Photo London Portfolios

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he summer’s study in London is wrapping up, and for my photography students that means final portfolios. This class has been both a pleasure and a challenge for me, and it has been a real treat to see all my students grow as photogs over the past five weeks. They all have come a long way since their initial, pre-flight submissions. I’m pleased with them all, but I wanted to highlight a couple of stand-out portfolios.

Again, I want to be clear: I’m proud of all my students’ work this summer, and the selection below is just a taste of some overall good work. To see them all, check out the links to their photo blogs for the course. The featured portfolios are in no particular order.

Amy Anderson’s final portfolio was a surprise. Amy’s got such an easy-going personality, often I thought she was bored with the class, or just asleep. Yet, I think the whole class was quite impressed with her portfolio. It had the most cohesive theme of them all, based on a street photography approach. She calls it “Creeping through the Lens,” and while I’m not sure how the word “creeping” became associated in both of my classes with street photography, her work exceeds the expectations of her title. My favorite of the selections is her “Here’s Waldo,” featured in my selections below. Not only is it a great portrait, it captures some of the quirkiness of life in England.

Kassie Bettis’ work was also featured by me early on — and her sister looks a lot like her. Her work is thoughtful and understated, like Kassie herself. There’s a sense of the hidden there; her subjects often frame her images, and offer a tentative view into her world caught on film. Kassie also seemed to be everyone’s favorite subject for course portraits. Below, I use her image “A Nonchalant Attitude” as a strong representation of her work. The contrast between her flowery shoes and the stolid stonehenge speaks of the contrast between a harder past and a brighter present.

Many of the students played with perspective and camera placement to great effect — e.g. Sarah Gunnels’ work — and this might be Emily Moss‘ trademark. Her portrait “Movement” is not only excellently lit, but provides a great view of a common place for Londoners. Emily has a nice grasp of space and place in her portfolio, and each of her photos shows a unique perspective coupled with a similarly unique atmosphere.

One of my most consistent photographers this summer has been Brandi Gaines, but this is not surprising since her undergraduate degree is in fine art. Brandi’s submission for the Portrait Gallery assignment is not included in her final portfolio, but I include it below as a very strong image inspired by Sarah Lucas’s self portraits. Brandi is a careful photographer, and she does not display just any image. Her eye is critical and deliberate, but she has no hint of arrogance. She is always ready to find a new inspiration, and I have enjoyed her work over the last few weeks.

As I said above, this is only a sample. To view all the students’ portfolios, see the list in LitMUSE.

First Student Photos

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s four days and counting. Yes, Thursday evening I jet off to London for five weeks of photography, travel, and beer. I can’t wait.

As I’ve already mentioned, this summer I’m teaching a hybrid cultural studies and photography course. In preparation, I’ve been reading the textbook I assigned: London and Stone’s A Short Course in Digital Photography. It’s been a great review for me, and it’s given me some vocabulary and ways of talking about photography that are helpful. The best chapters have been the ones that discuss the art of photography rather than technical aspects. Most of the chapters are about using the equipment, but chapter nine gets into portraits, landscapes, perspective, etc. — bringing into practice the technical know-how of the first part of the book. It also offers exercises that I’ll likely make use of during class time.

My students have also been getting ready. Their first assignment was due last night, and I was so enthusiastic to see what they came up with, I graded them all this morning. Essentially, it asked them to take three portraits and four landscapes (one at night). The idea was to get them to see the familiar in new ways and try to capture that with the camera. It also asked them to use the camera’s manual settings, just to begin getting a feel for how the camera works. Here are some of my favorites from their submissions.

This is just a sampling of their work. Check out LitMUSE to see all of their portfolios. They will be adding significantly more through the end of July, so I’d invite you to check back often. If I have the time, I will highlight more of their work here.

