Images and Communication

Catalog description

No one doubts the value of photography as a means of recording life. Even if we don't think of ourselves as photographers, digital cameras make it easy to photograph our families, our trips, and aspects of our life that we want to remember. But beyond snapshots, can photography also teach us how to see? And how do they teach us about the world? And, what are the qualities inherent in photographs that make them effective as artifacts of communication? Does looking through the camera's viewfinder sensitize us to world and help us see more? Or, as some writers suggest, does the camera interfere with experiencing the world fully. This course explores seeing with the camera and the many issues that arise when one snaps the shutter. We will be looking at a range of different kinds of photographic images, understanding their contexts, and how to read them. Designers and other visual people use photographs extensively in their work. This course endeavors to make students more aware of their decisions and actions when making photographs as well as how to judge a photograph's effectiveness. The issues that we discuss using photographs, relate to other kinds of visual images, as well. We will be making photographs as we are discussing critical issues in photography that come out of readings. Students must own a digital camera but no prior photographic experience is necessary.