COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS PHOTO 150: Introduction to Cameras and Composition Fall 2014 Section: Online 11/03/14 through 12/06/14

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1 Instructor: Office Phone: Communication: Office Hours: Virtual Classroom: Mark Daybell (661) and phone messages answered M- F within 24 hours (please use your COC account, include the course name and course number with message) By phone or by appointment Course Description Introduces the fundamental historical development, theory, technology, and basic applications of photography. Examines principles and analysis of artistic and aesthetic qualities of photographic images through group interaction and discussion. Provides demonstration, analysis of function, and technical experience with digital and film single lens reflex cameras. It is recommended students provide a digital or 35mm film SLR camera capable of manual exposure and adjustment. UC credit limitation: PHOTO- 150 and PHOTO- 160, credit for one course only. Student Learning Outcomes 1. Develop effective understanding of major artistic and photographic movements, theories, and techniques 2. Produce images that demonstrate effective use of the photographic medium applying appropriate critical and aesthetic standards Course Objectives 1. Differentiate major artistic and photographic movements through examining the basic history and principles of photography. 2. Appraise basic theories of artistic and aesthetic standards of photography within the creative process through exploration of varied subject matter and use of color. 3. Identify and visually illustrate the laws of composition within the photographic medium. 4. Apply and compose effective camera control to assure correct exposure. 5. Utilize and differentiate effects of natural lighting in a wide range of environmental conditions. 6. Distinguish and employ basic digital image processing techniques. 7. Comprehend and relate understanding of photographic aesthetics through critique standards and presentation formats. Course Materials Online Slide Lectures (PowerPoint) Online Discussions and Critiques Online course management systems Blackboard and MyArtsLab Course materials may be of a mature nature Text and Supplies Custom textbook bundle available at the COC Bookstore: Pearson online access to MyArtsLab: Short Course in DIGITAL Photography London, Barbara, Short Course in DIGITAL Photography, Second Edition Custom Cover ISBN 13: , Standard Cover ISBN 13: Revised August 21, 2014 Page 1 of 9 M. Daybell

2 Course Websites 1. Blackboard: (note there is NO www ) Your login is your 7- digit COC student ID number For example ID # would login Password is student For details please see the Technical Support section and the Initial Blackboard Configuration section below. 2. MyArtsLab: Purchase access code through COC Bookstore or MyArtsLab website Create Log- in and password on MyArtsLab site To enter our class onto MyArtsLab (use our course code provided on Blackboard) MyArtsLab requires Pop- ups do not disable Communication COC provides student accounts for all college business and communication. In order to comply with FERPA, correspondence with the college not coming from your student account will be disregarded. Please go to If you use POP or IMAP to access your student through an outside client, be aware that certain e- mail providers will either block or send messages sent from this course to a spam or bulk mail folder. Grading Photographic Projects Scavenger Hunt 75 points Rockin Geometry 150 points Composition 175 points The Decisive Moment 200 points Photo Challenges (4 x 10 points each) 40 points Photo Critiques (4 x 15 points each) 60 points Exams on Blackboard (9 - points vary per exam) 200 points Gallery Visit 100 points On this scale +900 = A, +800 = B, +700 = C, +600 = D, less than 600 = F You can check your total points at any time on the class website total points Revised August 21, 2014 Page 2 of 9 M. Daybell

3 Student Responsibilities Completion of course work including participation in weekly readings, PowerPoint lectures, group discussions through postings, online exams, and photo assignments. (See calendar for appropriate due dates) Online work is to be completed by midnight PST (Pacific Standard Time) the date it is due. NO LATE WORK. Please do not wait until the last minute to complete your work. A computer or Internet connection problem is not a valid excuse for failing to complete online assignments. It is recommended that you have another computer at your disposal as back up. If you need access to a computer visit the COC library, the TLC lab. Participation in the online classroom is mandatory. Failure to participate in the online classroom for ONE- WEEK OR MORE will result in your being dropped from the course. If the drop deadline has already passed you will not receive credit for the course. Whether online or in class, students shall conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to the community college learning environment Grade challenges are limited to a period of one academic semester. It is the student s responsibility to keep and maintain any materials needed to challenge the grade. Grades will be given in writing. To discuss a grade, please make an in person or phone appointment. It is essential to return written grade reports when asking for a grade revision. All work including photographs for this course must be new and original. Any student caught cheating or plagiarizing will be recommended to the dean for disciplinary action. Warning: I take academic integrity very seriously. This course is about learning to take photographs. Do not submit old photographs. Submitting photographs that were taken months or even years ago, not only defeats the purpose of the course but also violates college academic integrity policies. Revised August 21, 2014 Page 3 of 9 M. Daybell

