This is an orientation meeting. Please bring your camera equipment so that we can see what you will be using.
[1] Schedule darkroom instructional sessions. I will work with groups of two or three in the Parsons darkroom (B163) or the Keck darkroom (SB32) during the week of January 27th through the 31st. The objective is to give you the basic information you will need to have in order to develop and print one roll of film before our critique session, February 7th.
[2] Film Developing. Film developing is not a required part of this course. I will demonstrate how to extract your film and wind it on the spool of a developing tank; however, you may have your films commercially processed if you prefer.
[3] Camera equipment and orientation. We will examine your equipment and identify the chief features used in manual operation of a 35 mm SLR camera.
How do you place your camera in "manual" mode?
How do you focus?
How do you set shutter speed?
How do you set the aperture?
How do you read the internal light metering system?
What film speed [ASA/ISO] should you be using?
Additional equipment --- additional lenses, lens hoods, filters, tripod?
[4] Assignment for February 7th. Expose one roll of film (prefer ASA 100 or 125). Develop this roll (or have it developed). Print a proof sheet on 8X10 glossy paper. Then print a selection of frames. Bring 5-6 prints and a proof sheet to class.
NOTES:
Features beyond the basic camera are optional but may contribute significantly to your photographic abilities. If you can only have one lens, you should probably consider a zoom lens in the region from 28-80 mm. Additional constant-focal-length and zoom lenses are desirable. Lens hoods can prevent solar flares in images and save a picture. Filters can be used to enhance B&W contrast. A tripod is necessary when you want very sharply focused images, especially when lighting is limited. [I have two loaner tripods.]
The accuracy of your light metering equipment can be tested and should fall within some smallish margin of error. You need to find out what system of metering the camera uses and you may need to refer to your camera manual for this. The common systems, today, are weighted matrix, center-weighted, and spot metering. In manual mode, some kind of metering signal or scale should appear in your camera viewfinder. Get accustomed to this scale and observe how to change the measured light intensity by adjusting aperture or shutter speed. [If using a hand-held light meter, you will need to familiarize yourself with its operation and settings.]
Assuming a center-weighted metering system, focus on a standard "gray card" in direct sunlight so that the circle in your viewfinder completely covers the gray card. Set the aperture to f/16. Then, set the shutter speed to different values until the scale shows "correct exposure." [Pointer is in the middle of the scale.] If your metering system is correctly calibrated, the shutter speed you have set should be equal to 1/ISO of the film in your camera. All cameras are adjusted to indicate a "correct exposure" on a standard gray card in direct sunlight when the aperture is f/16 and the shutter speed is approximately one divided by the ISO rating of the film. Thus, if you have Ilford FP4 Plus with an ASA rating of 125 in your camera, you should observe correct exposure at f/16 and 1/125 second. Remember this rule called "sunny sixteen" since you can use it in the field if you don't have time to read your metering equipment.
Also check the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. These should be standardized so that "one stop" on one matches one stop on the other exactly. Thus, in the former example, if you open the lens to more light by setting aperture at f/11 and speed up the shutter to admit less light by increasing the shutter speed to 1/250 (one stop for each), the metering scale should still show a correct exposure. You should be able to continue this out to the limits of your camera's adjustments. [Each "stop" of aperture or shutter speed results in admitting half the light or twice the light. Note that modern electronic cameras often offer settings that represent half stops rather than full stops.] If you find that your camera is not performing close to these standards, you should replace the batteries and test it again. If the problem persists, you should seek additional service from a dealer.
Be sure to read the course notes on basic camera operation since many of these features are discussed in detail.
Updated on January 15, 2003; click here to return to Course HomePage.