CDES 206

A note from The Orion photo editor

Student photographers!

I am Juniper Rose, the photo editor at The Orion, Chico State's award winning student newspaper.

The Orion is looking for photographers like you! No specific experience necessary, all you need is a passion for taking photos and desire to work with others to produce a weekly print and daily online newspaper that covers your campus community.

The Orion is a three unit internship, and we are currently seeking staff for the Fall 2013 semester.

Orion photographers have opportunities to shoot breaking news, crime scenes, portraits, sports photos and more. This is unmatchable professional experience that will help you to build your portfolio and resume and give you a chance to be a part of the close-knit Orion staff! Apply today! Applications can be found online at: http://theorion.com/site/apply/pdf_5f365580-f1a8-11df-b3fe-0017a4a78c22.htmlor in The Orion office in the basement of Plumas Hall (001).

Please turn your application in at The Orion office or email it directly to me at [email protected].

If you are interested and would like to know more, don't hesitate to contact me. I would love to hear from you.

Juniper Rose

[email protected]

More Veracity visuals

In response to the latest comment about not being able to see visuals from the Veracity lecture, I've exported each slide as a jpeg that can be accessed via this compressed folder:  Download VeracityImages

Please note that Henry Peach Robinson and Oscar Rejlander are also discussed in the assigned reading: http://www.csuchico.edu/~bwolfe/REQUIRED_READINGS/11MomentsInTime.pdf

Byron

Updated Veracity visuals

A couple of of folks have reported seeing some blank pages after downloading the visuals for the Veracity lecture. I can't replicate the problem, so I'm not exactly sure how to fix it. As an attempt to resolve the issue, I've created another version and am posting it here. If you've had trouble, please download and save this pdf and let me know if you have any problems.

Download VERACITY B

Byron

 

Calculating grades in 206

I've received a couple of inquiries as to how grades are calculated in the class. As described in the syllabus, your grade is NOT based on a straight percentage derived from adding up all the points received and dividing by the total points possible. Instead, the specific course categories are weighted (see below). 

QUIZZES & LECTURE ASSIGNMENTS = 10%

MIDTERM EXAM = 15%

FINAL CUMULATIVE EXAM = 15%

ATTENDANCE & EXERCISES = 10%

PROJECTS & CONTACT CRITIQUES = 50%

To calculate your grade, take your earned percentage within a given category, multiply that by its weighted percentage, then add it to all the other (calculated) categories. For example, if you got an 85% on the midterm exam, you'd multiply that by .15 to get 12.75 points earned out of a possible 15. You'd then add that to the calculated points from the other categories to find your total grade.

Your grades are automatically calculated in Blackboard using this approach. You should, of course, do your own calculations just to be sure that it is being done correctly.

Byron

Broken links in lecture

I've received word that there are broken links for the Legal, Policy, and Business Issues in Photography lecture.

The link for Reading the Fine Print should be: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/copyrightmystery/text/reading.

The link for Steps to Copyright should be: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/copyrightmystery/text/steps/

Byron

Finals Week: Office Hours

I will have the same T/W/Th 1:30 - 3:00 office hours during finals week.

See you at the final exam, Monday at 6:00 in Siskiyou 120. Please study thoroughly - I want you to do well on a challenging (but fair) exam.

Byron 

9" x 12" envelopes

It turns out that the bookstore is out of manila envelopes. If you're in the Wed. or Thurs. lab sections, please don't plan on buying an envelope there, but make other arrangements prior to class.

Byron

 

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 just as a reminder, our final exam is on Monday, May 20, at 6:00 PM in Siskiyou 120 - our regular classroom. The study guide is on the posting below.

Study for that final and see you soon!
Byron

Final exam study guide

Our final exam in this class is Monday, May 20, at 6:00 PM in your regular (Siskiyou) classroom. I will discuss it a little more in class today. In the meantime, here is the study guide that you can use in preparation.

Download 206FinalExamStudyGuideS13

Byron

Two readings for before lecture on Monday

Tomorrow is our last lecture session. As always, there's an assigned reading. I think you'll get more out of class if you complete the two readings before we meet. Please follow the readings link at left to access the two articles, both online.

See you soon,
Byron

Google Glasses in the news

Thad Starner, who is a technical adviser to the Google Glass team, says he thinks concerns about disruption are overblown - From the New York Times

Last night, just hours after I finished talking about legal issues in photography, this article appeared in the New York Times. It addresses, in part, some of the complex issues related to invasion of privacy.

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&BusinessIssues2013

Byron

Real photographs of actual levitation - honest!

 

Natsumi Hayashi

I'm sure that I won't have time in today's class to show these pictures, but I don't want to forget to share them. The photographs are made by Natsumi Hayashi. At first, they seem a little silly, and completely staged - in the same way that the Spirit Photographs I showed last week were contrived. But while her pictures are "set up," they're real in the sense that she is capturing a precise moment with a fast shutter speed. And after looking at a few of them, they start to take on an other-worldly quality.