4 Camera and Software: Access to a digital manually adjustable camera as well as imaging editing software is necessary for successful completion of this course. Acquiring a Camera If you do not own a camera the COC Photo Lab has digital cameras available for checkout. The Photo Lab is in Mentry Hall, Rooms 121 (equipment checkout/check- in) and 133 (Lab). In order to check out a camera you must read and agree to the Photo Lab Safety Rules, present a copy of your student registration statement, and your valid COC Student ID. Photography Lab Safety Rules and other info can be found at: sites.google.com/site/cocphoto/home/photo- lab Call for equipment reservations (661) Photography Lab Equipment Cage (equipment checkout/check- in) hours: Mon 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Tues Wed Thurs 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM Fri- Sun Closed If you have technical questions regarding the basic use of your camera the photo lab staff may be able to provide assistance during the above listed hours. If you wish to purchase a manually adjustable digital camera recommended options include the Canon Digital Rebel. A fully manual adjustable camera allows the user to change the aperture, shutter speed, and the ISO. Many point and shoot cameras have a semi- manual exposure adjustment that is NOT APPROPRIATE for this class. Bring your camera by the photography lab or a camera store NOT an electronics store such as Best Buy for assistance in determining whether your camera is capable of a true manual setting. Auto- focus is acceptable. Camera Settings As soon as you check out or purchase a camera make sure to set the date and time on your camera, and set the camera to save images in JPEG format Acquiring Software Most computers come pre- loaded with some type of image editing software, however if your computer does not contain one you will need to acquire an imaging editing software program. Recommended image editing software programs include Google s Picassa (free), Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop, and iphoto. A media card reader will assist you in the downloading of digital images. USB card readers are usually plug- and- play (PnP) with most current operating software. Revised August 21, 2014 Page 4 of 9 M. Daybell

5 Metadata Metadata is recorded with each image you capture and includes important exposure information. Most of the time this is automatically included with the JPG file you submit. Sometimes the metadata is removed when you resize your images. Please review the lecture on downloading and resizing so that you can properly maintain the metadata with each JPG file. If it is not included I cannot give you credit for the assignment. Assignment Notes: Textbook & Multimedia content (on MyArtsLab) Log into MyArtsLab to complete weekly Study Plans and Course Content section for each chapter. Each section includes multimedia content, practice tests and learning objectives. This material will not be graded, however 10 extra credit points will be given for each chapter study plan that is completed. Reviewing the Closer Looks section will be helpful to understanding complex photographic concepts. Photo Challenges Online: Discussion Board (on Blackboard) The photo challenge is a weekly online student exhibition and critique. Photo challenges are meant to be an easy and simple contest to inspire participation and communication among the class. Each week there will be a new photo challenge subject, students will upload an image and statement to the discussion board, and rate their classmates images. Students must post one (1) image to the discussion board for each challenge that is appropriate for the weekly topic Resize your image to approximately 1200 x 1800 pixels, save the image in JPEG format with medium compression, and preserve metadata before uploading to the discussion board. (see downloading and resizing lecture) Please do not crop your images. Post a short statement about how your image was created and why you selected it for the challenge. This statement can be reflective, critical, evaluative, technical or analytical. Your statements should be approximately words in length. Quality is of greater importance than quantity, and your reasoning should be analytical in nature, supported by facts from the course materials. Only appropriate statements to the assignment will be given credit. Students must rate at least five (5) other student images using the star rating system on Blackboard. Feel free to comment on your fellow classmate s images All Photo Challenges are graded Credit/No Credit (CR/NC). If you do not complete the entire assignment, which is comprised of your original post (image and statement) and rating 5 of your classmates images, then you will receive a grade of NO CREDIT for the entire assignment. Revised August 21, 2014 Page 5 of 9 M. Daybell

6 Online Assignment Critiques: Discussion Board (on Blackboard) For all photo assignment critiques: Post a minimum of ONE favorite image from your weekly photographic assignment and include a statement Your statement should be approximately 200 words in length, and quality is of greater importance than quantity. Your responses, comments, and arguments should be reflective, critical, evaluative, technical or analytical in nature, supported by facts from the course materials. Only appropriate statements to the assignment will be given credit. In order to receive credit you must complete the entire assignment as defined below. All Discussions of topics, responses, assignments and critiques are graded Credit/No Credit (CR/NC). If you do not complete the entire assignment, which is comprised of your original post and two responses, then you will receive a grade of NC for the entire assignment. Photographic Projects (on Blackboard) For each photographic project you will submit ten (10) photographs, through the Photo Projects area on Blackboard, as specified in the project instructions online. See the course calendar for due dates. Detailed requirements for each project, and sample grade forms, will be available online. Please read through the project assignment and course materials in order to complete the project properly. Resizing Images Please copy and resize all images that will be submitted through the project page on Blackboard to approximately 1200 x 1800 pixels. Horizontal images should be resized to APPROXIMATELY 1800x1200 depending on the width to height aspect ratio of the image. Vertical images should be APPROXIMATELY 1200x1800 pixels. If your image becomes squished or distorted then flip the numbers 1200x1800 to 1800x1200. Save all image files in JPEG format with medium compression and preserve metadata. Do not crop, manipulate, or correct images for color or exposure. Please DO NOT use RAW format - RAW file format provides superior digital image quality but requires processing with appropriate software not covered in this course. This file size will be NO LARGER THAN 1 MB. Save and backup all the original images you take for each project, as the professor may ask for the original full size images. Continually ignoring file resizing and naming conventions will result in a NO CREDIT for the assignment. Revised August 21, 2014 Page 6 of 9 M. Daybell

