Online class work 1, 6, 8th, 20th, 22nd
Come to class on the 27th, but online class on the 29th.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Timeline (Schedule)
COURSE # 341A SECT 001 COURSE TITLE: Documentary Photography
SPRING 2011
Instructor's Name: Prof. Sama Alshaibi
Office / Room Number: Room 16, Theater Building
Telephone Number: 720-272-2676
Email: Alshaibi@email.arizona.edu
Office Hours: 4:50-5:50 Tue/Thur
SPECIAL NOTE: THIS CLASS IS A WEB INHANCED COURSE; CLASSES ARE SPLIT BETWEEN ONLINE AND IN PERSON .
Course Description:
This course is an introduction to the great tradition of documentary photography. Students learn to see the world around them in a new way and produce a documentary project. The course requires reading and writing about photography, usually in response to films or blogging about their ongoing semester long project. The class emphasis is on thinking about why people photograph, what photographs do and do not mean to us, and on doing documentary work, on telling stories with photographs. This is not a technical class, and it should not be considered an "introduction to photography." I work on the assumption that any student signing up for the class has at least a minimal sense of the difference between f stops and T stops, and can find his or her way around a camera. While there will be some technical discussion in class, it will be limited. You must be able to print your own work (digital or traditional).
Do you need to own fancy equipment to take this class? No. But you do need to have equipment that will provide you with at least some flexibility as a photographer. You may shoot either film or digital – but if you shoot film, it's up to you to get your film processed and printed. I highly suggest that you shoot digitally, even if only to supplement a traditional method, because you will need to post often to your blog. You will spend hours scanning if you don’t shoot digitally.
Course Objectives: Course Objectives and expected Learning Outcomes
The purpose of this class is to explore the practice of documentary photography as applied to a subject of your choosing. The goal is for each student to produce a portfolio of twenty prints for final critique at the end of the semester. Students may work in the photographic medium of their choice, i.e. b/w silver gelatin, wet color or digital. Students are required to submit a written proposal and an artist statement for their work. Students are also required to make a multi media presentation of their semester long project. On the last day of class, a CD of JPEG’s as documentation of their portfolio of the entire semester must be submitted to the instructor + the multi media project. We will discuss unique multi-media presentations of your work and view samples. The field of documentary photography in professional practice has changed considerably over the past few years. We will address those changes in our course through out the semester.
Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to:
· demonstrate the ability to employ documentary photojournalism and documentary fine art techniques to capture photographs that contain the emotions, and circumstances of the people photographed.
· demonstrate the ability to construct a story in pictures, connected by a visually recognizable theme or topic.
· demonstrate the ability to complete assignments that document a specific pre-assigned subject matter in a professional, ethical manner.
· demonstrate an ability to discuss their work and the work of their classmates using the terms, classifications, and benchmarks of the professional photojournalist.
· demonstrate the ability to research, plan, and execute documentary photography assignments.
· demonstrate a personal approach to documentary photography by discretionary selection of subject matter, composition, exposure, and other tools and techniques of the documentary photographer
GRADING:
Grade Policies:
A: (90-100%) The student fulfills all course requirements and performs at a superior level.
B: (80-89%) The student fulfills all course requirements and performs at an above-average level.
C: (79-70%) The student fulfills all course requirements and performs at an average level.
D. (69-60%) The student fulfills all course requirements but performs at a below-average level.
E. (59% and below): The student fails to fulfill all course requirements and performs at a poor level.
Instructor specific assignment information:
Class attendance is mandatory for individual development and for valuable contributions that each class member is expected to give the group. These contributions of opinion, information, and discovery are an essential element for an exciting studio class. If you are missing too many classes due to circumstances beyond your control, please contact me IMMEDIATELY for accommodations. However, at some point, it might be necessary for you to repeat the course even though you are not at fault. For example, if you missed 3 weeks due to the flu, you will likely have to repeat this class. Three tardies equals one absence. Be prompt! I will not repeat what you missed. It is also your responsibility to inform me when you come in that you are late, not absent. Please do so at the end of class. You should inform me as soon as you know you will be missing class. Missing class for weeks and then contacting me to let me know your difficult circumstances are almost always grounds for suspicion and failing the class. It is YOUR responsibility to inform me of extended absences (surgery, death, etc.) promptly.
The grade of Incomplete will be assigned ONLY under the following circumstance: only a small percentage of the semester’s work is still outstanding and was not completed due to a documented medical emergency.
Work presented in this class must be current work, not work done previously. It is against School of Art policy to submit the same work to two different classes for credit in both. Plagiarism can result in an immediate E for the course.
Projects and Homework: I do not accept late work without a very significant reason (such as a death in the family). The flu does not excuse you from your assignments. Think of it as an exhibition. Would you tell the curator you weren’t feeling well and didn’t have your work for opening night? With only two assignments, you should never have an excuse for not being finished. You must gain my approval for final projects. Please do not abandon your projects mid or late in the semester because you are struggling making your first project work. If it becomes absolutely necessary for you to change your project, please consult with me first. We will have to agree on a new project and a plan for you to complete in a timely manner (including receiving critiques).
SPECIAL NOTE: MISSING YOURS OR YOUR CLASSMATES CRITIQUES IS LIKE MISSING EXAMS, WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO MAKE IT UP. DO NOT MISS CRITIQUE DAYS!
Suggestions:
Back-up all work in progress (for digital work). Always back-up everything!
Expect the unexpected. If you have an assignment due on Thursday, try to get it done a few days before. That way, if and when you are having technical problems, you will have some extra time to fix mistakes and troubleshoot.
Remember: It is always better to show what you are working on than to show nothing at all. We can try to solve the problem in class if necessary.
All assignments must be completed. Late assignments will be accepted only with my permission, and a penalty in one letter grade, and must be submitted within an agreed time frame (I must agree to the time frame, and we will put it in writing).
