Welcome to Nature Photography

"I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues" wrote Dr. Seuss in his book The Lorax. As photographers in nature we are the Loraxes and we must do more than simply photograph the natural world. In the same way a nature writer communicates verbally his or her thoughts on the natural world, we as nature photographers must visually communicate our interpretation of and philosphies regarding the natural world. You are taking this class because you love the natural world and together we will explore a little deeper what exactly it is that draws you into the outdoors and how to more effectively use the tools of photography, the natural world, and your own perception to evoke in others your own passions for specific elements of the natural world.

Course Syllabus

Nature Photography is an intermediate photo class that explores the principles, philosophies, history, technical aspects, and business aspects of nature photography. This course requires that you have taken ART 1310 and ART 1380 and have a complete understanding of how to operate you digital SLR camera. Like any other class you will get out of it what you put into it.

You are expected to maintain a clean, organized, nice looking portfolio of the images you take in class. You can purchase a nice portfolio case at Pictureline or another photo store, or you can build your own.

Required Materials

Course Objectives

During this course students will:

  1. Learn about meteorological, geographical, astronomical, and animal behavior aspects of nature and how these affect your approach to making images
  2. Develop a sense of ethics with regard to nature photography
  3. Understand the history of nature photography
  4. Understand photographic techniques used in nature photography
  5. Plan a nature shoot
  6. Learn about the business of nature photography
  7. Submit work to a nature publication

Attendance

You must be on time, especially for field trips. We will leave promptly at 8:00 AM or earlier in order to make it to the location with enough time to shoot. If you are not there you will be left behind. A map will be provided before the trip, but if you do not make the car pool you may not be able to find us, and will lose points for attendance.

Attendance at school could be compared to a work/client relationship. If you never showed up at work, you couldn't reasonably expect the client or the employer to pay you. Likewise, it would be foolish to think you could earn a degree or get an education by occasionally attending class and turning in all but two assignments. Part of the purpose of this class is to prepare you for the real world and help you become a responsible individual that your clients and employers can trust.

You are responsible for the material you miss if you aren't able to attend class. Keep in mind that if you miss class you may miss out on assignment specifications, random test information, and instruction on how to use the school's photographic equipment. Check the website and then talk to a fellow student to find out the specifics of what you missed. I can give you general information as to what you missed, but, like you, I have a life outside of class, and don't have time to repeat an entire lecture.

Attendance points are given based on the completion of a 20 minute journal reflection/observation completed at the end of each class. Be sure to write the date on each entry. Reflections are a chance for you to write down your visual observations, philosophies, and photographic ideas related to the material covered in class or things observed in the field and to help you figure out your personal photographic style and vision. The journal will then serve as a source of inspiration for future photographic projects. Remember if you don't have an entry for each day you attend class you won't get the points. It is your responsibility to keep track.

Assignments

Just like in the industry assignments should be turned in on time and complete. Since a photographer in the real world can't expect to be paid in full when he or she fails to complete a project or get it to the client on time, neither can you expect to get full points for late or incomplete work, with exception of unforeseen emergencies or illnesses. 15% is automatically deducted from assignments that are turned in late without a valid excuse. These points cannot be regained. There is however, a one week grace period after the assignment due date (with exception of the last assignment) during which time you can re-work any part of the assignment you get marked down on. After the one week grace period the assignment will no longer be accepted.

Now is the time to learn how to balance your life and try to become a little more organized. This may mean, heaven forbid, watching less TV, going snowboarding only on the weekends, keeping a schedule, or putting off scrapbooking club for a few months.

Class Critiques

Everyone is required to participate in the class critiques. Student's will be expected to discuss topics listed in the "Criticizing Photography" handout. This will help class members provide more stimulating and helpful feedback and give you a more sophisiticated approach to anaylzing photographic works.

Lab Time

You may need to spend 3-5 hours per week outside of class to complete assignments and projects, and study the material. This may vary from student to student and from week to week during the semester. All software packages required for this course are available at the labs. The hours are posted outside the lab doors. As we get further along into the semeter one class per week will be designated as a lab day for you to use to work on assignments.

Grading Scale

The final grade for the course will be based on the accumulation of points:
1) Assignments 70% (700 points)
2) Attendance/Reflections 10% (100 points)
3) Field Trips 20% (200 points)

Grading Percentages

Grade Percentage
A 93-100%
A- 90-92%
B+ 87-89%
B 83-86%
B- 80-82%
C+ 77-79%
C 73-76%
C- 70-72%
D+ 67-69%
D 63-66%
D- 60-62%
F Below 60%

Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities needing accommodations such as special test arrangements, notetaking, taped textbooks, tutoring, equipment, etc., please contact your instructor and the Disability Resource Center (DRC) during the first week of class. The DRC is located in the College Center, Rm. 230, 964-4659 (voice) or 964-4646 (TDD).

Academic Honesty

This course will strictly adhere to the Student Code of Conduct as well as the “Expectations of Academic Honesty” document published by Salt Lake Community College. For further information, refer to the SLCC home page at www.slcc.edu.

Outcomes in Programs & Courses

SLCC is committed to fostering and assessing the following student learning:

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