CDES 206

Surviving the Promise and the Final Exam

Here's a more lighthearted look at the relationship between technology and people. It's a Medieval Help Desk.

Here are the visuals (with links) from Surviving the Promise of Technology.  Download SURVING THE PROMISE 

And finally, here is the study guide for the cumulative Final Exam which is next Monday at 6:00 PM in Holt 170 (our regular classroom).  Download 206FinalExamStudyGuideS12

Study for that final and see you soon!
Byron

Digital Imaging: Legal and Policy Issues plus some comments on careers

Shepard Fairey's HOPE poster, an iconic image with a complicated legal history that touches on many of the topics presented in this week's lecture. Read about it here.

Here are the visuals from this week's lecture on legal and business issues in photography.  Download Legal&BusinessIssues2

Byron

 

Failure vs. Perception

You've heard me talk about how photography has never been "one thing." That is, it has always been multiple competing technologies and methods, each with unique inherent properties.

Ten years ago, if you had been taking this class, one of the biggest challenges you would have had to face was failure. When photography was predominantly a film and chemistry undertaking, technical failures were the norm. Exposure was conceptually and technically difficult. Quality of prints was always a challenge. Answers to questions and solutions to problems were elusive and required persistence. It could've been four weeks into class before you had a reasonably decent print that we could then discuss. From an educational standpoint, I often felt like a big part of teaching photography required me to help people learn how to deal with failure and self-doubt. Persistence in the face of difficulty was a pre-requisite for success.

Today, it's different. With the advent of digital imaging, most of the conceptual and technical barriers that existed between you and a technically sufficient picture have been removed. Making a picture that's sharp and reasonably well exposed is easier than ever. All of those "photographic elements" (framing, composition, focus, timing, light...) that we've worked on all semester endure and still require time and attention, but the once-central lessons that came from technical failures are far less frequent.

From my observation, we've moved away from having to deal with technical obstacles to spending more time talking about how photographs work, and how to see the world in ways that yield new insights and revelations. In short, we talk a lot more about perception. How do you see (and show others) the world with fresh eyes? It's hard to do, but worthy of attention.

I don't mean to say that failure and perception are exclusive to the different methods of photography, but I do think that the scales of emphasis have tipped from one to another. I suppose one thing that has remained consistent is that persistence in the face of a challenge is still a pre-requisite for success.

Billy sent me the video (above) about a snowboarder turned wet-plate tintype photographer. Tintypes, if you recall, are a wet-plate process that produce a one-of-a-kind image, somewhat akin to daguerreotypes. Tintypes were often referred to as the "poor man's daguerreotype". This guy has a passion that is consistent with people who become consumed with a creative enterprise. He converted a large van into a mobile camera obscura and has dedicated his life to making mammoth tintypes.

What's most interesting to me in the video is how, despite his pure devotion to his enterprise, he still has to struggle with the failure of his medium. It just points out to me of how the lessons of photography have changed along with the medium.

Thanks Billy!

Byron

Color theory, please review

It would be a very good idea to review your notes and the visuals from Monday's lecture on color theory and practice prior to your lab this week. It will help inform our in-class exercise.

Byron 

Captions, color theory, and space and time

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe, 2008. Reconstructing the view from the El Tovar to Yavapai Point using nineteen postcards.

 

Today's class had a lot of parts. First, there's was the discussion about captions. While not a requirement for this last project, you may find that using words in conjunction with your pictures might help create a context for a viewer.  Download CAPTIONS2

Second, I talked about some basic principles with color theory and color correction of digital images. The photoshop demos aren't included, but these are the visuals that led up to it.  Download ColorTheoryAndPractice2

Finally, here are the visuals from some work I've done over the years that relate to time, space, and photography. Download 206 Time&Space4 (it's a big file, please be patient.) The Third View Project has a web site and you can see a video demo of the DVD here. If that's not enough, you can see more at klettandwolfe.com.

Byron 

Veracity in photography

Here are the visuals from Monday's lecture Veracity in Photography.  I compressed the file, but it's still 22 megabytes. Please be patient. Download VERACITY2

Here's some stuff I put in a posting for another class about the 3D animation and printing stuff I'm playing with.

 

The Perched Rock as a 3D editable mesh, made from photographs

Here is the Perched Rock walkaround that served as the source for the 3D video: http://youtu.be/qZHuvYlLRAQ

Here is the Perched Rock 3D video: http://youtu.be/0JeiB0CZKX4 and http://youtu.be/1RGz_6WdBp4

Here is the Perched Rock 3D file as a "mesh" that I'm editing in preparation of making a 3D print on my Makerbot Thing-o-matic. I put bunny ears on it just for you. http://youtu.be/UFTbGj1uhD8

Here is my sleeping cat photographed quickly yesterday: http://youtu.be/2tBmaU04NII

The software I'm using to turn the photographs into a 3D model is called AutoDesk 123D Catch. Another interesting application I considered using for our little research project was Autocad 123D Make. They will both soon be available as online apps, as well as for Mac, Windows, and iPad. I'm using the Windows version for testing and prototyping. 

The mesh editing software is Meshmixer07.

My 3D printer is a Makerbot Thing-o-matic.

Byron

Project Four: Everyday and moments

Radiolab presents: Moments by Will Hoffman. This films is a celebration of life that was inspired by David Eagleman's book, Sum.

Here is a small selection of images from the Everyday work I showed in class today. Download EverdaySelections2. I know that it sounds impossible to make pictures on a regular basis (every day?), but you can do it. Just get in the habit of looking, and feeling, and paying attention.

I neglected to post the visuals on Ansel Adams and the background on working with curves with masks a few weeks back. It's here: Download ANSEL D0DGE:BURN

Byron

Post mortem photography - an article

Post mortem daguerreotype of a young child, n.d.

If you are interested in the post mortem photographs I mentioned in yesterday's lecture, you'll enjoy this article on the topic in Boing Boing.

Byron

Lecture - week nine: The Democratic Art

Anna Atkins, 1846. 

Here are the visuals from this week's lecture on Photography: The Democratic Art. The examples I brought into class are from Special Collections in Meriam Library. They have thousands of original historic photographs and they'd be delighted to show you more. 

Please make a point to do the reading for this week. It's a more thorough discussion of some of the things I presented in class this afternoon. The online reading you can be accessed via a link in the schedule (at left).

Questions or comments? Please use the comments link below.
Byron

Lecture: week seven - dynamic range, flash fill, study guide

Just so you know, Ansel used a Kodak Wratten no. 15 (G) filter to make this picture.

Here is the study guide for next week's midterm exam. Download 206 MidtermStudyGuide  As I mentioned in class, you just need to bring a pencil, I'll bring everything else. We will not have a lecture afterwards.

Here are the visuals from this week's lecture on dynamic range, flash fill, filters, and more.  Download Week 7 FlashFill:Filters:Review

Here's to a great week!

Byron