How I teach photography

   Photography has the ability to capture the present, preserve the past and potentially change the future. Many times powerful images have turned the tide of public opinion by documenting the reality of our world. At its most basic, it records our life and surroundings, even if it's just an Instagram photo of your lunch.
    My goal when teaching is to give students the knowledge, skills, discipline and visual acumen to be able to make photographs far above the casual snapshot, and to be able to take images that they have in their minds and produce them as a photograph of high technical and aesthetic excellence.
    I use film and the darkroom to teach and reinforce the technical skills needed to produce excellent photos as well as to impart some of the 'magic' that I feel digital images can lack. I also heavily emphasize the digital capture and editing skills that are a part and parcel of today's photographic world. Even the iPhone has its place in both casual and serious photography.
   It is very important to me that students have a real sense of both art and documentary photography and that they realise that the two are not mutually exclusive.

Service for fallen 9-11 airline crew - Dallas