Photography

Faculty
Elizabeth Dove, Associate Professor

Adjunct Instructor:
Steven Krutek

Program

The University of Montana Department of Art offers a B.A., B.F.A., M.A., and M.F.A. with a specialization in photography. The program provides facilities ranging from historic alternative photographic processes such as cyanotype and gum bichromate, through traditional black and white photography and up to contemporary digital imaging. Students are encouraged to explore technical and conceptual boundaries using these materials and processes. The photography department encourages interdisciplinary work with all media, and encourages its students to select appropriate photographic processes and any materials available to match their conceptual concerns. Photography has an active collaboration with the printmaking department and jointly manages the digital lab.

Facilities

Darkroom fully equipped with standard Beseler enlargers; one 4" x 5" Beseler enlarger and one Omega 4" x 5" enlarger are also available. Other equipment: studio lights, a 4" x 5" view camera, an ultravliolet exposure unit and contact printing frames, film drying cabinet, air compressors, rotary print dryer, drying racks, light tables, and dry mounting presses.

A lab monitor is employed and always available during darkroom hours.

Graduate spaces are provided, including a small private graduate darkroom.

Courses

• Photography 1
• Photography 2
• Photography 3
• Alternative Processes
• Independent Study in Photography
• Grad Studio Photography

Course Descriptions:

ART 215, Photography 1
Elizabeth Dove

Photography 1 is an introduction that emphasizes black and white photographic basics (understanding the technical and creative functions of your camera; film developing; exposure and its relationship to a ‘good’ negative; paper processing, enlargement and darkroom basics; simple image manipulation such as contrast control and dodging and burning) and how the underlying foundations of all art and design (light, form, contrast, line, value, repetition, texture, etc.) translate into photography.

These basic technical and compositional elements of photography are balanced by projects that challenge conceptual ideas. Students will begin to recognize and discuss the role that photography plays in our current image-driven media culture, and how their photographs might be received by viewers. This initial ‘test’ audience is their classmates, as all assignments are critiqued with constructive group discussions.

By the end of the semester students will have a basic understanding of black and white photography and some of its aesthetic issues. We conclude the course with a thematic project - a series of related images which is supported by a written statement and is professionally presented. Experimentation is encouraged, even expected; just because the tools and techniques are basic in Photography 1 doesn’t mean the ideas have to be simple. Hopefully this first course will lead each student into more advanced terrain both technically and conceptually.

ART 495, Alternative Photographic Processes
Elizabeth Dove

This course offers an introduction to advanced photography techniques and aesthetic issues relating to non-silver, ‘alternativce’ photographic processes. The course begins with an introduction to pinhole cameras and simple scanning and image manipulation in the digital lab, then progress into working with non-silver emulsions such as cyanotype and van dyke. Students who are rapidly advancing might begin to explore multi-layered gum bichromate at the semester’s end.

This course is more experimental in nature than conventional Photo 2 or Photo 3 classes, and students will have to be more flexible in both their approach and expectations for imagery. Enjoying the process becomes more important. Students are being provided greater access to the raw materials of photography (hand made pinhole cameras, hand coating liquid emulsions on a variety of papers, etc.) and working this way will require more patience, but is rewarded with much more freedom to personalize the materials to match your intentions and imagery. As the semester progresses, students should gain awareness of the creative and expressive possibilities of these alternative processes, and begin to develop a personal vocabulary of photographic aesthetics.

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