Week 10 Wrap-Up

Sally Mann, from At Twelve

Hi Everybody,

Wow, it's hard to believe that we're almost done!

Thanks for a fantastic final crit and for all the hard work you put in this semester--it really shows in your prints.

This coming Saturday there is NO CLASS. Stay home, sleep in, enjoy the sunshine and get ready for our final exhibition which is...

December 7th!! We will be meeting in our normal classroom. Be on time, since we won't be staying there very long. Feel free to bring any snacks or refreshments you'd like to have during the exhibition. I'll be bringing a few little things myself.

The exhibition is open to friends and family from 12:00 to 1:00, Room TBA.
On to this week's homework!:

1-You will be turning in all of your final work next class on a DVD or USB drive which you will not be getting back. If you don't turn it in next class, you won't receive credit for the semester.

Your DVD/USB Drive needs to have the following:
-1 folder containing your final series photographs (20 minimum)
-1 folder containing all of the homework assignments
* Make sure your USB drive or folders are labelled with your FIRST and LAST name *

I want the highest quality files that you have. This means that I want PSDs or TIFs with the layers intact if you worked in Photoshop. If you worked only in Camera Raw or Lightroom, I want the XMP or DNG files as well. If you aren't sure what I mean by this, please contact me.

2- Before next class, post your full series to the blog. Label the post with your name. The blog will be projected during the exhibition.

3- Send me the latest revision of your Artist Statements THIS WEEKEND.  I will be in touch re: the final draft of your artist statements later this weekend.

That's all for now! Please be in touch with ANY questions you have ASAP--next class is it!

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards 2020

Hey everyone!

Just a quick head's up--the deadline to submit to the NYC Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is coming up soon on December 1st.

It's a fantastic opportunity, and I encourage you all to submit! Here is a little more information:

How are the New York City Scholastic Awards and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards connected?

The NYC Scholastic Awards is a regional affiliate of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.  There more than 100 regional affiliates serving their communities across the country.  The NYC Scholastic Awards serves Kings, Queens, Manhattan, Bronx and Richmond counties.  Last year we received over 9,000 submissions.  The top works receive either a Gold Key, Silver Key, or an Honorable Mention.  The Gold Key works are automatically sent to National Judging which is run by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.  National Medalists are invited to NYC to take part in National Events, which include exhibitions in NYC as well as a ceremony in Carnegie Hall.  There are numerous scholarships available at the National level.  Please click here to learn more.

How do I enter work in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards?

Sign up!

Students can create an account to upload their work. If you are an educator, create your account to register your students. Submission deadlines vary by region.

Create!

The Scholastic Awards look for work that demonstrates originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. After you have created your work, upload it to your Scholastic Awards Account! Visit our online galleries to see examples of works from past National Medalists. Be sure to visit our copyright and plagiarism FAQ to learn more about submitting original works.

Complete your submission!

After uploading your work, print your submission form, have a parent/guardian and an educator sign it, and then send your signed submission form and payment or fee waiver to your local Affiliate. Submission form and payment instructions can be found on the submission form or on your local Affiliate’s website.

What else do I need to know?

Eligibility

Public, private, or home-school students in the U.S., Canada, or American schools in the rest of the world enrolled in grades 7–12 (ages 13 and up) are eligible to participate in the Scholastic Awards.

Category Descriptions

For a full list of category descriptions, click HERE.

Blind Judging

The Scholastic Awards are adjudicated without knowledge of the artists; or writers’ identity. Please make sure that your submission does not contain any personal information.

Freedom of Expression

Young artists and writers are free to explore any and all topics. There are no pre-defined prompts and no work is ever disqualified from the Scholastic Awards because of the nature of its content.

Judging Criteria

Originality

Work that breaks from convention, blurs the boundaries between genres, and challenges notions of how a particular concept or emotion can be expressed.

