Course Syllabus

Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs. As Long As It Photographs It Must Be A Camera

Ways of Seeing: Storytelling Through Photography B

DIS Logo

042.jpg

Semester & Location:

Spring 2020- DIS Copenhagen

Type & Credits:

Elective Course - 3 credits

Major Disciplines:

Communications, Photography, Visual Arts

Faculty Members:

Charlotte de la Fuente charlottefuente@gmail.com 

Program Director:

Iben de Neergaard,  idn@dis.dk

Time & Place:

Mondays and Thursdays, 13.15-14.35

Location: V10-D11

Course Description
Study abroad often serves as a key experience and a turning point in your understanding of the world. This class is an effort to make sense of your study abroad stay: rather than creating photographs as mementos, you will make pictures that are unique to your stay in Copenhagen. It is not enough to point a camera at a tourist site or use it to make Facebook or Instagram images. You will be encouraged to view your new environment – not through the lens of an outsider viewing a novelty, but to give us, as viewers, special access to your world.

This class combines project development, photographic assignments, critiques and a survey of the history and language of photography. You will engage with the medium and the process of creating a coherent photographic project while at the same time learn about the development of photography and how your own pictures reference this. In class, our critiques will focus on intentionality and imbedded meaning in photography.

During the course of the semester, our photographic assignments will give you an opportunity to develop your photographic skills as well as explore and understand various storytelling approaches within photography. This will spark your creativity and get you closer to finding your photographic voice and approach to express yourself through photography. You will be challenged during this course, so your
creativity, courage and curiosity is mandatory.

Course Format

Throughout this semester, we consider the cohort our Artist Collective. You will work on your personal projects, that will result in your own photobook and we will develop and create projects as a group. Through critiques and feedbacks, you all participate in your classmates development. The collective is a creative space, where you are encouraged to explore and use your creativity to express yourself within photography.

While working our way through the different genres of photography our class activities will engage you to look at and discuss the work of professional practitioners as well as understanding the implications related to the photographic medium.

All students will do two presentations (6 minutes) on an individual photographer related to, but not actually cited in, the given topic. For these presentations, you will be assigned  photographers that are relevant to the genre we are currently working within.

While creating photographs on a regular basis during the semester, our critiques will help you to develop your skills, approach, style and final project idea. Each student will have 2 critiques during the semester, in which the cohort will provide constructive criticism.

By the end of the semester you will have a final project of 7 to 25 images presented in bookform, a project statement presenting the work and a final essay with reflections on your process and inspiration.

We will create a Final Exhibition of all student projects in connection with the DIS Final Showcase by the end of the semester.

 

Learning Objectives

  • You will gain a deeper understanding of the cultural impact of the medium of photography in a historical context, and be able to locate your own work in relation to that tradition.

  • You will become knowledgeable about the process of creating a story or conveying a certain stance with images and you will get your own experiences doing so.

  • You will develop a language of photographic critique – both of your own work and of others – and be able to thoughtfully describe the meaning of a photograph.

  • You will generate a coherent photographic project where you express your stance or story and a project statement where you concisely present your project.

  • You will develop a new sensitivity to looking at the world through the lens of a camera.

  • You will learn how to manipulate a camera with agility and create the pictures you want to make, in terms of technique, form and content.


Course Instructor
Charlotte de la Fuente holds a BA in photojournalism from The Danish School of Media and Journalism and is a member of the international photo collective MINT Collective. She works on long-term photography projects and commissioned assignments for publications such as The New York Times, Le Monde, Forbes and Jyllands-Posten.


Important Course Requirements
Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory. Two unexcused absences will warrant a reduced letter grade. Three unexcused absences will result in failure.

In order to be eligible for a passing grade in the class, all work must be submitted.

The use of distracting devices (smartphones, laptops, etc.) is prohibited during class. This is your responsibility and I will not remind you. Failure to comply will adversely affect participation grades. You are allowed to use these only when needed for specific class activities.

If you have difficulty with an assignment, please consult your instructor before your deadline. This doesn't mean that you will get a pass. But you will get advise on how to solve the issue.

NOTE: Students are expected to bring their own camera, preferably a DSLR.

Grade Components
Critique: 10%
Presentations: 15%
Written assignment: 15%
Participation: 35%
Final Project and Artist Statement: 25%

Grade Breakdown
Presentation
Choose a project / body of work from the selected photographer.
It is important that your presentation is about their work and not their life story.
Use between 10-15 slides in your presentation.
Present the photographers work, their intention, idea, photographic approach and your interpretation of it.
Engage your fellow classmates in a conversation about the work.

Presentations (in the form of a slideshow or PowerPoint) should be uploaded to canvas no later than the same day as the presentation.

