Digital Photography DeCal

Nathan Yan, 2nd year EECS
University of California, Berkeley
nathanyan@berkeley.edu
Advanced class: Mon 6-8PM, 3108 Etcheverry
Basic class: Wed 2-3PM, 110 Wheeler

HELLO WORLD

This is the website for the EECS198 Digital Photography DeCal course at UC Berkeley, taught by 2nd-year EECS student Nathan Yan. Email him at nathanyan@berkeley.edu

UPDATE - 2008 May 7

Thanks to everyone who took the class this semester - I hope the class was very enjoyable and informative for you all. If you're interested and will be around next semester, I'm looking for co-facilitators to help teach the course, which can be anything from helping leading photo reviews to making presentations/lessons yourself. Please shoot me an email if you happen to be interested.

UPDATE - 2008 May 5

Thanks for taking the Digital Photography DeCal class this semester. For those of you in the advanced class, I'd appreciate it if you could take a few moments to fill out a course survey that I've prepared. The class will be taught again next semester, and I'd like to get feedback on some ideas for changes to next semester's class.
There are a few students who haven't yet completed the course requirements to pass the class. If you didn't get an email, you're all set - if you did get an email, make sure to complete the required assignments by next Friday, May 16.

UPDATE - 2008 April 24

The Week 13 processing assignment has been posted here: assignment_basic_week13_processing2.php. The writeup is a little more technical this week, but feel free to email me if you have any questions.
The Week 13 dynamic range assignment has been posted here: assignment_advanced_week13_restoringdynamicrange.php. I've included a link to the free GIMP image editing program for those of you who don't have an image editing program like Photoshop/Lightroom/Aperture - I encourage you guys to download the program and do the assignment earlier in the week, so you can be sure it works (or email with any questions if it doesn't).

UPDATE - 2008 April 17

The Week 12 processing assignment has been posted here: assignment_basic_week12_processing.php. I've included a link to the free GIMP image editing program for those of you who don't have an image editing program like Photoshop/Lightroom/Aperture - I encourage you guys to download the program and do the assignment earlier in the week, so you can be sure it works (or email with any questions if it doesn't).

UPDATE - 2008 April 11

The Week 11 sports assignment has been posted here: assignment_basic_week11_sports.php

UPDATE - 2008 Apr 8

The Week 11 optional assignment is posted here: assignment_advanced_week11_largedynamicrange.php

UPDATE - 2008 Apr 2

Guest speaker Mike Seeman's presentation on landscapes has been uploaded.
The Week 10 landscape assignment has been posted here: assignment_basic_week10_landscapes2.php

UPDATE - 2008 Mar 31

The materials for the Week 10 presentation on lenses has been uploaded. Happy portrait shooting!

UPDATE - 2008 Mar 21

Week 8 landscape assignment has been posted here: assignment_basic_week08_landscape.php

UPDATE - 2008 Mar 17

The Week 8 Portrait assignment has been posted here: assignment_advanced_week08_portraits.php
If you need to find a partner for the class, post in the forums here: /forums/viewtopic.php?id=38

UPDATE - 2008 Mar 16

Sorry for the delay!: Week 7 product photo assignment has been posted here: assignment_basic_week07_product.php

UPDATE - 2008 Mar 11

Week 7 perspective assignment has been posted here: assignment_advanced_week07_perspective.php

UPDATE - 2008 Mar 6

Week 6 macro assignment has been posted here: assignment_basic_week06_macro.php

UPDATE - 2008 Mar 4

Mike's powerpoint on flash has been uploaded here: lessons/week06_advanced_flash.ppt

UPDATE - 2008 Mar 3

Week 6 assignment has been posted. assignment_advanced_week06_lighting.php

UPDATE - 2008 Feb 28

Week 5 assignment on portraits is up here: assignment_basic_week05_portraits.php
If you need to find a partner for the assignment, post in the forums here: http://www.photodecal.org/forums/viewtopic.php?pid=132
Guest speaker Salgu Wissmath's presentation has been posted: lessons.php

UPDATE - 2008 Feb 16

Week 5 assignment has been posted. assignment_advanced_week05_creativeblur.php

UPDATE - 2008 Feb 20

Week 4 assignment on creative blur is up here: assignment_basic_week04_creativeblur.php
Information on the noise reduction programs in class can be found on the wiki page.

UPDATE - 2008 Feb 15

Sorry for the delay - the assignment for Week 3 is now up here: assignment_basic_week03_fastshutterspeed.php

UPDATE - 2008 Feb 12

Reminder: Due to holiday there will be no class next week, so the next class will be February 25. This applies to the ADVANCED class only - basic section still meets next week.
Week 3 assignments have been posted. assignment_advanced_week03_fastshutterspeed.php
If you'd like to check out the decoupling AF from the shutter button setting I talked about in class, visit this post. I'd highly recommend trying it out for the next two weeks.

