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Spring 2008
EECS 98/198
1-2 Unit(s)

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About the Course:

See this web page for the most comprehensive and up -to-date info.

http://www.photodecal.org/

The Digital Photo DeCal is a course intended to introduce students to the world photography.  Building off of the first class last semester, the Digital Photo DeCal will offer three sections in Spring 2008, catering to different levels of experience, equipment capability, and areas of interest, whether they be basic ("Hey, let's take pretty pictures!"), advanced ("So *that's* how you get that bokeh effect"), or design ("Screw Bayer!  I want my Foveon sensor now!").

Basic Photo: This section is intended for photographers of all levels who are simply interested in taking photos and learning through experience.  Each week we'll cover a different area of photography (portraits, architecture, macro, etc.) - we'll look at some of the best and some of the worst, discuss techniques, try some shooting on our own (weekly assignment), and review and discuss everyone's photos the subsequent week.  There will also be several guest speakers throughout the semester, who will give presentations on certain areas of their expertise (if you're interested in being a guest speaker, let me know!).    The class will be 1 unit, and will meet once a week for 1 hour.  A camera of some sort will be required for this class.

Advanced Photo: Advanced Photo will bring a mix of both photographic and technological instruction - beyond simply experimenting with the aesthetic aspects of photography, this section will delve into the technology behind photography.  By understanding the exact mechanisms that produce effects such as noise, or blur, or depth of field, photographers can learn to control aspects of a photograph, rather than simply following cause-effect rules.  The class will involve lots of hands-on activities - most weeks will involve a lab demo, in addition to weekly assignments and review/discussion of photos.  The class will be 2 units, and will meet once a week for 2 hours.  Note that a digital SLR will be required for this class. Prior experience with photography is helpful but not necessary.

Engineering Photo: Like java and scheme boil down to machine code, like bio and chem boil down to plain physics, the high-level of photography boils down
simple mechanisms, inputs and outputs of the camera system.  This section will focus on the various technical aspects and ins and outs of how camera systems work to convert light into images.  Each week we'll take a look at a certain aspect of the camera - autofocus systems, color filtration, sources of image noise, etc.  One student will be assigned each week to research and do a presentation on the topic, and we'll also have the occasional hands-on demo.  The class will be 1 unit, and will meet once a week for 1 hour.  No camera is required for this class.  A good grasp of calculus (derivatives and integrals) and basic physics is helpful, but not necessary.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for this class, please feel free to email me.  I am usually very on top of email, so if your email had a question and I didn't respond in two days I probably missed yours or skipped over it by mistake - go ahead and email me again!

How to Enroll:

The actual classes will start the second week (Jan 28 for Advanced and Jan 30 for Basic/Engineer). 

There will be a mandatory meeting during the FIRST week of class on Thursday, January 24th 7-8pm in 150 GSPP (Goldman School of Public Policy). This is not a first-come, first-serve class: there will be an application process.

GSPP is located on the very northside of campus, between Foothill reshall and Soda Hall.  Sorry about making you all come this far north - course scheduling kind of screwed everything over =/

If this doesn't work for you, there will also be an Introduction to Photojournalism DeCal, taught by former Daily Cal Photo Editor Salgu Wissmath, so look out for that.

And yes, you *can* take all three sections  simultaneously.