Monday, August 31, 15
Photography -
60 min
Find the light -
Will downloaded his homework onto the school computer, and we reviewed and discussed which format was best for each pair. His photographs were excellent examples of horizontal and vertical formats, and he was quick to point out which was best for each of the four subjects he submitted. We examined photographs from movies from the 1930’s. In each photo, Will was tasked with finding from where the light came to the subject. We talked about how it is sometimes nice to have the light source come from different directions than the camera. We also discussed the layout of the photos, and how often the subject was off-center. And how some subjects were framed with items that put the subject in context. Homework: take photos, both vertically and horizontally, that include shadows; due Thursday.

Friday, August 28, 15
Photography
60 min
Top Tips for Photographers -
I opened another photo from the Getty photography collection; the Austrian embassy in Paris from 1910. Will and I explored the photo to identify the subject and the frame. We talked about light source and vantage point. We then looked at Kodak’s list of Top Ten Tips for Photographers, and chose two upon which to concentrate. Tip one shows how coming down to eye level improves an image. The list shows images of a dog, one from normal human height, and one down at dog eye level; and the dog was much more impressive from dog height. The second tip suggests using a vertical view to add to the height of the subject. Homework: take a dozen or so photographs, using the horizontal and vertical frames. Think about subject, frame, focus, vantage point, and light source.

Thursday, August 27, 15
Photography
45 min
reading a photograph -
We downloaded and examined Will’s homework on the computer. I asked Will to tell me what the subject was and we discussed how he framed each image. I had him choose the best of any series, and submit his choice, and delete the others. I also asked him to examine the image and tell me from where the light source came. Then I showed Will a photograph titles: ‘self portrait with news boy’ taken in 1908. After he identified who and what the subject was, we talked about how different things were in photography (and life) back there. In the image the photographer was apparent only as a shadow, so Will and I discussed the light source.

Tuesday, August 25, 15
Photography
60 min
Center of Focus
Will and I reviewed the parts of the camera, and discussed how to determine which setting to use while traveling. For example: the lightning bolt icon represents a setting that is suitable when taking photo inside a museum, where they do not allow flash photography, and the rooms are rather dark. This setting allows for low light photos, without the flash. The running man icon represents the setting when taking photos of a moving object, such as an athlete. I explained that this setting take images quickly, and is great for anything moving. Etc. We then explored the button that moves the focus point in the viewfinder of the camera. I explained that this is useful when he might take a photo of someone in front of a display, and the subject is off center. We went outside, and into the lunchroom, taking photos with off center subjects.

Monday, August 24, 15
Photography
60 min
Archive photographs - finder
Will had not finished his photography homework, so we continued our archiving last year’s photos. Will was tasked with creating folders, and populating them from the long list of photos from last year. Many images had been given the same name, so he had to learn to use two finder windows, and moving images from one to the other. He was successful creating and filling four folders on his thumb drive. We used the time remaining to practice taking photographs using the flash. I instructed Will to take photos of ‘shiny’ objects, including a bottle, a poster under glass in a frame, a glass bowl, and a glass table top. We examined each shot and discussed how the flash affected the photograph. Homework: same as Friday - take a collection of photos and be sure to identify and frame the subject and be aware of the focus.

Friday, August 21, 15
Photography
60 min
How to critique a photo
Today we examined Will’s homework from yesterday. We downloaded them and used the preview software to observe them on the computer screen. For each photo we did a critique; listed what was done well, what could improve the image and what would make it worse. We did a complete evaluation for all his 12 photos. Homework: take a collection of photos and be sure to identify and frame the subject and be aware of the focus.

Thursday, August 20, 15
Photography
45 min
archive photographs - finder
We started the class by trying to download Will’s homework, but his camera battery had run too low. This provided a learning opportunity and we discussed the benefit of routinely putting the camera battery in the charger every week, and how running a battery (or a car gas tank) too low can harm the battery (or car), but charging it early will not. We placed the battery in the charger, and returned to his archive. On Will’s thumb drive, several images had the same name: i.e. img 001; img 001(1) and img 001(2). I showed Will how to find duplicate images, and easily remove them. We then started to create folders for the images that had the same name but were in fact different images.

Tuesday, August 18, 15
Photography
60 min
Downloading images from Nikon to Iphoto
Will and I worked on achieving the photographs stored on his camera. Will was asked to download a selection of photos, and observing how iphoto stores them in a library. He was then tasked with downloading all the photographs he was storing on his camera. We discussed the value of having his images on a thrumb drive and a computer, over keeping them on his camera. We then worked on creating event folders and assigning keywords to his photographs for easy retrieval. Homework: take 12 photographs of something or things he likes. Every photograph must be different than the others.

Aug 17 2015 - Monday
Photography
welcome back
Will and I discussed his summer holiday, and the photos he collected over the break. He was asked to photograph the front of the school. This entailed changing his position to work with the reflection of the windows. We discussed how to avoid getting your own reflection in the photo, and how to make sure reflections do not interfere with the desired subject matter. We then retired to the computer lab, and Will reviewed the process for downloading photographs to I-photo, and how to move them to his thumb drive.

May 22, 2015
Friday 45 min
10:15 -11:00
Photography - Subject and Frame.
Will did not have his camera today, so I quizzed him on Subject and Frame. Using two photojournalism books (Time Life Photojournalism and Life:100 photos that changed the world), I selected photos and tasked Will with identifying the subject of the photo. We discussed the difference between subject and context. The photo may have been included in a story, but also tells it’s own story. The photo ‘subject’ tells the story, the context is the article that included the photo. Once Will understood that I was not looking for the context of the photo, but rather the part of the photo that draws the eye of the viewer, he did well. I also tasked him for identifying the frame, and explain how the frame informs the subject. We also discussed how some photos came to represent an event (the flag raising at Iwo Jima for example).