Grade Distribution:
Grades for this class will be awarded on the following basis:
Assignment 1: 10%
Assignment 2: 10%
Assignment 3: 10%
Final Project: 35% (prints) – artist statement is required and this grade will reflect whether or not you posted images to your blog as required in the schedule. Expect significant reductions to not having new work to show for every in progress critique, postings to the blog of works in progress, and individual meetings. I am not interested in seeing the same work cropped differently and color corrected. New work, and I will check the METADATA of your files if I suspect you are not shooting weekly through out the semester.
Final Project : 10% (multi –media project)
Postings/Writings to required items on blog, and in class participation: 25%
*this includes responding to the films and writing discussions that are assigned.
For a passing grade, each student must complete all the above.
Absence Policy:
All holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those students who show affiliation with that particular religion,
Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or Dean's designee) will be honored.
Three absences are allowed. Further absences will diminish your final grade as follows: 1-2 extra absences = 1 letter grade, 3 extra absences= 2 letter grades, anything more than this constitutes failure of my class. To be clear, if you miss six classes, you will fail.
Small Assignments:
1. Small Assignment One: Space Ship
(This exercise was originally conceived by Charles Harbutt for use in his workshops. I have made some modifications in it.)
This assignment is intended to test your imagination, and your ability to capture your ideas as images.
Assume for a moment that you are going to be leaving earth on a spaceship, never to return. There will not be any form of entertainment or decoration on the ship. You will not have any mirrors, films, works of art, etc. You will be eating processed food and drinking filtered urine. You may, however, bring 10 photographs with you.
In a 24 hours period, without consulting any of your classmates, make 10 photographic images that will sustain you on your voyage. We are not looking for great art; we are looking for personally meaningful images. It's up to you.
BRING TO CLASS 10 PRINTS! 8 x10 prints are fine. This does not have to go on your blog.
2. Small Assignment Two: A Picture Worth A Thousand Words
You will have spent the past week shooting photographs - from within 15 feet of your subjects and from their fronts - that tell stories. You will submit the one best photo from the week. You should not have to explain the photo to us. If we can't look at the image and get it, the photo fails its purpose. Remember, the only things a still photograph brings to a viewer are those things that are visible - what you heard, felt, thought, smelled, or cared about when you took the photo are meaningless if they are not conveyed by the light captured in a fraction of a second when your shutter is open.
You will submit a short paragraph or caption about the meaning or story of the photograph. You will keep the meaning a secret until the critique is over. Then you will read the caption to the class. The goal is that your intentions are understood. YOU WILL NOT FAIL THIS ASSIGNMENT IF IT DOESN’T SUCCEED. So please don’t cheat by telling a friend in the class the real meaning. You will learn nothing by doing so. We can properly show how to get your intentions and your actual work to line up if you take this chance. We are all in the same boat! Failure only happens when you do sloppy work or no work at all.
BRING TO CLASS 1 PRINT! 11x14 or larger print. This does not have to go on your blog.
3. Small Assignment Three: Framing
(An exercise designed by Eugene Richards, arguably the greatest living American documentary photographer.) For this assignment you will pick a subject to shoot the equivalent of one roll of film of portraits — 30 to 40 images. You will decide where you want to take these photos, and once you and your subject are initially positioned, your subject may not move — if he or she is sitting, that's what they will do throughout the sessions; if they start out standing, they will remain standing — in the same spot. And you may not move your feet once you start shooting — you may lean, crouch, stretch, hold the camera high or low; but you must remain in the same place. And you may use only a single focal length lens, or single focal length on a zoom lens (tape it down to resist changing the zoom). Bring a powerpoint to class with the 30-40 images.
4. SEMESTER LONG PROJECT:
The goal is for each student to produce a portfolio of twenty prints for final critique at the end of the semester. Students may work in the photographic medium of their choice, i.e. b/w silver gelatin, wet color or digital. Students are required to submit a written proposal and an artist statement for their work. Students are required to make a multi media presentation of the work (which constitutes 20% percent of the grade). On the last day of class, you must submit the still images and the multi media project on CD (as documentation of the project). We will discuss unique multi-media presentations of your work and view samples. Acceptable forms include short videos or slideshows with sound, blogs, and/or a blurb book. THIS WILL BE IN ADDITION TO THE 20 FINAL PRINTS!
The field of documentary photography in professional practice has changed considerably over the past few years. We will address those changes in our course through out the semester.
20 prints at 11x14 or larger, presented well. Perfect prints. 1 artist statement. Project saved as jpegs on CD (documentation for the professor). 1 multi-media project/presentation of the final, posted to your blog, and also saved to Documentation CD. You will present both your multi-media project and your 20 Final prints.
Policies regarding Classroom behavior:
Please leave class if you need to use of cell phones, pagers, and keep this to a bare minimum. Absolutely NO emailing/facebook/Skype/doing homework for other classes, etc. in my class. Students caught doing this past the first five minutes of class will be assigned an unexcused absence for this.
Student Code of Academic Integrity: Since the student codes, policies and procedures may be revised semester to semester, it is the responsibility of the student to view revisions.
http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/policiesandcodes/codeofacademicintegrity
Policies against threatening behavior by students:
http://policy.web.arizona.edu/~policy/threaten.shtml
A Note on Content: The subject matter of this course contains material that may challenge or offend your moral, religious or political values and beliefs. During the course of the semester, we will encounter and discuss works of art that contain or deal with nudity, profanity, sexuality and violence. If this is an insurmountable issue for you, perhaps this course is not appropriate.
Students with Disabilities:
If you anticipate issues related to the format or requirements of this course, please meet with me. I would like us to discuss ways to ensure your full participation in the course. If you determine that formal, disability-related accommodations are necessary, it is very important that you be registered with Disability Resources (621-3268; drc.arizona.edu) and notify me of your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. We can then plan how best to coordinate your accommodations.
http://drc.arizona.edu/teach/syllabus-statement.html
Disclaimer: The information contained within this syllabus, other than the grade and absence policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.
Course Outline / Schedule:
Green highlighted days are hybrid online and in class time.
Yellow highlighted days are online only.
No highlight days are in class instruction.
Thur Jan 12th Introduction, and discussion of portfolios, written proposals, artist statements, documentation, Students’ introductions, and portfolio proposals. Groups assigned – discussion of the first assignment.