Technical Skill

Work that uses technique to advance an original perspective or a personal vision or voice, and shows skills being utilized to create something unique, powerful, and innovative.

Emergence of a Personal Vision or Voice

Work with an authentic and unique point of view and style.

Final Exhibition & Portfolio Details

Mike Brodie, from the series A Period of Juvenile Prosperity

Here is a break down of what is due over the next few weeks and how to turn it in:

Due 11/23 (this coming Saturday!):

• 20 new images from your series for in-class critique (our final!)
• 2nd draft of your artist statement
• A self-portrait
• Your 13 best images for the exhibition:
• Can be any 13 images from this semester, as long as they are part of your series.
• 10 images will be printed 11x17", 3 will be printed much larger. Be sure to indicate which 3 should be printed big.
• Should be highest-quality versions of these images, ideally saved as processed TIFs.
• Will turn in at start of class. I will save them to my hard drive.

If I don't have these by the end of next class, you will not be included in the exhibition.

Due by 12/7 (last day of class!):

• A USB drive or DVD labelled with your first and last name, containing the following:
• A folder containing the 20+ final images of your series. 
• Should be highest-quality versions of these images, ideally saved as processed TIFs
• A folder containing all of your homework assignments, separated by week. 
• These should be your original files or processed TIFs, and not images you copied off the blog.

If I don't have these by the end of class you will not receive credit for the semester.

The final USB can be turned in next class if you have everything ready early.

Week 9 Wrap-Up

László Moholy-Nagy: The Olly and Dolly sisters, around 1925

I can't believe next class is our final critique!

This week we had an open lab session to work on our final edits for the exhibition.

Here is what you need to have with you for next class:

For the critique:

-20 new images from your series. If possible, please have these separated into their own folder before you come to class

For the exhibition:

-13 images from your series (choose your best 13--10 will be printed 11x17", 3 will be printed much larger. Be sure to let me know which 3 are for the large prints), highest quality version possible (if you've done any image processing in Camera Raw, Lightroom, Photoshop, or any other photo editing software, make sure you give me the edited file)
-Your self portrait

-Final draft of your artist statement 

If you do not give me these by the end of class* YOU WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE EXHIBITION. My only opportunity to print will be right after class on Saturday.

*If you will miss class for some reason, I will need you to send me your files and statement. CONTACT ME FIRST--your files will be too big to email and I will give you instructions on how to get them to me.

That's it! Your homework for the week is the following:

-Send me the latest draft of your artist statement, before the end of this weekend.
-Get everything prepped and separated for next class.
-Keep shooting, and please get in touch with any questions.

 If you would like feedback on an edit for the show or on any specific images, either email me or upload them to the blog.

See you next week!

Phenomenal picture

Artists statement

These images I have taken are to give off the representation of the theme horror.  I have gone out to capture the many different ways horror can be defined and represented. What I am going for is to capture these photos and let the viewers interpret them in any way they like.  Now you may wonder why I have chosen to use horror as my subject of interest, well I chosen horror as my main subject of interest because horror is one of the my favorite genre for many things. May it be movies, art, books, videos games,  you name it. I had loved the horror genre ever since I was younger and till this day I still do.  Horror has been a constant thing in my life that it has grown on me, and has had an affect on me.  Such as when  I'm creating art the dark grimness or creepy and anxious feeling or vibe that you see in horror has it's way to corporate itself in my art. Horror is just so fascinating that's why I chose it to be my subject of main interest.

Next critique

Recreation post

Aperture response photo

Namsa Leuba

Aperture Foundation response photo

Photographer: Dana Scruggs

Trying to Write an Artist Statement...

Artist Statements: Helpful Resources

Pierre Louis Pierson, Portrait of Comtesse de Castiglone, c. 1863/66

Feeling stumped about how to write your artist statement? Here are some helpful resources:

• How to Write the Perfect Artists Statement
• On Statements
• How to Write About Your Photographs

Week 8 Wrap-Up

Jon Henry, Nefertit from the series “Stranger Fruit.”

