GEOS 10
The Digital Darkroom
Last Offered Winter 2009

Cross-listed
This course is not offered in the current catalog

The camera is an imperfect tool. Film and digital sensors record only a fraction of the range of tones and colours the human eye can perceive, and today’s monitors and printers can display only a small portion of the information present in a well-exposed photograph. Digital processing is about optimizing the basic image for electronic display or print. The digital darkroom allows the photographer complete control over his or her images. This course will demystify its principles and practices by teaching the basics of digital image manipulation and optimization. Students will learn what makes a digital image, and how the tools they use affect the image data itself. They will learn about digital file formats and how to use their camera’s histogram to ensure that they capture the maximum amount of information from the scene in their viewfinder. They will also learn how to scan 35 mm slides and negatives for digital post-processing. Using Photoshop, students will learn how to bring out the best in their images. This can range from simple tone and colour adjustments to complex layering and masking to bring out hidden detail or to maximize the aesthetic nature of the print. They will learn how to remove dust and blemishes from their images. The basics of digital printing and colour management will also be taught. The students will produce a series of image pairs-processed images and their raw photo counterparts-which will be mounted on a class web page. Each student will keep a journal recording the processes they applied and the results achieved.