Tue Jan 17th In class, slides.
Thur JAN 19th Slides/concept development/multi media - new practices
Tue Jan 24th One on One meetings, sign up.
Thur Jan 26th One on One meetings, sign up.
Tue Jan 31st Critique: Assignment 1, Group 1 - slides
Thur Feb 2nd Critique: Assignment 1, Group 2 - slides.
Tue Feb 7th D2L - Everyone needs post their final project proposal (at least two ideas) onto their blogs, What, How and Why. I will let you decide, and will only interfere if I think the project(s) will not work. IN CLASS: Slides.
Thur Feb 9th MEET AT CCP AT 12:30. Assignment on d2l. Due Feb 16th.
Tue Feb 14th Critique: assignment 2, both groups will go today
Thur Feb 16th Slides/concept development/multi media - new practices. Post at least 15 images of your final project to your blog.
VISITING PHOTOGRAPHER: Jeremias Paul, 5pm, location TBA. Mandatory.
Tue Feb 21st Critique: Assignment 3, Group 1 - slides
Thur Feb 23rd Critique: Assignment 3, Group 2 - slides.
Tue Feb 28th D2L Online - Video Title: What Remains (SALLY MANN), respond to questions.
Thur March 1st D2L Online – do the artist research and start writing your paper. Due March 27th.
Tue March 6th D2L Online - Video Title: For Memories' Sake, respond to questions.
Thur March 8th D2L Online – do the artist research and start writing your paper. Due March 27th.
Tue March 13th SPRING BREAK
Thur March 15th SPRING BREAK
Tue March 20th D2L – Film: War Photographer, respond to questions
Thur March 22nd D2L – Post at least 15 more images to your blog, of works in progress (something we have not yet seen, and was discussed during individual meeting). Review my comments.
Tue March 27th D2L –WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT ON ARTIST DUE!
Thur March 29th – Critique in Progress – Group 1 (need more than what is on the blog!!!)
Tue April 3rd - Critique in Progress – Group 2 (need more than what is on the blog!!)
Thur April 5th Individual Meetings – Please bring what you think is your FINAL cut, and some extras you are not sure about. Pitch your multi-media idea.
Tue April 10th Demos of how to make your “multi media projects” (short how-to workshops).
Thur April 12th work day. I will be in class for feeback.
Tue April 17th work day. I will be in class for feedback.
Thur April 19th Final Critique (everyone is due, Final Project and Multi Media presentation)
Tue April 24th Final Critique
Thur April 26th Final Critique (if needed) – artist statements, CD documentation due
CD Portfolios
A CD of images is the standard form for documenting art work. For employment application, applications to schools, proposals for grants, scholarships, exhibitions, etc., a CD of your images is most useful. Here are some guidelines for making your CD.
- Use original digital files if applicable and if not, use a flatbed scanner, film scanner or a camera and copystand to make digital images of your work.
- Open the images in Adobe PhotoShop or other imaging software as PhotoShop files (.psd) or TIFF’s.
- Make adjustments in brightness, contrast, color balance, etc. as required.
- When you have completed the above adjustments to the image, save a copy of the image as a JPEG.
- Use the highest quality option for the image, make the width of the image 800 pixels and use a resolution of 72 ppi.
IMPORTANT NOTE: JPEG’s are a “lossy” format. Every time you make changes to a JPEG and save those changes, the image quality is degraded a small amount. If you do this more than once, the effects will be visible. Do all your editing to a .psd or TIFF file and then save the image as a JPEG as the final step.
Materials list: SLR or DSLR camera, at least one lens in good working order, it is helpful to have a small portable hard drive
Bibliography:
Highly Recommended Textbooks but not Required
Phaidon, eds. The Photo Book. Boston, MA: Phaidon Press, 1997. ISBN: 9780714836348.
This overview in photos of the history of photography is a must-own.
Deveney, Kaylynn, and Hastings, Albert. The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings. New York, NY: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. ISBN: 9781568987040.
If this book doesn't inspire you — sell your camera. It is a little jewel, a successful marriage of art photography and pure documentary photography, and demonstrates how the simplest of ideas can produce a sublime project.
Hintlian, Michael. Digging. Beverly, MA: Commonwealth Editions, 2004. ISBN: 9781889833927.
The Big Dig as you have never seen it or thought of it.
Any and all the books of Eugene Richards, arguably the greatest living American documentary photographer. These books include Dorchester Days; The Fat Baby; The Knife and Gun Club; Cocaine True, Cocaine Blue; and Americans We.
Frank, Robert. The Americans. Zurich, Switzerland: Scalo Publishers, 1998. ISBN: 9783931141806.
The seminal work by a Swiss photographer who took a road trip across the U.S. in the late 1950s.
Trachtenberg, Alan. Dream Street: W. Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh Project. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2003. ISBN: 9780393325126.
Selections from the seminal work by the inventor of the modern photo story.
Page, Tim, and Horst Faas. Requiem: By The Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina. New York, NY: Vintage/Ebury (Random House), 1997. ISBN: 9780224050586.
This is a truly magnificent collection of combat photographs by, as the title makes clear, photographers who did not survive the combat they were covering.
Bowman, Robin. It's Complicated: The American Teenager. Brooklyn, NY: Umbrage Editions, 2007. ISBN: 9781884167690.
A young photographer took a Polaroid camera, created a questionnaire, and set off across the country to create portraits of teenagers and to ask them to answer her list of questions.
Griffiths, Philip Jones. Vietnam Inc. London, UK: Phaidon Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780714846033.
Magnum photographer as flat-out advocate. A powerful, classic photobook.
Mark, Mary Ellen. Exposure. London, UK: Phaidon Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780714846262.
A career retrospective by an outstanding documentary photographer and teacher.
Anything by Bruce Davidson. This includes East 100th Street, England/Scotland 1960, Circus, Time of Change, and anything else you can find.
Horenstein, Henry. Close Relations. Brooklyn, NY: powerhouse Books, 2007. ISBN: 9781576873274.
