A high-tech snapshot

Coursework in photography is being offered at the Laguna College of Art and Design for the first time in almost a decade.

This isn’t the traditional “wet lab” instruction where 35 mm film was once developed in a dark room.

This is the arrival of digital imaging, which, according to the school’s dean of visual communications, Gary Birch, opens the door to opportunities.

Photography was dropped by the school in the mid-1990’s after the Environmental Protection Agency began regulating the disposal of chemicals, which made it too expensive to dispose of lab waste, Birch said.

In step with the times, the school has built its first digital-imaging classroom.

“There was a period in which photographers felt digital cameras were toys,” Birch said. “We held back from adding this class due to accreditation issues and concern for radical changes and fads.”

The new course is chosen as an elective by the students, and is designed to enrich other disciplines of study.

“The technology has empowered students to perform at a higher level,” Birch said.

The advantages of digital imaging include easier manipulation and efficiency in collecting large quantities of photographs, Birch said.

“To take good pictures you need to take as many shots as you want,” Birch said.

Time saved by not having to go to a wet lab is a luxury to the students, but learning the technical components of digital imaging comes with practice.

To be admitted to the school, students must already possess a high level of creative ability.

In the digital-imaging class, about 60% of what the students do involves mastering the tools, Birch said.

About a third of their time goes into aesthetic and communication issues and incorporating the technology into packaging for a gallery.

Computer graphic illustrator major Brian Loarca is using his new skill set to develop CD covers and band posters.

“Technology is a big support, you still hold your artistic ability but now you can do things faster,” Loarca said.

Loarca takes hand-drawn illustrations and incorporates them into digital images to create a blended look.

To Shelly Birch, there is no separation between technology and her artistic ability.

“My laptop is a part of every thought I have,” Birch said. “I use my camera as a communication tool.”

While grasping the technical concepts may be intuitive to some, they are barriers to others.

“At first I had a bias against computers, but it’s getting easier. I need to start with the concepts first, then worry about the technology,” another student, Maliah Colidge, said.

But can new technology make someone a better artist?

Illustration major Heather Hans believes learning new technology is important in order to keep up with the times, but it doesn’t affect natural ability.