored through reading, visual research, and discussion and then applied through a series of visual problems. Students are evaluated on individual projects, critiques, a final portfolio, discussions, and quizzes.
The central goal of this class is the understanding and shaping of photographic meaning through book conception and production. Projects and exercises develop skills in sequence, image layout, image and text relationships, and physicality. A major portion of the class is devoted to producing a book of one’s own work. Creative use of page layout software, refinement of digital printing techniques, and the use of online publishing software are explored. Activities also include critiques, image and book lectures, technical demonstrations, field trips, and student presentations.
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an extensive and thorough expertise in digital photography. Through a series of in-depth demonstrations and lectures students address advanced techniques of image capture, enhancement, and output such as RAW-file workflow and digital mural printing. The course is organized around a series of assigned exercises, projects, and critiques and results in the creation of a photographic portfolio.
This course is designed to enable and support students working on independent projects in photography. Students are encouraged to articulate concerns and shape them into a body of work. Appropriate advanced technical skills and readings are introduced with particular attention to verbal and written critical skills. Critiques, image lectures, discussions, technical demos, student presentations, journals, and exhibition/publication submissions encourage individual investigation and creative expansion