Written Assignment
You are to write an academic essay of 900-1200 words.
This is a chance to show the analytical skills you have developed during this course and to show that you understand the theories discussed.
Hand it in on time on Canvas.

Critique
Be prepared for your own critique. Have a minimum of 12 new and printed photos ready and place them on the walls when you arrive in class.
After your critique. Write a short paragraph in which you summarize, not what was said, but what you took from your critique and upload it to canvas.
Be prepared to talk about the work and the meaning of it.
Participate in your fellow classmates critiques. Ask them relevant questions about their work and give them your honest opinion in order to help them find their direction.
You will be assessed on your engagement in your own and your fellow classmates’ progress.

Participation
Read the assigned litterature. Refer to it during class.
Engage in class discussions in the classroom and online.
Be present in class and online.
Engage with visiting artist and during field studies.

Complete the photographic assignments.

Ad your constructive critique to your fellow classmates photo Assignments

Final Project and Artist Statement
Narrow down your project idea, approach and language to create a coherent photographic project of 7-25 images (depending on the type of work you are doing) and
In the written part of the final project, relate analytically to your own final project and explain it to the rest of the world. Write the following two:
A short presentational text that will present your work which you include in your book (100-300 words)
An essay where you analyze your process and your work and relate it to the history of photography (600-700 words)

Assignments
First Impression Photodiary: After the first class, you begin making photos every day. Each day, you will receive instructions for the next photo you have to create. When you all bring your seven photos to class the following Thursday, we will have a class exercise and discussion about the work.

Written Assignment:  Writing assignment on photography. This is a writing assignment for you to use the analytical skills developed during this course and show that you understand the theory we have encountered. You will write a 900-1200 word assignment. The content for the assignment will be presented in class.

Final Project: Consist of two elements: A book with your photographs and an essay with your intellectual reflection about your process and product.

In the book you will include

  • Photographs: During the semester you narrow down your project idea, approach and language to create a coherent photographic project. By the end of the semester you will have a finished project consisting of an amount of photographs between 7 and 25 (depends on the project approach you choose and we will agree on an amount). What is important is, that you find your way of telling your story or conveying a feeling that translate your experience of being abroad. Your growing knowledge about photography and the photos you make throughout the semester will inspire your process and project.

  • Project Statement: This is a short text, that present your photoproject to the viewer. It will be included somewhere in the book (100-300 words).

In the essay part of the final project, you relate analytically to your own final project and explain it to the rest of the world. In this essay you analyze your process and your work and relate to it with critical eyes as well as placing it in relation to other photographers work. (600-700 words)

Readings

  • John Szarkowski. The Photographers Eye. MOMA. 1966.
  • Gerry Badger. A tale of two portraits from The pleasures of good photographs. Aperture. 2010
  • Roland Barthes, selection from Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. Hill and Wang. 1981.
  • Gerry Badger. Face to face from The Genious of Photography. Quadrille Publishing Ltd. 2007.
  • Charlotte Cotton. Chapter 5: Intimate Life. In The Photograph as Contemporary Art. Thames & Hudson. 2004.
  • John Berger, Chapter 1 from Ways of Seeing. Penguin Books. 1972.
  • Stephen Shore, excerpt from The Nature of Photographs. Phaidon. 2007
  • Abigail Solomon-Godeau. Who Is Speaking Thus: Some Questions about Documentary Photography. In Photography at the Dock. University of Minnesota Press. 1991.
  • Henri Cartier-Bresson. The Decisive Moment from The Mind’s Eye. Aperture. 1999.
  • Susan Sontag. Regarding the pain of others. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2003.
  • Susan Sontag. In Platos Cave from On photography. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1977.

 

DIS Policies

Disability and Resource Statement

Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Academic Support (acadsupp@dis.dk ) to coordinate this.  In order to receive accommodations, students should inform the instructor of approved DIS accommodations within the first two weeks of classes.

 

DIS Policies Attendance:

You are expected to attend all DIS classes when scheduled. If you miss multiple classes, the Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of Student Affairs, will be notified and they will follow-up with you to make sure that all is well. Absences will jeopardize your grade and your standing at DIS.

Allowances will be made in cases of illness, but in the case of multiple absences you will need to provide a doctor’s note.

According to DIS policy, two consecutive unexcused absences will result in a report to the Academic Registrar. Three or more absences will have a negative effect your academic standing at DIS; your home university will be notified.

 

Academic Honesty:

Plagiarism and Violating the Rules of an Assignment DIS expects that students abide by the highest standards of intellectual honesty in all academic work. DIS assumes that all students do their own work and credit all work or thought taken from others.

Academic dishonesty will result in a final course grade of “F” and can result in dismissal. The students’ home university will be notified. DIS reserves the right to request that written student assignments be turned in electronic form for submission to plagiarism detection software. See the Academic Handbook for more information, or ask your instructor if you have questions.

 

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due