Her blog is here.

Enjoy,
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: 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. 

Byron

Extraordinary photographs from the Civil War

The 150th Pennsylvania Infantry camp on Belle Plain, Virginia, is pictured in March 1862, three weeks before the Battle of Chancellorsville. (AP Photo/Library of Congress)

Remember on Monday when I discussed things like Daguerreotypes, Callotypes, and Tintypes? One process that I talked about thrived during the Civil War. The "wet plate process" required a glass plate negative to be sensitized and coated immediately prior to exposure. I had a couple samples with me in class - perhaps you saw one? 

This article on Civil War photographs was recently published in The Atlantic and has some extraordinary images - most of which I've never seen before - that were scanned from the original glass plate negatives held in the Library of Congress and the National Archives. They're worth a look.

Byron

Kodak's early days

As I mentioned in Monday's lecture, Kodak was the Apple of its day. But they've hit rough times as a company unable to pivot quickly enough in the rapid and ever-changing world of digital imaging. They've recently filed for bankruptcy. Back in their heyday, they held contests for amateur photographers using their $1 cameras. Here are some really wonderful pictures taken by amateurs. These are from the New York Times Lens blog.

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

Photography: The Democratic Art

Anna Atkins, 1846. 

Here are the visuals from this week's lecture on Photography: The Democratic Art. Download HistoryS132 I'd suggest you download and review prior to class next week. The examples of historic processes 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 yesterday. The online reading you can be accessed via a link in the schedule (at left).

Of course the start of class included a demonstration and discussion about exporting files from Lightroom (the method required for moving images into Photoshop) as well as a more thorough discussion about the use of Curves in interpreting pictures in Photoshop.

Questions or comments? Please use the comments link below.

Byron

The Haiku Project plus Ansel Adams, curves and masks

Please access the link at left to download the handout for project #4 and review it prior to lab this week.

The examples from below are terrific samples from previous students using different haiku. The visuals from today's lecture, showing other pictures that have qualities suitable for our haiku project, are here: Download HaikuesquePictures 

Byron

 

Bethany Barndollar

 

Bryan Clendon

 

Connor Wysard

 

Elizabeth Mishkit

 

Julialynn Copeland

 

Michaela Swenson

 

Nicole Davis

 

Rachel Cahill

 

 

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: UPDATED SCHEDULE

I've made significant changes to the schedule. Please download the new version at left. Specifically, I've added numberous videos for the next few weeks about Photoshop which we'll start using this week. Because of Caesar Chavez Day and your upcoming midterm exam, I won't be able to introduce many of the concepts and steps so it's all the more important for you to see these worthwhile videos.

Please watch the assigned videos each week before you come to your lab. 

Questions or comments? Please use the comments link below so that all may share in the discussion.
Byron 

Project Three: Seeing and color

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

I was so pre-occupied with getting your midterm exam ready so I could discuss your study guide, I failed to have your third project handout prepared. My apologies. It's now available for download at left.

As you'll see, it's a project based upon many of the ideas I discussed in lecture; slowing down and looking at your world and seeking out personal moments that you can photograph in a way that you communicate an experience with an audience. Here is a small selection of images from the Everyday work I showed in class. Download EverdaySelections2. For further inspiration, you should watch the Moments video above. Consider how image content and timing are both important in carrying a message.

Color is an important element in this project, too. Read the handout carefully and study the many examples provided.

This is a project that you should begin immediately after your lab meeting this week. I know that it sounds impossible to make pictures on a regular basis (every day?), but you can do it. Just practice looking, and feeling, and paying attention.

Byron

Lecture: week eight - study guide, dynamic range, flash fill, perception

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

Here is the study guide for the midterm exam which takes place in two weeks (next week is a holiday).  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, perception, seeing, and creativity.  Download Week 8 FlashFill-Filters-Review2

Here's to a great week!

Byron

Lecture: week seven - ISO, The Zone System

 
 

Here is the Zone System handout I described in class. Please download it and study it in preparation for the midterm exam which will be upon us before you know it! The most important zones to be able to describe are III, V, and VII.

Here are the visuals from this week's lecture on ISO, the Zone System. Download WEEK 07 ISO:ZoneSystem I'll discuss the technique of "flash fill" when we meet after spring break.

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

Chris Jordan's TED talk

Chris Jordan (the visiting photographer who will be available to meet with YOU tomorrow at 10:00 AM in Ayres 103) presented a TED talk in 2008. You can watch the video here. He has a wealth of imagery and video beyond what he presented in that one talk and it will be interesting to see what he presents tomorrow.

Hope to see you there,
Byron

Week 06 lecture: Introduction to Color Theory

Claude Boutet’s painter’s circle of 1708 - probably the first to be based on Newton’s circle of color.

Here are the visuals for this week's introductory lecture on Color Theory.  Download Week 06 CDES 206 IntroToColor

In addition to the lecture, we had a quiz, and a preliminary introduction on adjusting color balance, hue, saturation, and luminosity in Lightroom.

