This page is for information on my classes at Bakersfield College. You can learn about my BC journalism department and Levan Institute for Lifelong Learning classes here, as well as access course syllabi and schedules.

Members of the press photography class during our annual field trip to the Kern County Fair.

Bakersfield College journalism department courses:

These are full semester-length courses. You must be enrolled as a Bakersfield College student to take these courses.

JRNL B15 40 – Press Photography (CRN for Fall 2012 – 71483):

This is the department’s introductory photojournalism course. It is required to obtain the Associate’s degree in journalism and is also open to all students. Class limit is 20 students. This is a Saturday morning class, and is a field trip oriented class. You must have a digital camera to take this class, cameras are not provided. It is strongly suggested you have transportation to reach the field trip locations throughout Bakersfield. There are no pre-requesites and you do not need any past photography experience to take this class. It is a combination of beginning photography and beginning Photoshop, with an emphasis on producing journalism style photography. The class deals with the photographing of people, and events and occurrences that interest people. It also covers important journalism and photojournalism issues. Students enrolled in this class will be required to adhere to standard photojournalism ethics protocols – which will be detailed by the instructor – and should feel comfortable meeting with people and obtaining their names and other information critical to writing informed cutlines. You can view the syllabus and schedule for this course here.

JRNL B16 – Multimedia Reporting (CRN for Fall 2012 – 71484):

This course teaches shooting and production of visual stories for the web that combine still photographs, recorded interviews, recorded ambient sound, video and text. We consider this a critical skill for all students who plan to work in media or related communication fields or who intend to transfer to a four-year journalism or communication program. It is required to obtain the Associate’s degree in journalism and is open to all students. It is strongly suggested that you take JRLN B15 – Press Photography before taking this course, or simultaneously with this course. Class limit is 20 students. This is a Tuesday and Thursday evening class. You will be required to have a digital camera and an inexpensive digital voice recorder to take this class. In addition to producing multimedia stories, this class includes study of how journalism is practiced on the web, how social media affects reporting of stories and an exploration of the rapidly changing journalism landscape. You can view the syllabus and schedule for this class here.

Levan Instutite at Bakersfield College courses:

The Levan Institute for Lifelong Learning offers workshop style classes over short periods of time for folks looking to learn something new, or to improve their skills in areas that interest them. The institute is geared toward older adults, but is open to everybody. You do not have to be an enrolled student to take a Levan class. There is no grading, no homework, no tests. Just come and learn in a super relaxed, fun atmosphere. Visit the Levan website to views course offerings and register online.

Beginning Photography – Use of Digital Cameras:

This course will teach you what all those knobs and dials on your new digital camera are for and what settings are best for different types of photography situations you may encounter. My goal is simple – to make you comfortable taking either full or partial control of your camera’s functions rather than relying on fully automatic features. This is by far the most important component of becoming a creative, more advanced photographer. We cover technical photography basics like understanding ISO, stopping action and controlling depth of field, and non-technical photography basics, like understanding light choosing lenses and composition. The course is 10 hours over five weeks. There is a Wednesday afternoon session and a Wednesday evening session each session.

Introduction to Photoshop Elements:

You’ve probably noticed that taking a photo from your camera or storage card and uploading it for a print doesn’t produce the result you were expecting, right? That’s because almost all digital images need some degree of preparation, or “post processing” before they are printed. This course teaches you how to use Photoshop Elements, the powerful, full featured consumer version of Photoshop CS. We cover everything from understanding the interface and basic image preparation to more advanced techniques like working with layers, changing colors, effective black and white conversion and assembling photo composites with text and effects. And because Photoshop Elements is a very affordable piece of software, you will  be able to practice and improve on your newly learned skills for years to come. We only touch the surface! The course is 12 hours over six weeks. There is a Friday morning session and a Wednesday evening session each semester.

High Dynamic Range Photography:

Take your pictures to a new level by learning how to expand the dynamic range – the ability to record detail throughout an expanded tonal range – of your images. With high dynamic range, you can better replicate the tonal range that the more sophisticated human visual system sees, or you can use the expanded range to create some wild effects in your photos. This is a quick course, three session over one week, including a field trip. You must have a digital SLR (no point and shoots for this class) and a tripod. You must have a basic understanding of how to adjust the controls of your camera, and it is strongly recommended you take Intro to digital Photography first if you are not familiar with those controls.