I'm not sure why I am so drawn to this book of photos by Horenstein, a long-time faculty member at RISD. The book is a collection of images Horenstein made of friends in Cambridge, and family members in Newton, when he himself was a student in the early 1970s.
Galassi, Peter. Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Man, the Image and the World: A Retrospective. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2006. ISBN: 9780500286425.
This is the ultimate collection by the man who 'invented' 35 mm photography, helped found the great photo agency/collective Magnum, and who coined the term, "decisive moment."
Nachtweys, James. Inferno. London, UK: Phaidon Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780714838151.
An overwhelming collection of anti-war photographs of combat and its ultimate results.
SPRING 2011
Instructor's Name: Prof. Sama Alshaibi
Office / Room Number: Room 16, Theater Building
Telephone Number: 720-272-2676
Email: Alshaibi@email.arizona.edu
Office Hours: 4:50-5:50 Tue/Thur
SPECIAL NOTE: THIS CLASS IS A WEB INHANCED COURSE; CLASSES ARE SPLIT BETWEEN ONLINE AND IN PERSON .
Course Description:
This course is an introduction to the great tradition of documentary photography. Students learn to see the world around them in a new way and produce a documentary project. The course requires reading and writing about photography, usually in response to films or blogging about their ongoing semester long project. The class emphasis is on thinking about why people photograph, what photographs do and do not mean to us, and on doing documentary work, on telling stories with photographs. This is not a technical class, and it should not be considered an "introduction to photography." I work on the assumption that any student signing up for the class has at least a minimal sense of the difference between f stops and T stops, and can find his or her way around a camera. While there will be some technical discussion in class, it will be limited. You must be able to print your own work (digital or traditional).
Do you need to own fancy equipment to take this class? No. But you do need to have equipment that will provide you with at least some flexibility as a photographer. You may shoot either film or digital – but if you shoot film, it's up to you to get your film processed and printed. I highly suggest that you shoot digitally, even if only to supplement a traditional method, because you will need to post often to your blog. You will spend hours scanning if you don’t shoot digitally.
Course Objectives: Course Objectives and expected Learning Outcomes
The purpose of this class is to explore the practice of documentary photography as applied to a subject of your choosing. The goal is for each student to produce a portfolio of twenty prints for final critique at the end of the semester. Students may work in the photographic medium of their choice, i.e. b/w silver gelatin, wet color or digital. Students are required to submit a written proposal and an artist statement for their work. Students are also required to make a multi media presentation of their semester long project. On the last day of class, a CD of JPEG’s as documentation of their portfolio of the entire semester must be submitted to the instructor + the multi media project. We will discuss unique multi-media presentations of your work and view samples. The field of documentary photography in professional practice has changed considerably over the past few years. We will address those changes in our course through out the semester.
Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to:
· demonstrate the ability to employ documentary photojournalism and documentary fine art techniques to capture photographs that contain the emotions, and circumstances of the people photographed.
· demonstrate the ability to construct a story in pictures, connected by a visually recognizable theme or topic.
· demonstrate the ability to complete assignments that document a specific pre-assigned subject matter in a professional, ethical manner.
· demonstrate an ability to discuss their work and the work of their classmates using the terms, classifications, and benchmarks of the professional photojournalist.
· demonstrate the ability to research, plan, and execute documentary photography assignments.
· demonstrate a personal approach to documentary photography by discretionary selection of subject matter, composition, exposure, and other tools and techniques of the documentary photographer
GRADING:
Grade Policies:
A: (90-100%) The student fulfills all course requirements and performs at a superior level.
B: (80-89%) The student fulfills all course requirements and performs at an above-average level.
C: (79-70%) The student fulfills all course requirements and performs at an average level.
D. (69-60%) The student fulfills all course requirements but performs at a below-average level.
E. (59% and below): The student fails to fulfill all course requirements and performs at a poor level.
Instructor specific assignment information:
Class attendance is mandatory for individual development and for valuable contributions that each class member is expected to give the group. These contributions of opinion, information, and discovery are an essential element for an exciting studio class. If you are missing too many classes due to circumstances beyond your control, please contact me IMMEDIATELY for accommodations. However, at some point, it might be necessary for you to repeat the course even though you are not at fault. For example, if you missed 3 weeks due to the flu, you will likely have to repeat this class. Three tardies equals one absence. Be prompt! I will not repeat what you missed. It is also your responsibility to inform me when you come in that you are late, not absent. Please do so at the end of class. You should inform me as soon as you know you will be missing class. Missing class for weeks and then contacting me to let me know your difficult circumstances are almost always grounds for suspicion and failing the class. It is YOUR responsibility to inform me of extended absences (surgery, death, etc.) promptly.
The grade of Incomplete will be assigned ONLY under the following circumstance: only a small percentage of the semester’s work is still outstanding and was not completed due to a documented medical emergency.
Work presented in this class must be current work, not work done previously. It is against School of Art policy to submit the same work to two different classes for credit in both. Plagiarism can result in an immediate E for the course.
Projects and Homework: I do not accept late work without a very significant reason (such as a death in the family). The flu does not excuse you from your assignments. Think of it as an exhibition. Would you tell the curator you weren’t feeling well and didn’t have your work for opening night? With only two assignments, you should never have an excuse for not being finished. You must gain my approval for final projects. Please do not abandon your projects mid or late in the semester because you are struggling making your first project work. If it becomes absolutely necessary for you to change your project, please consult with me first. We will have to agree on a new project and a plan for you to complete in a timely manner (including receiving critiques).
SPECIAL NOTE: MISSING YOURS OR YOUR CLASSMATES CRITIQUES IS LIKE MISSING EXAMS, WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO MAKE IT UP. DO NOT MISS CRITIQUE DAYS!
Suggestions:
Back-up all work in progress (for digital work). Always back-up everything!
Expect the unexpected. If you have an assignment due on Thursday, try to get it done a few days before. That way, if and when you are having technical problems, you will have some extra time to fix mistakes and troubleshoot.
Remember: It is always better to show what you are working on than to show nothing at all. We can try to solve the problem in class if necessary.
All assignments must be completed. Late assignments will be accepted only with my permission, and a penalty in one letter grade, and must be submitted within an agreed time frame (I must agree to the time frame, and we will put it in writing).
