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October 6, 2006 Vol. 77, no. 8F
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NIGHTLIGHTS: MA sunset
photo taken by Interdisciplinary Studies junior Sean Carey in CS
39J. SEAN CAREY
PHOTO |
Drawing with
light Professor Brian Barsky teaches the art and
science of photography
With the proliferation of point-and-click digital cameras
and camera phones, taking a photo has never been easier. But that doesn’t
mean pictures are better. “As cameras have become smarter, people may not
be learning about photography because they’re relying on the camera to do
everything for them automatically,” says EECS professor Brian Barsky.
“Technique, lighting, composition, an aesthetic sense, storytelling —
these are all elements that people sometimes skip.”
But in
Barsky’s CS 39J, “The Art and Science of Photography: Drawing with Light,”
students skip the automatic mode to immerse themselves in f-stops,
apertures and the darkroom. They study the work of great photographers.
They strive to develop an “eye.” They practice taking photos based on
principles covered each week in class, and their assignments are critiqued
by the group the following week. In this freshman/sophomore seminar,
Barsky teaches his students not only how to take better photos, but how
cameras work, the science behind photography, and the art of seeing and
producing a good photograph. It’s that blend of art and science that makes
the class unique — and popular. “I really like [the class] a lot,” says
Undeclared sophomore David Wang. “We learn so many concepts that we really
can’t learn anywhere else.”
In a recent class, Barsky led a lively
discussion of student work involving depth of field (how much of the
background behind a subject is blurred or in focus). He teaches this and
other photographic techniques as problem-solving exercises, not surprising
for an engineering professor. “We learn about ‘previsualization,’ which is
seeing problems in a photograph before taking it, recognizing the
constraints and solving the problem,” he says. “We learn to think, ‘What
do I want to do here?’ and how to make adjustments when taking the picture
to obtain the desired photographic result.”
“ This class made me a
better close-up and sunset photographer,” says Interdisciplinary Studies
junior Sean Carey, a former student. “It was a lot of fun and a great way
to meet people who share an interest in photography.”
Barsky first
began teaching the seminar in 2002. “Freshman/sophomore seminars cover
topics beyond the confines of our normal academic concentrations. I
thought, ‘Why don’t I teach my passion, which is photography?’” It also
meshed well with Barsky’s own research interests: computer graphics and
design and human optics. (He’s an affiliate faculty member of the School
of Optometry.)
Barsky first began taking pictures at the age of
four with a Kodak Brownie camera. At age seven, he graduated to a fully
manual camera. As a teen, he explored different darkroom techniques and
exhibited his photos in shows. Today, he continues to shoot as a hobby. “I
want to help students appreciate photography because it’s a wonderful
blend of analytical thought and aesthetic sense. It’s about learning to
really see the world.”
For more information, go to http://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs39j/fa06/
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