Photo II: Self-Portraits 

This semester began with an assignment called “The Familiar Place.” Students were asked to choose an impactful

memory/experience and then photographically convey it in narrative form. This work built on formal, technical, and visual literacy skills that were introduced in Photo I. For their next project, students were shown self-portrait work by the photographer, Cindy Sherman in preparation for the “Self-Portrait: True Self and Alter Ego” assignment shown in this Spring’s Art Festival. Students learned how objects within a photograph often convey a powerful metaphor or communicate cultural concepts and traits not easily photographed. Accurate exposures, use of lighting, tighter compositions and editing, as well as experimentation were the technical requirements. Please enjoy this awesome work!

Kudos:

Kudos go out to my Photo II students for becoming creative and disciplined photographers while overcoming their reluctance to engage in a lively discussion in a Zoom setting. This is the first Photography I and II class in the history of UHS to go completely digital. It has been interesting to compare over two decades of analog/darkroom work with a similar curriculum using only digital photography. And the outcome? Regardless of my bias toward in-person teaching and darkroom work, this year has shown that the students were able to build relationships/rapport without meeting in person and produce strong, if not stronger work with digital technology. See for yourself! -      Gale Jesi

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