al shaikh
(K=15790) - Comment Date 1/16/2002
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Don't bother with that, usefilm is a lot better for you than any one of those types of courses. Do each of the projects and I guarantee you get better than you ever could with those courses. Trust me on this one, and just in case you don't go look at some of the members portfolios from when they started to now, I think you can see the progress for yourself.
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Nanette Staph
(K=632) - Comment Date 1/16/2002
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if you feel you need interaction....and the calibre isnt there where you live....consider instead weekend seminars in different cities. when you are going to visit someone, look to see if they have a great opportunity to learn while you are there!
for example, if you visit the NY area, there are short weekend seminars by very reputable schools, such as International Center of Photography (ICP) or School of Visual Arts (SVA) or the Camera Club of NY (hard to become a member, easy to take classes). if you are in the Santa Barbara/LA area, consider a weekend course at Brooks.
BUT on an ongoing and continuous basis, i KNOW usefilm (as al mentioned) will do more than any correspondence school...trust me on this as well! reading the articles, being involved in the site, doing the projects, interacting with other photographers will definitely IMPROVE your skills more than any book can.
but, being able to meet/talk to people with similar interests is valuable, i wont dismiss that. so, maybe once/twice a year take a seminar away from home. that is, if you cant find people in your own area that you can interact with at the same level.
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Melony Lewis
(K=79) - Comment Date 1/16/2002
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I am in a formal school right now. From what I see we have done a lot of the same projects. I know nothing of the school or their courses you talk about. By actually going to school I am also getting darkroom work. I'd give this a try and see how much you can learn. I think you will be surprised.
Melony
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ws b
(K=62) - Comment Date 1/16/2002
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Thanx for the feedback. I've actually learned alot already from your forums here and the great hands-on interaction with the other photographers. Most of my knowledge of photography has been from trial and error , books and more recently, the web. I'll keep all your suggestions in mind, they've really helped.
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Tony Cifani
(K=66) - Comment Date 1/22/2002
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I got a college degree (in Chicago) and now have student loans up the wazzoo. I am a pro photographer and school didn't make that happen. I started shooting, for money, long before I started a BFA. READ books. Nothing beats your own trials and errors. Don't be afraid to try things. After high school, I saved money and purchased a Speedotron brownline lighting kit (about $600 in 1989) and then started taking pictures with my camera PC socket set to "M" instead of "X" and didn't get any results with the flash pack for two weeks!
What did school teach me? It broadened my ideas and approaches to art-making and I learned a lot about computers. But nothing beats going to galleries to see work first hand, seeing other photographer's work in studios, and just talking to other people who are actually doing things. Nowdays with the web, no technical concern should ever go left unanswered.
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Michelle Bekkering
(K=250) - Comment Date 1/23/2002
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Hello:
I am a complete newbie at photography so please take everything I write with a grain of salt ;-) I too am a Canadian (Maritimer actually) and I couldn't find any school to study at once I purchased my SLR in the spring. However, I did find a local, professional photographer who gives great courses. I found him by looking through the bulletin boards at the local art stores and asking the better camera shops if they knew of anyone giving courses.
I think Usefilm is an incredible site. I browse through it every day and I do wholeheartly agree that Usefilm will greatly help us become better photographers, but the personal feedback given at a course has a lot to offer too. Not every photo on Usefilm is critiqued but each photo you show in a course setting is critiqued. Also if you shoot slides and don't have access to a slide scanner, it's very difficult to show your pictures on Usefilm. (such is my case - no slide scanner) I believe the combination of both Usefilm and the personal attention given in a class helps to open up the endless creative possiblities that the world of photography offers.
Again, just the two cents of a newbie...
Michelle
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Don Fleming
(K=54) - Comment Date 2/2/2002
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Browse the messages at http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/nyipstudentsclub to see what current students of NYIP think of the course.
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