This semester, I am taking 3 classes: Writing 2010, Art 1050, and Psychology 2800. Also known as Intermediate Writing, Photography, and Human Sexuality.As of this post, I've taken the first 2 classes twice, and the third once, here are my initial impressions: (just in case you were wondering)
Intermediate Writing: My first class with this teacher told me get ready for a LONG semester. He seemed awkward, uncomfortable and unconfident, though I couldn't really blame him, he's probably just a year or two older than me. The class meets in a computer lab, ideal for a writing class, (:P) and my seat both weeks has been at one of the computers, with my back to the teacher, so I'm straining my neck most of the time. Fun. My first impression of the teacher was a grad student with little practical knowledge, however, after having a second class with him, I think I'm going to enjoy it a lot more. I realized he was boring and nervous because last week he was going over the syllabus, now that he's talking about English, it was like a different person teaching. He was animated, confident, and a few of his little jokes were even amusing! I'm not super excited about the class as it's mostly essays, not creative writing by any means, but I'm confident it will help me become a better writer, which is hunky-dory for me.
Photography: A bit of an opposite reaction for this class. Last week the teacher was fun, unique, really saw the world in a special way. Basically what you'd think you'd want in a photography teacher. She has an interesting history, from accounting to elementary education to photography, and I still really like her. But I'm one of the minority in the class that doesn't know what shutter speed or 200 film or F stops are. (I'm eager to learn) But what I don't like are the students who are photography nuts, and insist on interrupting class to share their experiences with a particular camera or film, and the teacher doing backflips over whatever they're talking about, which boils down to "Oh, teacher, that reminds me of the time I saw this thing and we took all kinds of pictures of it with a camera!" Hot damn! Exclaims teacher. However, it might just be a little karma biting me in the metaphorical butt for being a metaphorical butt in writing, art, or art history classes. Me: oh, teacher, that reminds me of an obscure work of art by an artist that only you or I would know!
Still, they bug me. I'm glad that most of my class will be done outside of the classroom, with me taking pictures, or in the darkroom.
Human Sexuality: I feel a need to explain myself to anyone who asks what classes I have this semester why I am taking this class. It boils down to my complex and quixotic love of sex. Ok, and I needed a behavioral science credit. I wanted to do something more interesting than basic Psychology or Sociology 101. So there. The teacher is what you (or at least I) want for such a subject. A good sense of humor, candor, but also seems to have a good filter, for example, she's said she makes the class as clean as possible, but it's still Human Sexuality, and we're going to see anatomy. She also has pointed out that the class will be one where we will use what we learn no matter what field we go into, which is good. Very good.
So, those are my classes, I'm excited and eager to get them done, mostly the writing class, because then any writing class I take will be fun fun fun!!!!
5 comments:
Hmmm, good observations. Sounds like you've got your hands full. I hope you enjoy. The picture is hilarious, by the way.
Your Photography class reminds me of my Desktop Publishing class. Though there were less super knowledgeable people there, the teacher did do backflips over the one girl in class who had actually worked in the field of media and who aced all of the projects and who really had no business being in a beginners class to start with. He kept telling us we should all be more like Christine and 'oh look at what //she's// done on the project ... ' Really made the lot of us feel like complete idiots in a class where we were supposed to be learning something not lectured on how we need to give our life blood to the industry and be more like so-and-so. *I'm serious, we spent an HOUR on hearing about how if we didn't eat/breath/sleep multimedia than we were going to fail as designers*
That class ended badly. One of the students finally told the teacher off, citing his arrogance and his confusing teaching methods - like giving us physical examples done in mixed media as representations of what he wanted us to reproduce on a computer screen, and the idiocy of using a computer program that the professor himself had absolutely zero familiarity with *we were all supposed to 'learn the program together'* The teacher actually ended up calling the student immature and assinine in front of the class instead of actually listening to what he had to say.
Go to the library and look up 'John Hedgecoe's Photography Basics' It explains aperture, film speeds, and F spots and such. It's very straightforward and a great reference.
Quick Rundown cuz I'm obsessive that way:
1. Film speed - faster the film speed the more movement you can capture that will be non-blurry. 800 speed or higher is good for getting sports type of actions shots. And is good for most levels of lighting. Whereas 200 speed is only good for outdoors and if you try to catch a child tossing a ball on 200 speed it will show up both blurry and grainy. Lower the speed the more light you need and the less your subject can move for you to get a good shot.
2. F-stop, I think, is how fast the shutter in the camera opens and closes. Or the duration of time you let light and image on to the film.
3. Aperture is the size of the hole through which the camera lets light into the lens and onto the film.
I'm sorry. You may have figured this all out by now. But just in case I thought I'd drop a note anyways.
thanks, hailer. and yeah, they've been teaching us, but i appreciate the comments and info. :D
that goes for everyone ;)
thanks laurie too for commenting, btw. :)
I want to do one more emoticon. <3)~
I am excited that you are taking a photo class.
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