Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AS 121"
COURSE NAME: "Pinhole Photography"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Summer Session I 2019

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Serafino Amato
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TTH 9:00-12:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Pinhole photography is lens-free photography, a method of capturing images using a simple light-tight box with a single pinhole in one end. This course is designed to introduce students to the photographic process through the use of the pinhole camera and the traditional darkroom (B&W film) with its chemical processes. Sessions will include lectures, demonstrations, projects, and exhibition. The course is suitable for students with a good understanding of manual camera control who want to improve the quality of their B&W photographs.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

The first photographs emerge in the middle of the 19th century, but pinhole technology dates back a few thousand years. The knowledge of light being compressed, inverted, and projected goes as far back as the 5^th century BCE. Pinhole imaging has been used widely in art and science since the 13^th century and throughout the Renaissance until the first photographic images were printed around 1850.

This course focuses on the earliest techniques of image-making, bringing them in touch with the most recent technologies. Students will build their own cameras and use them as a vehicle across the history of photography. We will cover exposure in terms of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO; developing and printing various supports (film and paper); the progress of photographic technology through the decades; and aesthetic issues in photography and in art in general. Starting with the most basic principle of light, students of this course will learn to capture, record, manipulate, convert, share and understand the process of making meaningful images.

Besides classroom and darkroom lectures, the course involves slideshows, on site shooting assignments, and gallery visits, with particular attention to the city of Rome as subject matter.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

This course aims to provide students with the skills necessary to produce a coherent body of photographic work, and the means to analyze, understand, and interpret images.

Key skills taught:

Use and understanding of pinhole cameras, film cameras and digital cameras, and manipulation of medium to create meaningful images, traditional dark room technique and digital manipulation.

TEXTBOOK:

NONE

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
	Grading is based on a student’s physical, mental, and verbal participation in class, comprehension of assigned reading, and a body of photographs, as follows: Attendance and participation. (20%) Any missed classes will be penalized. Discussion and critiques are the most important part of this class and will be evaluated by the professor to determine a part of the final grade. Midterm exam.(20%). Consisting of short answers on the technical aspects of photography . Final Project: (60%) A body of photographic work pertaining to Rome and accompanied by an oral thesis to be presented to the class. This should be an accumulation and culmination of a semester of making and thinking about images.

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality shows excellent mastery of the course content along with exceptional levels of technical skill, artistic awareness, originality, resourcefulness, commitment, quantity of work and improvement. There has been excellent collaboration and leadership in group projects, and there have been no attendance problems.
BA highly competent level of performance with work that directly addresses the content of the course, with a good quantity of work produced.
CAn acceptable level of performance: the work shows awareness of the course content, but is very limited in quantity, quality, commitment and skill.
DThe student lacks a coherent grasp of the course material and has failed to produce much work.
FNegligent in attendance, academic honesty, engagement with the course content, or production of work.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Attendence is mandatory.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Week 1:

1. Intro to course. Principles of photography, Kinds of cameras and how they work, making cameras and capturing images. Photograms. Camera scura.

HW: pinhole research, found photos

2. Basic pinhole camera construction and first experiments with light. Set up class blog.

HW: found materials for first camera

Week Two:

1. Supports, film and paper sensitivity, ISO, shutter speed, aperture, depth of field. On site shooting.

HW: shooting assignment 1

2. Intro to darkroom chemicals and procedures. Paper negative and positive processing. Digital processing, scanners.

Hw: shooting assignment 2. negative and positive prints

Week Three:

1. Midterm exam. Pinhole in the world of photography. Gallery/Museum visit TBA.

HW: shooting assignment 3, and prints

2. Old and new technology: Holga and DYI pinholes, stereoscopy, lomography, film cameras, digital applications. Dark room effects.

HW: shooting assignment 4, and prints

Week Four:

1. Mac lab. Pinhole, analog, digital. Combining technologies, scanning, etc. Discuss final projects.

HW: Shooting assignment 5, final project

2. Presenting work. Final project presentations.