Anthropological Photography Class
Are you looking to complement your research text with some photographic images or want to learn how to incorporate a few photographs into your academic research papers to impress your professors to bump up your university grades? Here is an opportunity to learn how. No expensive camera is necessary, just the will to learn, persistence and a fantastic three weeks in Gozo, Malta. The ethnographic photography course will help you identify the subjects necessary to include into your research. You will learn how to select a photograph to communicate effectively. You will leave the Mediterranean island with a portfolio to accompany your research, which will include portraits of your subject, detail photographs, photo stories, night scenes and action shots. Be ready to hit the pavement, or since we will be in Gozo, limestone running! This course is in the field. However, we will always reconvene back into the classroom, which has a great view, to share our field experiences that I will guarantee you will carry on to Barruff. A nightly tradition Expeditions has created under a beautiful star lit sky, great for night photography. Malta has amazing light conditions to photograph under 24 hours a day. The possibilities are endless. This course will teach you how to think creatively but will keep within the simple basic photography principals. Although, students at different skill levels can be challenged in different ways.
The course will start with a brief history of visual anthropology to the present. Our discussions will lead us to examine the different methodological approaches of visually recording history. We will also look the photographic work of well-known ethnographers, photographers and photojournalists. It is important to analyze photographs for form but also content; we will discuss the crisis of representation of photography in postcards, internet sites and marketing visuals.
We will address the issue of getting weighed down with equipment, we will take a look at the different types of cameras students bring, talk about the use of specific lenses and the use of the flash verses natural light. However, this will not be a technical course, after a day spent capturing the character of Gozitans or the Mediterranean sea a session on editing your photographs will round out your day. Due to the time of year and the wonderful hours of sunshine we will discuss managing your time in the field while taking photos, how not to exhaust yourself or your subject. Our goal is to focus on content and capture, and the appropriate way to document life.
This course will teach you how to think creatively but will keep within the simple basic photography principals such as shutter speeds, aperture settings, ISO and white balance. Although, many students will be at different skill levels each will be challenged in different ways. Technical issues regarding photography and working with your own camera will be adjusted to a personal or small group level.
The pictures below are by Jessica Gergely
(you might also find them elsewhere on this website)
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