Grade Distribution:
Grades for this class will be awarded on the following basis:
Assignment 1: 10%
Assignment 2: 10%
Assignment 3: 10%
Final Project: 35% (prints) – artist statement is required and this grade will reflect whether or not you posted images to your blog as required in the schedule. Expect significant reductions to not having new work to show for every in progress critique, postings to the blog of works in progress, and individual meetings. I am not interested in seeing the same work cropped differently and color corrected. New work, and I will check the METADATA of your files if I suspect you are not shooting weekly through out the semester.
Final Project : 10% (multi –media project)
Postings/Writings to required items on blog, and in class participation: 25%
*this includes responding to the films and writing discussions that are assigned.
For a passing grade, each student must complete all the above.
Absence Policy:
All holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those students who show affiliation with that particular religion,
Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or Dean's designee) will be honored.
Three absences are allowed. Further absences will diminish your final grade as follows: 1-2 extra absences = 1 letter grade, 3 extra absences= 2 letter grades, anything more than this constitutes failure of my class. To be clear, if you miss six classes, you will fail.
Small Assignments:
1. Small Assignment One: Space Ship
(This exercise was originally conceived by Charles Harbutt for use in his workshops. I have made some modifications in it.)
This assignment is intended to test your imagination, and your ability to capture your ideas as images.
Assume for a moment that you are going to be leaving earth on a spaceship, never to return. There will not be any form of entertainment or decoration on the ship. You will not have any mirrors, films, works of art, etc. You will be eating processed food and drinking filtered urine. You may, however, bring 10 photographs with you.
In a 24 hours period, without consulting any of your classmates, make 10 photographic images that will sustain you on your voyage. We are not looking for great art; we are looking for personally meaningful images. It's up to you.
BRING TO CLASS 10 PRINTS! 8 x10 prints are fine. This does not have to go on your blog.
2. Small Assignment Two: A Picture Worth A Thousand Words
You will have spent the past week shooting photographs - from within 15 feet of your subjects and from their fronts - that tell stories. You will submit the one best photo from the week. You should not have to explain the photo to us. If we can't look at the image and get it, the photo fails its purpose. Remember, the only things a still photograph brings to a viewer are those things that are visible - what you heard, felt, thought, smelled, or cared about when you took the photo are meaningless if they are not conveyed by the light captured in a fraction of a second when your shutter is open.
You will submit a short paragraph or caption about the meaning or story of the photograph. You will keep the meaning a secret until the critique is over. Then you will read the caption to the class. The goal is that your intentions are understood. YOU WILL NOT FAIL THIS ASSIGNMENT IF IT DOESN’T SUCCEED. So please don’t cheat by telling a friend in the class the real meaning. You will learn nothing by doing so. We can properly show how to get your intentions and your actual work to line up if you take this chance. We are all in the same boat! Failure only happens when you do sloppy work or no work at all.
BRING TO CLASS 1 PRINT! 11x14 or larger print. This does not have to go on your blog.
3. Small Assignment Three: Framing
(An exercise designed by Eugene Richards, arguably the greatest living American documentary photographer.) For this assignment you will pick a subject to shoot the equivalent of one roll of film of portraits — 30 to 40 images. You will decide where you want to take these photos, and once you and your subject are initially positioned, your subject may not move — if he or she is sitting, that's what they will do throughout the sessions; if they start out standing, they will remain standing — in the same spot. And you may not move your feet once you start shooting — you may lean, crouch, stretch, hold the camera high or low; but you must remain in the same place. And you may use only a single focal length lens, or single focal length on a zoom lens (tape it down to resist changing the zoom). Bring a powerpoint to class with the 30-40 images.
4. SEMESTER LONG PROJECT:
The goal is for each student to produce a portfolio of twenty prints for final critique at the end of the semester. Students may work in the photographic medium of their choice, i.e. b/w silver gelatin, wet color or digital. Students are required to submit a written proposal and an artist statement for their work. Students are required to make a multi media presentation of the work (which constitutes 20% percent of the grade). On the last day of class, you must submit the still images and the multi media project on CD (as documentation of the project). We will discuss unique multi-media presentations of your work and view samples. Acceptable forms include short videos or slideshows with sound, blogs, and/or a blurb book. THIS WILL BE IN ADDITION TO THE 20 FINAL PRINTS!
The field of documentary photography in professional practice has changed considerably over the past few years. We will address those changes in our course through out the semester.
20 prints at 11x14 or larger, presented well. Perfect prints. 1 artist statement. Project saved as jpegs on CD (documentation for the professor). 1 multi-media project/presentation of the final, posted to your blog, and also saved to Documentation CD. You will present both your multi-media project and your 20 Final prints.
Policies regarding Classroom behavior:
Please leave class if you need to use of cell phones, pagers, and keep this to a bare minimum. Absolutely NO emailing/facebook/Skype/doing homework for other classes, etc. in my class. Students caught doing this past the first five minutes of class will be assigned an unexcused absence for this.
Student Code of Academic Integrity: Since the student codes, policies and procedures may be revised semester to semester, it is the responsibility of the student to view revisions.
http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/policiesandcodes/codeofacademicintegrity
Policies against threatening behavior by students:
http://policy.web.arizona.edu/~policy/threaten.shtml
A Note on Content: The subject matter of this course contains material that may challenge or offend your moral, religious or political values and beliefs. During the course of the semester, we will encounter and discuss works of art that contain or deal with nudity, profanity, sexuality and violence. If this is an insurmountable issue for you, perhaps this course is not appropriate.
Students with Disabilities:
If you anticipate issues related to the format or requirements of this course, please meet with me. I would like us to discuss ways to ensure your full participation in the course. If you determine that formal, disability-related accommodations are necessary, it is very important that you be registered with Disability Resources (621-3268; drc.arizona.edu) and notify me of your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. We can then plan how best to coordinate your accommodations.
http://drc.arizona.edu/teach/syllabus-statement.html
Disclaimer: The information contained within this syllabus, other than the grade and absence policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.
