Author: Professor Sean Scanlan (Page 1 of 2)

Agenda:

1–Freewrite: what do you need to do to finish this essay?

*Add reading quotations, reference page, need more writing, body, conclusion, in-text citation, flow, transitions, photo terms, title, edit, proofreading, general expression improvement,

2-Q and A on essay 1

3-Peer Review

4-Submission info for Essay 1

Homework due before class on Monday, Sept, 30:

Finish Essay 1 over the weekend. Make sure to edit, proofread, and spellcheck before uploading to our Openlab site. Category: My Photo Essay. Students may upload a PDF or Word document. Or, students can paste the entire essay into the editing block tool–like Virtual Coffeehouse #2.

NOTE: I need to cancel office hours today (Tuesday, Sept 24). Sorry, to do this at the last minute. Email any questions that you have. In addition, I can stay after class on Wednesday if you have questions.

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Agenda:

1–Review Quiz 1 (note taking review)

2–Review coffeehouse 2 student examples

3–Review Essay 1 instructions, especially the rubric.

4–Approval of student photos

Homework for Wednesday, Sept 25:

Work on Essay 1 and bring in a printed draft for peer review. Goal: at least two full pages. The photos do not need to be in color, but they should be on the essay so that your peer reviewer can see them.

Agenda:

1–Quiz 1

2–Discuss Terms: Review Reality Effect, Studium, Punctum, and then terms 14-28

3–Student Example of a Photo Essay

4–How to post an image

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14–Rule of Thirds: A tool for composing in which an image is divided into nine equal parts and the focal point is aligned with the intersecting points of the grid lines. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds

15–Depth of Field: A photography term that describes where the sharp focus is. A shallow DOF will blur the background (f1.4) and a deep DOF will keep all objects in focus (f22). See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

16–Balance: Describes the harmonious combination of elements (texture, color, form, and shape) in an image.

17–Composition: The arrangement or structure of the formal elements that make up an image.

18–Focus: Refers to the areas of the image that are the sharpest. Focus can create areas of emphasis and influence the mood of the image.

19–Foreground, middle ground, and background: describe the areas in the front, middle, and back of the composition.

20–Framing: describes the area within the boundaries of the photograph.

21–Light: refers to the light and dark areas in the image. Light in the image can be natural or artificial. This is different from value, which describes the range of light to dark tones in the image.

22–Line: describes a dominant path of movement in an image. Lines can vary in direction and length. For example, they can be horizontal or vertical, straight or curved. By creating paths through the image, lines help communicate information and influence our interaction with the image.

23–Scale: describes relationships of each part of the composition to the whole and to each other part.

24–Shapes: are created from lines. They can be organic and irregular, or geometric and organized.

25–Space: describes the area between objects. Space between objects contributes to the perception of depth in the image.

26–Pattern: refers to repetition in the image. Textures can be repeated, but so can shapes and other elements.

27–Proportion: is related to balance, but it refers to the specific combination of the sizes of different elements in the image.

28–Vantage point: is the position from which the photographer takes the photograph. The vantage point can be from a particular angle: straight on, or at a diagonal, for example. It can also be elevated, at a distance, or close in proximity.

Homework due Monday, Sept. 23: Getting Started on the Photo Essay

1–Take at least three photos. They can be of anything, but we need to establish some rules. For my class, unless they are in the distant background, do not photograph people without their permission–be super friendly and professional (get their name so you can use it in the caption). For my class, do not photograph small children. Do not take photos that embarrass you or anybody else. Keep it “rated G.” You may edit your photos, but please keep a record of what app/software/filter you used (for example: Lightroom or Glitch Studio or Slow Shutter, there are many others). 

2–Decide on three photos that you want to post on our website (Virtual Coffeehouse #2). Make sure to give each photo a clear title.

3–Below each photo, provide the title, then write a short paragraph (about 75-100 words) explaining why you took the photo and what it means to you. Use our terms and handouts to guide you. If they are connected, great! If they are the photos you want to use in your essay, great. If you are not sure they are what you want to write about for your photo essay, no worries. This is good practice.

**Category: Virtual Coffeehouse #2. We will discuss how to post images on Wednesday. Total word length: 200-300 words.

How to post an image

Agenda:

–Review and discuss Essay 1 instructions

Possible topic sentence for a conclusion: Finally, I would like to reflect on three things that I learned while writing my photo essay: photo composition, the college sentence (the thesis blueprint), and dominant impression.

–Freewrite

–New Photo Terms

–Discuss Calle’s and Berger’s essays

Homework due Wednesday, Sept 18: Study for Quiz 1

Prepare for Quiz 1 by reading Susan Sontag’s essay “On Photography” (it’s actually a short selection of a longer essay). Pay close attention to what she says about photographs/photography AND families, tourism,  experience, voyeurism, violence, weapons, and death. The quiz will cover the main points in Cole, Berger, and Sontag. 

Agenda:

1–Freewrite

2–Discuss Teju Cole’s essay

3–New Terms 11-13 (see below)

4–Sentences: The Thesis Blueprint (this blueprint is also acomplex sentence type…and also the college sentence)

• While X, I think Y.

Example: While I like both of these desks, I prefer the light brown one because it is more comfortable.

• Complex Sentence = Dependent clause + Independent clause.

• College Sentence: This is the type of sentence that all of your professors learned how to use during college and graduate school.

5–Homework

Continuing with our 28 photo terms:

11. Reality Effect:

A term made famous by Roland Barthes to mean the photographic illusions that add to a photo’s realism. In other words, the details that make a photo seem real rather than fake or fantasy. Therefore, it helps to describe a photo has having a high reality effect (see Jeff Roberts’s photo on our OpenLab site) or a low reality effect (see Cindy Sherman’s photos, for example). From Barthes’ The Rustle of Language (1984).

12. Studium:

Roland Barthes also made these two terms famous.

The studium of a photograph is the public and historical grounding of a photo. The studium is the photo’s context and its general understanding, which includes the precise time and place and weather. The studium of a photo must be visible not hidden. Additionally, the studium includes the cultural reading of people (their faces and clothing), gestures, buildings, trees, and actions within a photo.

13. Punctum:

The punctum of a photograph is highly individual, not public. The punctum pierces the viewer in a particular, private way. The punctum, which must be visible, pierces the viewer like an arrow, raising certain individual memories and consciousnesses to the surface. The punctum bruises me but not you. The punctum is about loving, while the studium is about liking.

*These definitions are from Barthes’ Camera Lucida. Hill and Wang, 1981.

Barthes’ example of punctum:

Little Italy. New York, 1954. Photo by William Klein

“What I stubbornly see are one boy’s bad teeth…”

Homework due Monday, Sept 16, before class.

The following essays are in the Readings menu tab

Read Sophe Calle’s short photo essay “Souris” and take notes. How did this photo essay make your feel? How does it compare to Rebecca Norris Webb’s photo essay? What is the reality effect of the images?

Read John Berger’s essay “Understanding a Photograph.” Take notes. What are Berger’s main points? Write down at least three questions that you have. There is nothing to turn in, but I will call on each student. Cole, Berger, and Sontag will be the focus of Quiz 1, which will take place on Wednesday, September 18.