Photography, Film & Video   

Class Overview

Enjoy watching spectacular dances in old and new movies and explore the ideas reflected about society, while enjoying the beauty and entertainment. Discuss the effect of technological, social changes, and economy on modern society over the past century and how that is expressed and revealed through dance in film. Each week we will watch together at least 5 video clips from the films selected for that day's class.

Gain new perspectives through discussion and analysis of the stories behind these dances, music, lyrics, costuming, casting, direction, and dance styles. Enjoy the company and perspectives of other people interested in these movie dances, led by an instructor who has specialized in this topic.

View, analyze, dissect and discuss the work of Busby Berkeley, Fred Astaire, Ray Bolger, Donald O’Connor, Gene Kelly, Dick Van Dyke, Moira Shearer, Cyd Charisse, Gower Champion, Jerome Robbins, and lesser-known but equally fascinating dance professionals from the film industry. You will enjoy learning about the fascinating backstories, intentions, and meaning behind the dances and the dance makers.

Step behind the scenes to learn the secrets of these incredible dances from Hollywood films. This course is part of our Senior Series, courses designed for older students offered during the daytime on diverse topics, though students of all ages are welcome.

Learning Objectives

• Gain an understanding of the history of dance in the movies
• Learn about technology and the movie industry’s learning curve as it relates to the technicalities of making dance work on a film
• Understand the social implications of how and why certain dance styles have been accepted or rejected over the past 12 decades 
• Gain insight into the economic impact of movie musicals in Hollywood and beyond, including the launching of new fashion businesses, influence on the travel industry, music industry, fitness industries, manufacturing, and more
• Develop knowledge about the role of international relations in movie dances

Who Might Enjoy This Class?

• Anyone who enjoys music, dance, and film
• People interested in the course’s selected dances, dancers, and choreographers
• History buffs and anyone interested in the development of social norms and cultural change

Class Overview

The camera does not make the photograph, it takes the photograph. Only the person behind the camera makes the photograph -- deciding where to point the camera, what to include and what not to, and when to press the shutter button.

Knowing the many principles of design in all visual art, from painting to photography, makes the difference between simply a technically sound photograph and one that is compelling and evocative.

Learn to improve your photography experience and results by practicing with guidance from a professional. You'll have the opportunity to explore what makes compelling composition and great design in images.

Gain experience through photography assignments and experience a session shooting photo out "on location," when possible. You'll benefit from sharing your results with the class and receiving new perspectives on your images through group feedback.

We'll also look at how to adjust your camera settings to get the results you want or to experiment with creative techniques.

To start, please bring five of your own photographs on a flash drive or as small prints to the first class to share as part of your introduction.

Supplies Needed

• Any digital camera, ideally a point and shoot, digital SLR or mirrorless camera. A smart phone can work, too, either as a supplemental or primary camera.
• You will also need a flash drive for bringing photographs to class for in-person classes -- or the ability to share your photos for online classes, such as Flickr.

Learning Objectives

• The principles of evocative design from painting and photography
• Basic camera handling and settings
• Creative camera settings and techniques
• A higher visual literacy
• Composing images

Who Might Enjoy This Class?

• Anyone with a passion for photography, young and old
• People who use photography to capture travel or local experiences for sharing, showing, or selling
• Everyone who uses photography as an artistic reference to render later in the medium of their choice, from painting to drawing to printmaking, or for elements in collage and mixed media

Class Overview

Are you perplexed by your digital camera and all the settings and buttons? Do you wish your photographs looked better? Learn how to get much more out of your camera in this rewarding hands-on class.

Explore what the automatic settings can do for your photographs - and what they can’t. Learn how to go far beyond “automatic” and make your photographs more memorable and evocative. We will explore the different settings, giving you time to practice and share your results.

This hybrid (online and in person) class will meet in person to photograph together, and to allow one-on-one tutorials on location with your own camera. If you are beginning your photography journey with a digital camera, get ready for a fun learning experience with your camera.

Supplies Needed

• A digital camera, anything from point-and-shoot to digital SLR, to mirrorless.
• A computer so you can attend online classes via Zoom, and post your photographs to the internet using flickr.com for sharing and feedback.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the foundation of photography
• Demystify most of the settings on your camera, including Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual Exposure
• Know when to use automatic, and when not to
• Have a comfort level working with a variety of the settings on your camera
• Understand white balance and histograms and why they matter
• Adopt a primary setting for the bulk of your future photography
• Create better photographs
• Better capture the photo opportunities in front of your lens

Who Might Enjoy This Class

Anyone who wants to get more out of their digital camera - whether a brand-new camera or one that you have owned but don’t understand well

Class Overview

Do you want to improve how you edit, organize, store, and share your photos? Many people are overwhelmed by managing their images, spend too much time, or don’t make full use of their image collection as a result. In this class, learn how to use Lightroom software, and manage your photos quickly and efficiently. 