7 Exams (on Blackboard) Exams are completed on Blackboard and may be taken at any time but can only be taken once. These exams were compiled from practice tests on MyArtsLab. Completing the Study Plans and Course Content section on MyArtsLab for each chapter will help you prepare for the exams. Please use this opportunity to review before completing the exam for credit. When taking exams on Blackboard: Close all other browser windows and messaging conversations, including Facebook, before launching the exam Make sure you have an adequate Internet connection Do not use the Save Feature DO NOT USE an ipad or iphone When taking an exam in Blackboard certain actions will cause the exam to freeze or lock up preventing you from finishing the exam. The following actions cause this result: Clicking out of the browser window Receiving a chat invitation or message Accessing any other program Printing or attempting to print In the event an exam freezes you will receive ONE exam reset for the entire course. If you freeze another exam after you have used your one exam reset you will be required to take a makeup essay exam in the TLC Lab. Blackboard Technical Support Blackboard technical support for students is available Monday through Thursday from 9:15 AM until 6:45 PM. You can reach technical support by e- mail at bbsupport@canyons.edu or by phone at E- mail replies will be sent within 24 business hours Please be aware that any problems with the course materials, such as understanding assignments and tests, are not technical difficulties For online tutorials and assistance with the Blackboard, please use: Initial Blackboard Configuration The first thing you must do after your initial login to Blackboard is to change your password. 1. Log into Blackboard 2. Click on the tab labeled My Institution 3. Under the Tools module on the left- hand side of the screen, select Personal Information 4. Select Change Password to customize your password Revised August 21, 2014 Page 7 of 9 M. Daybell

8 Blackboard Web Browser Compatibility Blackboard Learn 9.0 is compatible with the following web browsers: Mozilla Firefox 3.6 through Final Release (Win XP, Vista, Win 7, and OSX ) Safari 4 (OSX ), Safari 5 (OSX ), Safari 5.1 (OSX ) Internet Explorer 8 (Win XP, Vista, and Win 7) and Internet Explorer 9 (Vista and Win 7) Chrome (stable channel - Win XP, Vista, Win 7, and OSX ) Please note that if you are using Internet Explorer 7 you must disable the Visual Text Box Editor. To disable the Visual Text Box Editor in Blackboard: 1. Log into Blackboard 2. Click on tab labeled My Institution 3. Under the Tools module, select Personal Information 4. Select Set Visual Text Box Editor Options 5. Click the radio button titled Unavailable 6. Click Submit Minimal prerequisite skills required for students taking this online course Computer Literacy Basic computer operations Word processing skills Copy and paste between software programs with ability to include an attachment High speed internet accessibility Ability to navigate and research on the internet Use proper format via electronic communication, i.e. Netiquette Writing Skills Ability to communicate clearly in writing using standard English Estimated time per week Ability to access course information at least three times per week Expect to spend at least 8-10 hours per week participating in discussions and reading the text The virtual classroom can be accessed 24 hours per day at your convenience Is this class for you? It is imperative that you are self- disciplined and a self- starter. Without reminders you must be able to follow due dates and schedule yourself in order to complete assignments in a timely manner. Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS) DSPS provides accommodations to students contingent upon documentation on the type of disability to provide "otherwise qualified" students with disabilities the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge in their studies. If you need assistance please contact the DSPS office: Valencia Campus, Seco Hall, Room 103 Phone: (661) TTY: (661) Revised August 21, 2014 Page 8 of 9 M. Daybell

9 COC Library Valencia Campus Mon- Thurs. 8:00 PM to 8:00 PM Fri 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Sat- Sun Closed Canyon Country Campus Mon- Thurs. 8:30 AM to 7:30 PM Fri 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Sat- Sun Closed Website: COC TLC (Teaching and Learning Center) Valencia Campus Mon- Thurs. 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Fri- Sat 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Sun Closed Canyon Country Campus Mon- Thurs. 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM Fri- Sun Closed Website: Instructor Biography Professor Mark Daybell earned a MFA from CSU Fullerton and BS from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. Over his 20 year career in the arts he has exhibited his videos photography installations and films at museums galleries film festivals and alternative art venues. As a professor Mark guides students in the processes of finding an artistic voice and instructs them on creating a portfolio to reflect that vision. Alterations & Addendums The instructor reserves the right to make alterations and/or addendums to syllabus, such as: extra credit changes, course calendar changes, due date changes and project revisions. Appropriate and timely notice will always be given if and when changes occur. Revised August 21, 2014 Page 9 of 9 M. Daybell