Byron

Reminder: Chris Jordan on Friday

 

Jet Trails, 2007     60x96"

Depicts 11,000 jet trails, equal to the number of commercial flights in the US every eight hours.

 

Just a gentle reminder that Chris Jordan (http://www.chrisjordan.com) will be on campus this Friday as part of the Sustainability Conference. He has agreed to meet with students on Friday, March 8 at 10:00 in Ayres 103. Yes, I'll give you extra credit for attending.

Byron

 

Chico Silent Film Festival

Here's some more information about the Silent Film Festival I described in class:  Download Sm2ndChicoSFFPoster

To speak to a person, please contact the Avenue 9 Gallery at: 530-228-2860.

I've been told that if you take your Chico State ID, you can get in for free. I'd recommend that you call to confirm.

Lecture: Week Five - lenses and depth of field

Keith Carter, Fireflies: Photographs of Children

Here are the visuals from this week's lecture about lenses and depth of field.  Download Lenses-Depth The file contains the study guide for next week's quiz, as well as links to the Lytro camera, and that online camera simulator I demonstrated.

Don't forget to download the next project and read through it for details.

Have a great week and see you soon.

Questions or comments? Please use the comments link below so that all may share in the discussion.
Byron 

Lecture Review - Week Four

 

Life, August 7, 2002 from Everyday: A Yearlong Photo Diary

Here are the visuals from this week's lecture (Download CDES206 Week04 ReviewWorkUpIdea). The class included an in-class quiz, a discussion about the concept of "Working Up an Idea" and then an overview of several features in Lightroom. The Lightroom presentation was "live" and included the explanation of:

Magnification and navigation

Rating pictures and smart collections

Working in the Develop Module with exposure, contrast, black, white, highlight, and shadow adjustments.

RESET!

Making and working with virtual copies.

I'd recommend that this week you spend time memorizing shutter speeds and aperture values. We'll be working with them in lecture next week.

Have a great week,
Byron

 

Lecture: Week Three

Photograph by Jacques Henri Lartigue, child prodigy

The emphasis in this lecture was on some digital definitions (especially resolution) and the effect of shutter speed on photographs. I also demonstrated the simple use of the DEVELOP MODULE in Lightroom. That demo was preceded by a discussion of the pitfalls of seeing in color while trying to make pictures in grayscale. It had to do with "luminance and equiluminance".

Here are the visuals from the lecture (10MB). Download WEEK 03 Exposure-Shutter-Time2. I recommend that you download and review them this week in conjunction with your readings.

Questions or comments? Please use the comments link below.

Byron

Lecture: Week Two

A screenshot from the Nova ScienceNow video on Mirror Neurons.

Here is a pdf file with the visuals from this week's lecture: Download WEEK 02 BasicCamera&Abstracts2 (10 MB). It contains numerous examples of photographs that inspired your first project. I'd suggest reviewing it on-screen as you'll consume a lot of ink if you try to print it.

The link to the Mirror Neurons video is above if you want to see that fascinating story again.

In addition to the pdf of visuals that you can review, I also took a few minutes to demonstrate the basics of creating a "CATALOG" in Lightroom when transferring files from your camera to your portable drive. Everything I did happened with the "LIBRARY" tab active.

You should download the pdf for your first project and print it out. Please make sure you keep up with the readings and review the assigned videos as we move forward quickly in class. The more you do now, the smoother the remainder of the semester will be.

Questions or comments? Please use the comments link below so that all may share in the discussion.
Byron

 

First tasks

Paul Caponigro, Galaxy Apple, 1964

Here are the visuals from this week's first lecture session:  Download CDES 206 LectureOne

I'd recommend that you download them and review prior to class on Monday. Any pictures of web pages are hyperlinked - click on them to go to the actual page.

1. If you've not done so already, sign up to receive email alerts when postings are made on this blog.

2. If you're a Communication Design major, go here and sign up to receive the Communication Design e-mail announcements.

3. Download and print the course syllabus, schedule, and FAQs. Links at left.

4. Research your camera options. If you have questions, contact your lab instructor but provide us with links to the camera manufacturer's description. E-mail addresses at left.

4. Get your camera and other supplies together for lab next week.

Questions or comments? Please use the comments link below so that all can share in the discussion.
Byron 

Welcome! Please subscribe.

 

Welcome to the first posting for the Spring 2013 semester of CDES 206. Please subscribe to this site so that you'll get an email notification whenever there's a new entry. If you haven't done so already, enter your name in the upper right hand corner of this web page and click the "subscribe me!" button.

Alternatively, you can subscribe to an RSS feed so your browser always notifies you when there's been a change to the site. If you'd like to use that method, click the "subscribe to this blog's RSS feed" link.

And if you're a Communication Design major and haven't done so yet please sign up for the Communication Design web site:  http://chicocda.com/cdes-mailing-list-sign-up

Byron

Questions or comments? Please use the comments link below.