Course Outline / Schedule:
Green highlighted days are hybrid online and in class time.
Yellow highlighted days are online only.
No highlight days are in class instruction.
Thur Jan 12th Introduction, and discussion of portfolios, written proposals, artist statements, documentation, Students’ introductions, and portfolio proposals. Groups assigned – discussion of the first assignment.
Tue Jan 17th In class, slides.
Thur JAN 19th Slides/concept development/multi media - new practices
Tue Jan 24th One on One meetings, sign up.
Thur Jan 26th One on One meetings, sign up.
Tue Jan 31st Critique: Assignment 1, Group 1 - slides
Thur Feb 2nd Critique: Assignment 1, Group 2 - slides.
Tue Feb 7th D2L - Everyone needs post their final project proposal (at least two ideas) onto their blogs, What, How and Why. I will let you decide, and will only interfere if I think the project(s) will not work. IN CLASS: Slides.
Thur Feb 9th MEET AT CCP AT 12:30. Assignment on d2l. Due Feb 16th.
Tue Feb 14th Critique: assignment 2, both groups will go today
Thur Feb 16th Slides/concept development/multi media - new practices. Post at least 15 images of your final project to your blog.
VISITING PHOTOGRAPHER: Jeremias Paul, 5pm, location TBA. Mandatory.
Tue Feb 21st Critique: Assignment 3, Group 1 - slides
Thur Feb 23rd Critique: Assignment 3, Group 2 - slides.
Tue Feb 28th D2L Online - Video Title: What Remains (SALLY MANN), respond to questions.
Thur March 1st D2L Online – do the artist research and start writing your paper. Due March 27th.
Tue March 6th D2L Online - Video Title: For Memories' Sake, respond to questions.
Thur March 8th D2L Online – do the artist research and start writing your paper. Due March 27th.
Tue March 13th SPRING BREAK
Thur March 15th SPRING BREAK
Tue March 20th D2L – Film: War Photographer, respond to questions
Thur March 22nd D2L – Post at least 15 more images to your blog, of works in progress (something we have not yet seen, and was discussed during individual meeting). Review my comments.
Tue March 27th D2L –WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT ON ARTIST DUE!
Thur March 29th – Critique in Progress – Group 1 (need more than what is on the blog!!!)
Tue April 3rd - Critique in Progress – Group 2 (need more than what is on the blog!!)
Thur April 5th Individual Meetings – Please bring what you think is your FINAL cut, and some extras you are not sure about. Pitch your multi-media idea.
Tue April 10th Demos of how to make your “multi media projects” (short how-to workshops).
Thur April 12th work day. I will be in class for feeback.
Tue April 17th work day. I will be in class for feedback.
Thur April 19th Final Critique (everyone is due, Final Project and Multi Media presentation)
Tue April 24th Final Critique
Thur April 26th Final Critique (if needed) – artist statements, CD documentation due
CD Portfolios
A CD of images is the standard form for documenting art work. For employment application, applications to schools, proposals for grants, scholarships, exhibitions, etc., a CD of your images is most useful. Here are some guidelines for making your CD.
- Use original digital files if applicable and if not, use a flatbed scanner, film scanner or a camera and copystand to make digital images of your work.
- Open the images in Adobe PhotoShop or other imaging software as PhotoShop files (.psd) or TIFF’s.
- Make adjustments in brightness, contrast, color balance, etc. as required.
- When you have completed the above adjustments to the image, save a copy of the image as a JPEG.
- Use the highest quality option for the image, make the width of the image 800 pixels and use a resolution of 72 ppi.
IMPORTANT NOTE: JPEG’s are a “lossy” format. Every time you make changes to a JPEG and save those changes, the image quality is degraded a small amount. If you do this more than once, the effects will be visible. Do all your editing to a .psd or TIFF file and then save the image as a JPEG as the final step.
Materials list: SLR or DSLR camera, at least one lens in good working order, it is helpful to have a small portable hard drive
Bibliography:
Highly Recommended Textbooks but not Required
Phaidon, eds. The Photo Book. Boston, MA: Phaidon Press, 1997. ISBN: 9780714836348.
This overview in photos of the history of photography is a must-own.
Deveney, Kaylynn, and Hastings, Albert. The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings. New York, NY: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. ISBN: 9781568987040.
If this book doesn't inspire you — sell your camera. It is a little jewel, a successful marriage of art photography and pure documentary photography, and demonstrates how the simplest of ideas can produce a sublime project.
Hintlian, Michael. Digging. Beverly, MA: Commonwealth Editions, 2004. ISBN: 9781889833927.
The Big Dig as you have never seen it or thought of it.
Any and all the books of Eugene Richards, arguably the greatest living American documentary photographer. These books include Dorchester Days; The Fat Baby; The Knife and Gun Club; Cocaine True, Cocaine Blue; and Americans We.
Frank, Robert. The Americans. Zurich, Switzerland: Scalo Publishers, 1998. ISBN: 9783931141806.
The seminal work by a Swiss photographer who took a road trip across the U.S. in the late 1950s.
Trachtenberg, Alan. Dream Street: W. Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh Project. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2003. ISBN: 9780393325126.
Selections from the seminal work by the inventor of the modern photo story.
Page, Tim, and Horst Faas. Requiem: By The Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina. New York, NY: Vintage/Ebury (Random House), 1997. ISBN: 9780224050586.
This is a truly magnificent collection of combat photographs by, as the title makes clear, photographers who did not survive the combat they were covering.
Bowman, Robin. It's Complicated: The American Teenager. Brooklyn, NY: Umbrage Editions, 2007. ISBN: 9781884167690.
A young photographer took a Polaroid camera, created a questionnaire, and set off across the country to create portraits of teenagers and to ask them to answer her list of questions.
Griffiths, Philip Jones. Vietnam Inc. London, UK: Phaidon Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780714846033.
Magnum photographer as flat-out advocate. A powerful, classic photobook.
Mark, Mary Ellen. Exposure. London, UK: Phaidon Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780714846262.
A career retrospective by an outstanding documentary photographer and teacher.