Lightroom is the industry standard for post-production workflow and digital asset management (DAM). If you take a lot of photos and feel unsure about the best way to manage them optimally so you can easily put them to use, this class is for you. We will explore every module in Lightroom, from organizing and cataloging images, to editing, creating a useful workflow, and creating images for various uses, such as social media and printing.

Handouts and videos will be shared for your ongoing reference. This class is not affiliated in any way with the software; this class is intended simply to share knowledge as an educational opportunity from a user standpoint only. 

Get started using Lightroom as a tool to manage your photos, free yourself from frustration and inefficiency, and make better use of your images. 

Supplies Needed

• Computer (PC or Mac) with Lightroom Classic installed or have a Lightroom Classic subscription or Photography Plan. 
• External HD for backing up your library of images; a minimum of 1 GB is recommended.

Learning Objectives

• Managing your photos from editing to storing and end use
• Using every module in Lightroom software
• Organizing and cataloging images 
• Creating folders and collections 
• Editing fundamentals 
• Creating a workflow 
• Destination outputs, such as social media, printing, sharing, and awards

Who Might Enjoy This Class 

• Anyone who is interested in editing, organizing, and cataloging their images better 
• People interested in learning how to use Lightroom software or improving their use of it
• Photographers who would like to learn a workflow to maximize time and effort in editing images 
• People who have photos they’d like to access better and get ready for diverse types of use

Class Overview

You can stop apologizing that your photos are just from your phone camera. The key to good photography is mostly due to rather straightforward principles of composition, and you can easily learn them! It’s also important to know how to apply these principles, when to apply them, and, believe it or not, when not to.  

In this class, explore the powerful principles of composition while looking at many photographs, including your own, with the guidance of a professional photographer.  

By the time the class is over, we assure you that your phone photographs will be more compelling, evocative, and memorable. Whether your subjects are family and friends, pets and wildlife, nearby or far away, you will be able to capture better images of what you see in front of your lens.

The class will meet online via Zoom. Everyone will complete three photo assignments of subjects we all agree on, shooting new images and/or harvesting from existing work. Then we will share our results on flickr.com for feedback in and outside of our Zooms.  

This course is part of our Senior Series, classes designed for older students, offered during the daytime on diverse topics, though students of all ages are welcome.

Learning Objectives

• Know and understand the core principles of composition used in all visual art mediums, including photography with any camera, as well as painting
• Decide when to apply those principles, but also when not to
• Better evaluate any photograph for what makes it compelling
• Make photographs like you never have before 
• Compose your own photographs that will turn your friends and family’s heads

Who Might Enjoy This Class?

• Anyone using a phone camera for photos
• Everyone who likes photographing family, friends, grandkids, and more
• Practiced photographers or a complete newbie, everyone is welcome

Class Overview

Do you enjoy taking photos of people, but wish you had better techniques to get great results? Learn how to capture the emotion and stories of the people you love by learning the art of photo portraits to create unique and beautiful images that they and you will cherish.

In this class, explore your camera and accessories, and gain recommendations on using camera lenses, and focal lengths, to highlight the best emotions of your subject. Discover how to pose people individually, and in groups, to get results that bring out the personality of your subjects. Learn how to use light to create different effects, using ambient light and controlled light. We will also explore approaches to editing your portraits for great results. 

You will be able to use the techniques in this class to document future events with technique and style, capture images of people on the street, or create special images of loved ones that capture the moment. If you’re eager to get rich and descriptive portraits, get ready for an exciting learning experience in this class. 

Supplies Needed

• Digital single-lens reflex (SLR) mirrorless camera.
• An external flash and reflector are recommended but not required 

Learning Objectives

• Understand how to use your camera settings and accessories 
• Gain recommendations for how to use your camera lens and focal length to highlight the emotions of your subject
• Become familiar with guidelines to pose people, individually and in groups, to bring out their personalities 
• Use ambient light as well as controlled light for your portraits

Who Might Enjoy This Class 

• Preferred experience: This class is designed for people who have an understanding of basic understanding of light, aperture, ISO, shutter speed and who have used different modes on their camera like M / aperture priority, and shutter priority
• Anyone who is interested in capturing better images of people with their SLR mirrorless camera
• People who want to be better prepared technically to respond to the moment with their camera 
• Anyone who would like to document events of any type 
• People who enjoy street photography