UPDATE - 2008 Feb 10

For those of you in the photojournalism class, there is a new portal at photojourn.photodecal.org. There you'll find links to the message board, gallery, and file archive that will be used for the class.

UPDATE - 2008 Feb 8

URGENT: For all students who had issues enrolling into telebears because they didn't have junior standing, an email has been sent out with a new CCN. If you are a student who still hasn't been able to enroll, and didn't receive the email, PLEASE EMAIL ME IMMEDIATELY.

UPDATE - 2008 Feb 6

The Week 2 assignment has been posted up here

UPDATE - 2008 Feb 6

For those of you interested in yet more photo, this Thursday there will be a meeting for the start of the Introduction to Photojournalism Decal, which is being taught by a good friend of mine, Salgu Wissmath, who's a former photo editor at the Daily Cal. I'll also be assisting in that class, so you can see more of me there too! Find more information at http://www.decal.org/photojournalism.

UPDATE - 2008 Feb 5

I've added ratings options to images - after the influx of Week 1 assignments from the advanced section, I realize there's really no practical way to view everyone's photos. I've implemented a rating system (1-5 scale) for everyone's images, and what we'll try for next week is to take a look at the top rated images. The ratings aren't intended to designate someone having a "good" picture or a bad one - rather, you should rate the images that are interesting to you and that you'd like to talk about/discuss in class.

UPDATE - 2008 Feb 5

The Week 2 assignment is to test out some shake reduction techniques.
While not part of the assignment, here's a fun (maybe) thing to try out - instead of relying on the arbitrary "1/focal length" rule for blur, measure and derive your own focal length rule based on your personal propensity for shake.

UPDATE - 2008 Jan 29

I've posted a tutorial on how to upload images to the gallery.
The Week 1 assignment is to take a few low-light photos and upload them to the Week 1 gallery.
The discussion on exposure programs is up.
We'll have a get-to-know-each-other bit next week, but for now feel free to post in the introduction thread.
Lesson materials are posted here: http://photodecal.org/lessons.php

UPDATE - 2008 Jan 28

I've gotten emails from a few lower-division students saying that telebears won't let you enroll - I'll look into this and you can expect an email tomorrow. As far as I can tell this is only the Basic section, but if you're an Advanced student and having this problem, let me know.

UPDATE - 2008 Jan 27

At this point, *all* enrollment emails have been sent out. If you didn't receive an email, but applied, email me right away.
Enrollment is finalized. However if you're still interested in taking the course you are welcome to audit (take the class without enrolling)
The Basic section will meet W2-3PM in 110 Wheeler. First class this Wednesday, Jan. 30. Attendance is mandatory for the first two weeks.
Unfortunately, the Engineering section will not be held, as there aren't enough students =/.
Advanced section will meet M6-8PM in 3108 Etcheverry. First class this Monday, Jan. 28.

UPDATE - 2008 Jan 24

So there was a little bug in my script for the application for the engineering class, and none of the applications for the engineering class were saved (this is why I'm a hardware EECS and not software...). =/
So there are three cases:
1. None of Advanced or Basic section apps are affected, so don't worry if you just applied to those.
2. If you applied to the Engineering section, in addition to Advanced or Basic, just send me an email. I already have your application info saved, I just need to add you to the engineering section list.
3. If you applied to *only* the Engineering section, unfortunately that wasn't saved. You'll have to reapply again, unfortunately.
Sorry about this!
Updated note: Only applications sent in on Thursday night were affected. If you turned it in on Friday or Saturday, don't worry about it.

UPDATE - 2008 Jan 24

The application for the course is available here. Keep in mind that you will have needed to have come to the Thursday mandatory meeting or have contacted me beforehand - otherwise your chances of getting into the course are pretty small.

UPDATE - 2008 Jan 23

I just wanted to clarify a few things: 1) All classes will start NEXT WEEK. Jan. 28 for the M6-8 Advanced section, and Jan. 30 for the other Wednesday sections. To enroll in the class you will need to come to the mandatory meeting this Thursday 7-8pm, at 150 Goldman (GSPP), which is the building between Foothill and Soda Hall, across the street from Cory Hall. If you have a conflict with this time, please email me ahead of time.

UPDATE - 2008 Jan 22

I've posted up a preliminary schedule for all three sections - check it out at schedule.php. Keep in mind it's pretty flexible, and I'll probably be changing it as I get suggestions for what the class wants to learn.

Times and dates:

Mandatory enrollment meeting: Thursday January 24, 2008, 7-8 in 150 Goldman School of Public Policy (between Foothill and Soda Hall)
Advanced section: Mondays 6-8P, 3108 Etcheverry
Basic section: Wednesday 1-2/2-3P, Wheeler
Engineering section: Wednesday 1-2/2-3P, 100 Wheeler

For now, chew on the course description page.