ARTS 2356, Fundamentals of Photography I

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR STUDENTS

Students planning to enroll in this course need to be aware of the following policies for the class.

First, the class is a combination of traditional film-based, darkroom photography and digital photography. Students will be required to have their own 35 mm film camera with manual mode of operation. You must be able to manually adjust f/stops and shutter speeds. Examples of acceptable cameras are Canon AE1, a Canon Rebel, Nikon N80 or a Minolta X370. The battery for your camera must be good and the meter operational.

Second, students must also have a digital camera. The most appropriate camera would be a digital, single lens reflex or SLR. Examples would be a Canon Rebel Xti or a Nikon D80 or D50. Prices for Digital SLR’s start at about $600. Photography majors (only) will be required to have this type of camera. Majors may begin with a “point and shoot” and acquire a digital SLR sometime during the semester. Non-majors may use any digital camera, even “point-and-shoots” provided that use a standard memory card such as compact flash or memory stick or smart media.

Your camera, digital or film, does not have to be “new”. You may purchase a used camera. Pawn shops usually have used film cameras. If you buy a used camera be sure and get a return guarantee should the camera not be operational.

Instruction manuals will be important as you will need to understand how to use the basic features of your camera.

Supplies for the course
You will be required to provide film and paper for the traditional darkroom part of the course. For the first several weeks, our lab projects will be produced in the “wet” darkroom. The last 8-9 weeks of the course will be in the digital computer lab, downloading, enhancing and inkjet printing from your digital camera files.

Your supply list for both traditional film and digital is listed below. We would suggest that you wait until your course begins. There may be a modification or two to this list. Second, buy your supplies locally. Hertner’s Camera and Digital Imaging on 6th street stocks these materials. You may, of course, buy on-line if you choose. These items are available, for example,

Supply List
Amarillo College
ARTS 2356 Fundamentals of Photography I

This is a list of materials needed for this class. These items are available at Hertner’s, 114 W 6th, Amarillo, Texas (downtown) or Freestyle Photographic Supplies. To purchase these items on-line, visit
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/get_sl.php and enter your class code: 2484