I am teaching a photo class to high school students who at the end of the class must produce a project to be graded by professors at Cambridge University in England. There is a catch to this situation. All the graders are painters and they tend to look down on photography projects (lower the grade) because they think all the student does is point the camera and shoot.

The exam (project) comes with specific topics that the student must select from and then produce a work. Some of the topics sound simple and if they were done by a painter would be more acceptable, but if done with a camera are much more blah.

I am offering below a topic that was on a previous exam. I would like to see if someone out there is UHH land can take this topic and produce a compelling work that will capture attention in a powerful and dramatic fashion. This would have to to beyond the point and shoot phase.

So here is the topic--- good luck

In 8x10 (either vertical or horizontal) display the following:
A potted plant or plants sitting on a shelf.

I eagerly look forward to your submissions.

Larry

As I recall each college faculty has its own governance. Unlike American schools, there is no central administration that prescribes a curriculum--that is up to the college.

It is what it is and his students cannot change the rules. Twenty years ago when we used film and processed it there were options available such as litho or contrast that simulated line drawings.

Maybe it is my history in oils and sketches--I ended up studying photography because my essential tremor kept me out of painting and architecture--but the challenge is intriguing. This sort of challenge is precisely that, a challenge and Treadwl should present it to the students as such. It is their responsibility to present photography as fine art--to see beyond the barriers of discipline and convince painters.

I have no problem with the "medieval" approach to education--we would have a better society if education did not bend itself to the whims of students and adapt to a less disciplined approach.

Treadwl--

Good luck. It can be done, and your students can do it. If the parameters are a potted plant on a shelf, it is pretty open. Shelves can be anywhere. Let the students loose. Remember we paint with light.

Yes, it is just a vase on a shelf. And it is clear that it's a combination of composition and lighting, but without lighting there aren't many variables in the composition. To add creativity, you have to address lighting. Get the flowers and shelf into a studio with lots of lighting options.

I also suggest that part of the submission would be a picture/illustration/exposition on the lighting as well. Just to help show what the creative aspects are.

On the other hand, does it matter that they downgrade because it is a photograph? Do you have leeway to normalize their grade over your class; just inflate the grades uniformly.