Anything by Bruce Davidson. This includes East 100th Street, England/Scotland 1960, Circus, Time of Change, and anything else you can find.
Horenstein, Henry. Close Relations. Brooklyn, NY: powerhouse Books, 2007. ISBN: 9781576873274.
I'm not sure why I am so drawn to this book of photos by Horenstein, a long-time faculty member at RISD. The book is a collection of images Horenstein made of friends in Cambridge, and family members in Newton, when he himself was a student in the early 1970s.
Galassi, Peter. Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Man, the Image and the World: A Retrospective. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2006. ISBN: 9780500286425.
This is the ultimate collection by the man who 'invented' 35 mm photography, helped found the great photo agency/collective Magnum, and who coined the term, "decisive moment."
Nachtweys, James. Inferno. London, UK: Phaidon Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780714838151.
An overwhelming collection of anti-war photographs of combat and its ultimate results.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Ethics in Documentary
Published here: http://www.concernedjournalists.org/photojournalism-ethics-guidelines
Photojournalism Ethics Guidelines
Society for Professionals in Journalism, July 30, 2006
A sample of some newspaper's photo guidelines:
Texarkana (TX) Gazette Dead Body Policy (editorial memo, Oct. 9, 1989)
Effective today, we will initiate a kinder, gentler photo policy that precludes dead bodies in photos. There may be some exceptions to this, if there is compelling news value. But as the norm, we will cease to show bodies under sheets, or in bags, or on stretchers, or in any other state of demise. I can't rationalize to myself how body photographs add anything to the value of our newspaper. Instead, I think many of our readers would find them offensive.
I would also extend this policy to people who are severely injured and likely to die. This of course is a judgment call, but in such cases we need take both with-victim and without- victim photographs.
The guiding philosophy behind the policy is one of compassion for the victim's friends and family and an empathy for the sensibilities of our readers. Instead of being an exploitative, shocking newspaper, I want the Texarkana Gazette to be known as a sensitive paper.
I realize this doesn't make for gripping, high-profile photos, but I think it does make for a newspaper more in step with this community.
Sioux Falls (SD) Argus Leader
News photos in advertisements: Photographs taken specifically for news columns shall not be used in advertisements unless approved by the executive editor or managing editor.
Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune
The introduction of electronic photo editing technology to the Herald-Tribune brings with it concerns about the use of the image manipulation capabilities of the tools in our daily' production.
The technology gives us the ability to easily alter the. content or create new photograph that could deceive the reader and ultimately damage the credibility of the Herald-Tribune.
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE POLICY OF THE HERALD-TRIBUNE THAT CONTENT ALTERATION OF PHOTOGRAPHS IS UNACCEPTABLE USING PAST OR PRESENT TECHNOLOGY.
If significant reason exists to challenge this policy it will be addressed in the following manner:
No discussion needed:
* Dodging or burning of areas in the photograph that do not change the content, for instance, lightening or darkening areas of the photograph to make them reproducible in the newspaper.
* Correction of technical defects in a photo, for instance, repairing line hits in a photo or erasing line noise.
Discussion required:
* Photographs with the potential to breach community standards, including accidental inclusion of genitals, obscene gestures, offensive cultural elements.
* Photographs that may offend community standards, including gruesome or emotionally distressing photographs.
* Discussion is also required to use the electronic image manipulation capabilities to create an illustration using photographic elements. It should be noted that this protocol does not preclude the use of the technology to create illustrations using the particular advantages of the tools, but does require that the resulting illustration not closely resemble a real life scene and requires that the resulting illustration be labeled as to its creative elements.
The discussion group should include:
* Photographer, top newsroom executive, photo editor, section editor, and anyone who might lend an enlightened argument for or against the usage.
Some of the questions that should come up in the discussion should include:
* What are the alternatives: Can another photo convey the same message and eliminate the concerns?
* Is possession of the technical capability to alter a photograph justifying the proposed manipulation?
* Is all of the necessary information available for discussion: Story and photo readily available?
* Is there any missing information from the photograph?
* What is the news value of the particular photograph?
* Are there legal or ethical concerns about running the photo?
* Who might be offended and why?
* What are the possible consequences of publishing the photo?
* Will we be able to justify our decision?
Photo credits and labeling:
* Any time the content of a photograph has been altered, the extent of the alteration and the technique should be clearly explained in the cutline or credit, adhering to the style of the Herald-Tribune.
* The emphasis should be on adding as much detailed information as possible.
Rochester (NY) Times-Union and Democrat and Chronicle
All photographs are accurate representations of the situations they portray. Nothing recreated, staged or posed is represented as a candid situation. Previously shot photographs are not represented as fresh and new. Photographers are alert to situations in which straightforward photography might create an impression contrary to the facts. They avoid cropping a photograph in a way that would misrepresent the situation. They point out questionable photographs or situations and discuss proper treatment of them with editors.
San Jose (CA) Mercury News
In the interest of integrity and fairness, photographers and editors should exercise caution in the use of "set-up" photographs. In the same way that reporters do not make up quotes, photographers do not reconstruct scenes or events with the purpose of making them appear as if they were "found" moments.
However, photographers are often called upon to make environmental portraits or do illustrative photography. In no way should such photographs be approached or treated as anything but what they are. They are either portraits or are demonstrative of a situation. Both should be clearly labeled.
That means that care should be taken in writing captions so they do not suggest the picture is something it is not. For example, is Clark Kent working in his study or is he simply in his study (for purposes of a portrait)? Is Lois Lane actually practicing her technique of boomerang tossing or is she demonstrating her technique of boomerang tossing (for purposes of a photograph)? Such distinctions make a difference.
...Ordinarily, consent is implied if a photographer approaches a subject, indicates that he/she is a newspaper photographer and asks for names and other facts. In some circumstances, written releases may be required (at mental health institutions or orphanages, for example).
St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press and Dispatch
Dead bodies - Avoid use of photos of dead bodies (especially local) unless covered. Of course, there will be exceptions that must be cleared with the managing editor.
General Policy - Do NOT run photos of the governor, mayor, etc. signing proclamations, receiving plaques, looking at a check or piece of paper, etc. Avoid posed news photos of politicians immediately prior to elections.
