During the winter of 2008 I offered a basic course in digital photography:
New to digital photography? If you’ve never switched out of Auto mode, T six week class will give you the necessary information and help needed to become comfortable with your digital camera. Learn how to use many of its other features and how to download, perform basic image editing, print and prepare images for email. Exercises will include composition, exposure, capturing movement, and tripod use. More advanced topics such as shutter speed, aperture, and focal length will be introduced. Each session will meet for two hour on Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6:30 (good sunset time) and will include lecture time and field work to provide hands-on experience relating to the course topics. Field work will take place on and off campus. The final session will include a sharing of student work.
With this course description, I expected to conduct a class focused on point & shoot cameras. As it turned out there were 3 DSLRs and 2 high-end p&s. The general level of interest and ability was high; most students had years of previous experience with film cameras. Initially I was concerned about having time each week to process on the computers, but this was left for the last class. The students wanted to focus on theory and technique. We met for one full class near a bridge and captured marvelous sunset shots. It would have been difficult to teach and stay on target without a projector and whiteboard.
I invite class members to provide feedback.
