What's Going on in the Classroom: Beginning of the School Year

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Well usually starting off the blog is easy in the beginning of the year and then as the school year progresses I struggle to maintain my regular posting. Well this year, I predict, will be the opposite! Since I had such a hard time getting going here at the beginning, I'll be posting once a day, at the end of the year! Right!? Haha... I'm sure not, but here goes anyway.
So we're nearing the end of the first month of school. Smack dab in the middle of the fourth week. This year I'm teaching all levels of photography! It's so nice to focus in on one subject area and really hone my teaching skills in that particular branch of the arts. Here's what we've been up to!

In Photo 1 we're having a grand 'ole time learning about our cameras and how they work. We've been really focusing on the Elements and Principles and aperture for this first quarter and the kids are loving it.

We went down to the pool deck for some serious practice and the students really got into getting the best shots.

And we always make time for a little silliness!

Photo 2 is starting the year right with some film review and advanced techniques! We're scratching and toning some prints. We are also working on litho and solarization. Hopefully we'll also be able to play around with pinhole cameras! And stay tuned for some amazing pics from AP Photo! Those kids are going to have killer portfolios!

What's Going on in the Classroom: Elements and Principles with Photography

A couple of entries ago, I promised I'd post some examples of the Elements and Principles images that my Photo 1 students have taken. There were a lot of good ones to pick from, let me tell you! The assignment was for each student to go out and take new pictures! Each picture should illustrate one of the fifteen Elements and Principles of Art that we had spent some time talking about. After they took them all, we voted on which ones best represented each category and those students received some extra credit! 

What's Going on in the Classroom: Elements and Principles of Art

Of course all you art teacher folks know that the Elements and Principles of Art are the building blocks and making successful artwork. Since I teach the foundations art course, we spend a lot of time on this subject!
On top of taking notes about them and using some good old VTS to explore artwork using them, students also created 'name tags' for each element and principle and illustrated them. Check out these amazing examples:

Also, update on our showcase of Cheeming Boey cups and our History of Photography Timeline!