Added on July 27, 1989:
Under no circumstances shall documentary photographs be manipulated, changed, or altered to any degree, by any method or medium, including electronic manipulation.
Documentary photographs shall not be set up, i.e., manufactured by the photographer.
Any manipulation of feature photos can be done only under the supervision of the director of photography in conjunction with the managing editor and the associate editor of features.
Published here: http://www.concernedjournalists.org/photojournalism-ethics-guidelines
Photojournalism Ethics Guidelines
Society for Professionals in Journalism, July 30, 2006
A sample of some newspaper's photo guidelines:
Texarkana (TX) Gazette Dead Body Policy (editorial memo, Oct. 9, 1989)
Effective today, we will initiate a kinder, gentler photo policy that precludes dead bodies in photos. There may be some exceptions to this, if there is compelling news value. But as the norm, we will cease to show bodies under sheets, or in bags, or on stretchers, or in any other state of demise. I can't rationalize to myself how body photographs add anything to the value of our newspaper. Instead, I think many of our readers would find them offensive.
I would also extend this policy to people who are severely injured and likely to die. This of course is a judgment call, but in such cases we need take both with-victim and without- victim photographs.
The guiding philosophy behind the policy is one of compassion for the victim's friends and family and an empathy for the sensibilities of our readers. Instead of being an exploitative, shocking newspaper, I want the Texarkana Gazette to be known as a sensitive paper.
I realize this doesn't make for gripping, high-profile photos, but I think it does make for a newspaper more in step with this community.
Sioux Falls (SD) Argus Leader
News photos in advertisements: Photographs taken specifically for news columns shall not be used in advertisements unless approved by the executive editor or managing editor.
Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune
The introduction of electronic photo editing technology to the Herald-Tribune brings with it concerns about the use of the image manipulation capabilities of the tools in our daily' production.
The technology gives us the ability to easily alter the. content or create new photograph that could deceive the reader and ultimately damage the credibility of the Herald-Tribune.
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE POLICY OF THE HERALD-TRIBUNE THAT CONTENT ALTERATION OF PHOTOGRAPHS IS UNACCEPTABLE USING PAST OR PRESENT TECHNOLOGY.
If significant reason exists to challenge this policy it will be addressed in the following manner:
No discussion needed:
* Dodging or burning of areas in the photograph that do not change the content, for instance, lightening or darkening areas of the photograph to make them reproducible in the newspaper.
* Correction of technical defects in a photo, for instance, repairing line hits in a photo or erasing line noise.
Discussion required:
* Photographs with the potential to breach community standards, including accidental inclusion of genitals, obscene gestures, offensive cultural elements.
* Photographs that may offend community standards, including gruesome or emotionally distressing photographs.
* Discussion is also required to use the electronic image manipulation capabilities to create an illustration using photographic elements. It should be noted that this protocol does not preclude the use of the technology to create illustrations using the particular advantages of the tools, but does require that the resulting illustration not closely resemble a real life scene and requires that the resulting illustration be labeled as to its creative elements.
The discussion group should include:
* Photographer, top newsroom executive, photo editor, section editor, and anyone who might lend an enlightened argument for or against the usage.
Some of the questions that should come up in the discussion should include:
* What are the alternatives: Can another photo convey the same message and eliminate the concerns?
* Is possession of the technical capability to alter a photograph justifying the proposed manipulation?
* Is all of the necessary information available for discussion: Story and photo readily available?
* Is there any missing information from the photograph?
* What is the news value of the particular photograph?
* Are there legal or ethical concerns about running the photo?
* Who might be offended and why?
* What are the possible consequences of publishing the photo?
* Will we be able to justify our decision?
Photo credits and labeling:
* Any time the content of a photograph has been altered, the extent of the alteration and the technique should be clearly explained in the cutline or credit, adhering to the style of the Herald-Tribune.
* The emphasis should be on adding as much detailed information as possible.
Rochester (NY) Times-Union and Democrat and Chronicle
All photographs are accurate representations of the situations they portray. Nothing recreated, staged or posed is represented as a candid situation. Previously shot photographs are not represented as fresh and new. Photographers are alert to situations in which straightforward photography might create an impression contrary to the facts. They avoid cropping a photograph in a way that would misrepresent the situation. They point out questionable photographs or situations and discuss proper treatment of them with editors.
San Jose (CA) Mercury News
In the interest of integrity and fairness, photographers and editors should exercise caution in the use of "set-up" photographs. In the same way that reporters do not make up quotes, photographers do not reconstruct scenes or events with the purpose of making them appear as if they were "found" moments.
However, photographers are often called upon to make environmental portraits or do illustrative photography. In no way should such photographs be approached or treated as anything but what they are. They are either portraits or are demonstrative of a situation. Both should be clearly labeled.
That means that care should be taken in writing captions so they do not suggest the picture is something it is not. For example, is Clark Kent working in his study or is he simply in his study (for purposes of a portrait)? Is Lois Lane actually practicing her technique of boomerang tossing or is she demonstrating her technique of boomerang tossing (for purposes of a photograph)? Such distinctions make a difference.
...Ordinarily, consent is implied if a photographer approaches a subject, indicates that he/she is a newspaper photographer and asks for names and other facts. In some circumstances, written releases may be required (at mental health institutions or orphanages, for example).
St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press and Dispatch
Dead bodies - Avoid use of photos of dead bodies (especially local) unless covered. Of course, there will be exceptions that must be cleared with the managing editor.
General Policy - Do NOT run photos of the governor, mayor, etc. signing proclamations, receiving plaques, looking at a check or piece of paper, etc. Avoid posed news photos of politicians immediately prior to elections.
Added on July 27, 1989:
Under no circumstances shall documentary photographs be manipulated, changed, or altered to any degree, by any method or medium, including electronic manipulation.
Documentary photographs shall not be set up, i.e., manufactured by the photographer.
Any manipulation of feature photos can be done only under the supervision of the director of photography in conjunction with the managing editor and the associate editor of features.
Published here: http://www.concernedjournalists.org/photojournalism-ethics-guidelines