Florence, Italy - Course Descriptions - Black and White Photography II

Course Information

Contact Hours and Credits

Availability

Summary

COURSE RATIONALE
Designed for students who have taken a university level photo I class and are comfortable with black and white film processing and printing and who wish to move on to more advanced investigations of black and white photography.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Designed for students who already have a strong foundation in black and white darkroom practices, this course will present detailed information on advanced techniques. These will include Polaroid Emulsion and Image transfer, use of techniques such as Cyano types, Van Dyke Brown, still life and portrait photography, and a complete description of the uses of different papers, developers and films.

CONTENT INTRODUCTION
Students will continue refinement of skills in black and white photography developed in Photo I. Class will focus on a more complete mastery of darkroom and camera techniques while introducing many new and sometimes “alternative” techniques. Students will also be asked to work on more substantial series
or groupings of photographs. The ultimate goal of the class, after mastery of the technical aspects, is for students to begin developing a unique and personal voice in photography. Some students may work in a more journalistic/documentary manner while others will be making more personal, “artistic” statements. The goal is to make powerful work that moves the viewer regardless of the particular style a student may be interested in. The more varied approaches students have during the course, the more exciting it is for everyone! In more concrete terms, the class will concentrate for the first half of the class on perfecting the technical aspects
of silver photography—including advanced film development and printing techniques. During the second half of the class, additional, “alternative” techniques and approaches will be presented. This can include such things as photographing with Polaroid cameras, filters, and using unconventional darkroom techniques, such as double exposures.

TEXTBOOK
No textbook will be used in class however, various articles will be photocopied for students.

CLASS GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
•Continued technical development in black and white photography.
•Development of photographic series (rather than just stand-alone images) will be an important focus of the class.
•Discussion of the visual language of photography.
•Exposure to photo history (with emphasis on new, contemporary approaches).
•Further develop each students’ unique personal vision or mode of expression.
•Introduction to some alternative black and white photography proceses .