Every year the RWC E-Media Photo Principles and Lighting class takes a field trip at the beginning of the quarter to do the first assignment. Once again this year the class went to Spring Grove Cemetery.”The main focus of the field trip was to familiarize ourselves with our own individual cameras,” said E-media student Jill Robertson. This undergraduate class, taught in two sections by Professor Michael Sanders and Pete Bender, introduces students to taking photos as well as lighting techniques used to bring out pictures that have shadow, shape, and unity.
At Spring Grove, students took pictures of landscapes, people, and anything they found interesting, as well as self-portraits. “The easiest photo to take was probably my front light and back light,” says E-Media student Lauren Bowser. “The photos had a great subject (a statue) and they turned out basically the way I had wanted them to. Maybe even better.”
The field trip itself was a learning experience as well as a chance to work with old friends and make new friends. “I decided to take my pictures in a group with my friends,” Robertson said, “and I even met some new people in the class and also some people who have joined the E-Media program.
“I went off on my own once or twice,” Bowser said. “However, I think that maybe part of the intent was to get to know others in the class. It helps to know everyone else. We can help each other be better photographers, model, and get our own photos (and portraits) done.