LATEST FEATURE ARTICLES | Updated June 4, 2008

Digital/Traditional Black-and-White Prints

 

Color has ruled photography for many years now, but like a lot of fine-art photographers, I prefer black and white, for its timeless quality and full tonal range. I love the way black-and-white images draw viewers in, without the distractions of color. Read more »

Grad School Alternatives

In the last issue, I wrote about reasons to go to graduate school in photography. Here, I want to talk about alternatives, if you're not ready, didn't get in, or are too broke to go. Read more »

Grad School Ruminations

It's that time of year again when students are applying to graduate school. For those considering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in photography, there are a lot of programs, but so many more perspective students. The figures are staggering. At Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where I teach, we have almost 200 applicants for 7-8 spots this year. Professor Gary Minnix at University of Illinois/Chicago reports also around 200 applicants for 15 spots in their interdisciplinary graduate program—with about 3-4 photography concentrators. Read more »

One Photographer's Journey

Teachingphoto.com is about teaching photography, but not all teaching occurs in schools. Some photographers learn "on the job" by interning or assisting a working photographer. Others learn on their own by reading and working hard at what they do and love. But for most, finding a community and connecting with others who share a similar passion is important. That's where non-profit spaces, camera clubs, and other such organizations come in. Read more »

Physical Memories: Albums, Pictures and Stories

Lucky is what you might call it. Lucky for me, lucky for Carlos and Neus, lucky for Ramon Rius. Lucky for us all. Luck has long been defined as one thing that photographers cannot do without; we pack it in the camera bag. Read more »

 

Warheads

For twenty years, I have made a career out of commenting on American culture through observation of television content. The multimedia body of work that has emerged, 500 Channels, can best be defined as cultural or political satire. The name refers to the fact that just 20 years ago, the idea that we might one day have more than 500 television channels was nothing more than a dream. Read more »

Covering Photography

Collecting photography books is an obsession for many photographers. A lot of us do it. But photographer and Boston College faculty Karl Baden has given his obsession a special spin. You can see it at: www.coveringphotography.com and read about it here.

 

A Digital State of Affairs

For this new column I decided to write about critical issues in the world of teaching digital photography. There are many, of course, so I started asking my students at Northeastern University in Boston what was on their minds. I also talked with my colleagues and to Bruce Hamilton, who's in charge of our technical facilities, about what our program’s needs are now, and what they will be in the near future. Read more »

Photo Olympics

Michelle Sheppard is the Photography teacher at Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, Massachusetts. She has supplied us this issue with an amazingly engaging lesson plan for intro to Photo students in the upper high school grades. Her lesson, which she calls the “Photo Olympics,” incorporates ideas on composition, critique, shooting strategy, new angles from which to view the world, and how to photograph a rubber lobster. Read more »

Lessons Learned

Every so often, I’ll run into a former student and he or she will recall something that happened in my class that influenced them years later. I’m always a little surprised at that memory, but then haven’t we all had teachers who reached us in some manner along the way—good or sometimes even bad? Read more »

 

The Photobooth: Timeless Self-Portrait Vending Machine

The Photobooth is a cultural icon, having survived as a functional part of the American landscape for over 80 years. Quite amazing when you think about it. What other technology has remained unchanged, yet still vibrant, for such a long time? A quick ebay search reveals photobooth photos taken throughout the past eight decades, and they still look great. The photobooth has been the place anyone, despite their economic status, could afford to take high quality photos. It has recorded chance meetings, spontaneous moments, and new love for generations. The booth has also been a fixture in more utilitarian pursuits: the procurement of countless ID and passport photos. As a recent testimony to the significance of its cultural cachet, Apple Computer (perhaps the epitome of corporate cool) designed an interactive photography software application that ships with every new Mac. They call it Photo Booth. Read more »

Bend it Babies! A Tool for a New Way of Seeing and Teaching

When I began teaching photography five years ago I was utterly unprepared for how much I would learn every day on the job. Inspiring and instructing students day in and day out has been among the most gratifying and challenging experiences of my life. In a world where imagery is plentiful and can seem cheap, I am continually searching for new ways to keep busy, harried college students impassioned with seeing, experiencing, and creating through their own eyes rather than just consuming the images (and underlying messages) that surround them on all sides. Read more »

NON-PROFIT SPOTLIGHT

The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MOCP)

Imagine that you are the head of an institution dedicated to “contemporary photography,” responsible for making sense of all of the trends and movements currently clamoring for a place under that umbrella. Pretend also that you must make a place for the work of artists in your region while avoiding easy dismissal as just another regional museum. On top of that, imagine that you are also charged with serving students and faculty for one of the largest photography departments around, just down the street from one of the most highly regarded large museums in America. Read more »

Digital Update: Raw Files and the Digital Negative

There is so much going on in the world of digital capture it’s a little hard to know where to begin. I’m just starting at the tip of the iceberg here but the two most important topics are probably Adobe DNG and Apple’s Aperture. Read more »

 

Slide Slam

About once a semester I host an evening called Slide Slam at the School of Visual Arts in New York.  In a fast-paced format, six emerging photographers project a selection of their work and take questions from the audience afterwards. Audiences have been packing the two hundred-seat amphitheater for this event because people are eager to get a look at fresh work and the photographers who are creating it. I started this alternat ive venue to give some exposure to a large number of photographers who are unknown or under-recognized. Often I’m more struck by their work than by what I see every month in galleries. Read more »

   
         
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