Hi everybody!

Thanks for a great second critique!

Next week will be an open lab session, so be sure to bring EVERYTHING with you to class. We will use this time to work on organizing your final series and making initial selections for the final exhibition.

On to this week's homework:

Due by end of day Sunday, November 10th:

• If you haven't already, shoot and post your Aperture Foundation response photograph.
• Send me a preliminary artist Statement, roughly 1 paragraph. Keep in mind this is a first draft and isn't expected to be perfect or anywhere near resolved.

Due before next week's class:

• Keep shooting for your series!
• This is your absolute last chance to post any homework you may have missed.
• Post your 20 images for the 2nd critique (even especially if you weren't in class)
• Start working on your self-portrait for the exhibition. As a reminder, how you interpret "self portrait" is wide open.

Our next class will be an open session to prepare your files for the exhibition and for turning in the final. Please bring ALL of your files with you. 

Please be in touch with any questions at all—we are getting down to the wire!

That's all for now. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Photoshop, GIMP, and Photo Editing at Home

Steven Klein

If you are interested in doing more advanced photo editing at home or after the end of semester, there are a number of great options open to you:

Photoshop is now on available as a subscription-based photo bundle for $10 per month here.
There is a 30-day free trial, so if you are considering this route, be sure to do the trial first.

There is also an extremely simplified version of Photoshop with just the most basic tools called Photoshop Elements. It generally comes bundled with the software that comes with Wacom Tablets or some printers and scanners.

Another great alternative to Photoshop that many photographers prefer is Lightroom. It is made by the same company as Photoshop, but is designed for photographers who may not need all of the advanced retouching and compositing functions available in photoshop. It's also a lot less expensive.
The student-priced version can be found here.

If you aren't interested in buying software, a popular option is GIMP, which is available for free download here: http://www.gimp.org. There are free tutorials here: http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

There are a lot of Photoshop and basic photo editing tutorials online. By far, the best are found on Lynda.com. It's a pay-membership site, but they've made quite a bit of their content available for free on their Youtube channel, found here.

This should get you started! If you have any suggestions or recommendations, please leave a comment.

Photoshop and Camera Raw Tutorials

Hi Everyone!

Here are a couple of basic Photoshop tutorials for your. Don't worry if you don't fully understand them--we will go over the material again in the coming weeks. Please write down any questions you have or if there is anything especially unclear.

Camera Raw Workflow:




Photoshop CC Interface:

recreation of museum picture

Week 7 Wrap-Up

Aida Muluneh, Strength in Honor, 2016

Hi Everyone,

Today, we visited the Aperture Foundation to view the exhibition The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion. We also discussed their internship program (more info here!).

Next week is our second critique. You will be showing 20 new images related to your series. We will have some time at the start of class to organize images and to take a closer look at Camera raw and Photoshop. Please be sure to bring all of your files (as well as a hard drive or USB drive).

On to this week's homework:

• Firstly (and most importantly), concentrate on shooting for your project and next week's critique.
• Secondly, use this week to complete and post any homework assignments you may have missed. I will be getting in touch before next class with a short midterm review. If you have any questions about the homework, or aren't sure of how to complete an assignment related to a class you may have missed, email me and we'll sort it out. Not sure if you missed an assignment? Click on the homework tab to see all of the weekly assignments or click on your label to se everything you've posted.
• Finally, choose one image from the Aperture exhibition and create a response image. How you interpret this is up tp you, but you might choose to: recreate the subject or pose, use the same or a similar technique, create an image that responds to or engages with a photo for the exhibition, just to name a few ideas. Be sure to post the photograph you are referencing as well.

That's all for this week. Please let me know if you have any questions, and see you next Saturday!

Phenomenal picture

Street photography

Street photography

Homeworks

Minimum Depth of Field 

Max Depth of Field 

Portrait 

Frozen Motion

Blurred motion