This week, I’ll be packing and deciding on my final travel kit. I got a new shoulder bag from Think Tank, the Retrospective 30. The idea was to get a big enough bag to carry an assortment of lenses, my strobes, and other necessary equipment without being too big and bulky. I’ve very pleased with the bag so far: it’s rugged, compact, and fits all of my necessary equipment: the 5D, the 16-35mm, the 24-70mm, the 70-200mm, the Speedlite 580 EX, the Speedlite 430 EX II, batteries, lens clothes, and a few more pieces of stuff. With all that, the bag is heavy, but manageable. I’m considering taking the battery grip off the camera and ditching the 24-70mm lens (heavy glass). Instead, I’m considering the 50mm f/1.4; that small lens on the gripless 5D makes a compact but powerful combination. I might just end up doing that. I’ve even toyed with the idea of just trying to leave the 50mm on all the time. It would be a challenge, but it could be cool. It would definitely be lighter to carry around. Any thoughts on this from my photog friends? (As if anyone reads what I post here.)

Just a couple more days. Exciting. My next post will likely be from London.

Pre-Flight

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here’s still so much to do. With less than a month to go now, I still feel like I’ll never be ready. Yet, classes and plans are coming together, so I know all the hard work I’m doing now will pay off. It will. Seriously.

Two weeks ago was the student orientation for the study abroad program. This year, the students going to London were so many, we had our own separate meeting place at GCSU. We had our usual morning orientation with Mark and Dan, then after a lunch with the rest of the faculty, I met my classes for the first time. As I mentioned in my last entry, not only is study abroad dominated by women, I have not a single male student.

During both sessions (one for my AM class and one for the PM), we ended up talking about equipment most of the time. I think I convinced them that a DSLR will be the best choice for our class, so I think that most — if not all — will have a DSLR. I introduced them briefly to the camera and explained why manual settings are important, emphasizing ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. I plan to go into these topics in more depth when we get to London. Schedules, field trips, and assignments are done; now I just have to prepare class sessions and lectures.

In fact, the photography professor teaching in Ireland, Emily Gomez, brought me copies of her introductory lectures! That was unexpected and very welcome. Talk about saving me some time. Thanks, again, Emily.

After the orientation, the real work began. Todd and I went to the Brick for a couple of beers and to discuss our post-program travels. We decided to go to Greece weeks before that day, but that’s about all we’d done until then. We finally narrowed down our plans and some of the logistics.

He and Jennifer will be going down before Autumn and I. They will get a car and travel outside of Athens for a couple of days. They will pick us up at the airport and we’ll spend two days in Delphi. I’ve been meaning to consult the oracle for some time. At least it will be great for some photography, if not prognostication. We’ll then travel back to Athens for a few days. Autumn found us a great apartment in the Plaka. Athens should rock. I’m trying to read up on it now, since my knowledge of the city is limited to the Parthenon. After Athens, it will be on to Santorini for a couple of days. Again, Autumn found us a great apartment in Oia, on the north-west tip of the island. Talk about beautiful. I’ll definitely have the camera, and I plan on bringing home some great shots. I’m psyched.

Todd, Jennifer, and I plan to do some traveling during the program, too. We’ll be taking a group of students to Cambridge on the second weekend and driving up to Edinburgh the weekend after. While I visited the latter nearly twenty years ago, I’ve never been to Cambridge, so I’m looking forward to both trips. We had considered going to Amsterdam for a weekend, but it looks like it would be just too expensive. Next time, and with Autumn.

What do I still have to do? A bit of course prep. I have to finish the article I’m writing for the next edition of The Mailer Review. I have some photography equipment to purchase, including batteries and a travel bag. I have to see the accountant about my side business. I have some advising to do, and fall prep. Yes, I have to get that done now, since there will be little time to get ready for the fall semester upon my return. I need to see Dad in Tennessee; we were supposed to do that last week, but we had to delay it because Autumn hurt her ankle. Hopefully we’ll be able to go next week.

What else? I need to try to find a bit of time to clear my mind. It’s going to be a great summer, but one with little down time. I’m not complaining, just sayin’.

Three-and-a-half weeks to go. Exciting.