All classes & lectures will be lead by photographer and instructor Cara Gaetano via ZOOM and weeknights unless noted.
Cara grew up in the Rustbelt of NE Ohio. She teaches experimental camera and urban exploration workshops. Cara formed the Steel Forest Photo Collective in Cleveland, and was a founder of Analog Liberation, a community darkroom in Pittsburgh. Photography has had a profound effect on her, and she believes in the power of it enriching the lives of others, and using the medium to tell as many stories as she can.
Introduction to the Holga Camera: Introducing an Experimental Camera Series. Our first installment will be the Introduction to the Holga Camera. Cara will later hold Advanced classes as well as focus on other cameras.
Ever want to try using a plastic or toy camera? In this class Cara will teach you the basics of using a Holga, one of the most popular plastic cameras out there. Projects will encourage you to think out of the box with your photography as well as be open to experimentation. Holga images can have light leaks, areas of soft focus, irregularities, vignetting and other unpredictable results, which encourage the user to embrace the imperfections and see their images in a new light. Each week a project is assigned and the following week there will be a critique/discussion of the images from each student. Class length is 6 weeks.
How to Take a Better Photo Using Compositional Techniques: In this class Cara will cover several compositional techniques that you can utilize to have a stronger, more impactful image, and to help take your photography to the next level. Each week projects will be given that will employ the use of a couple techniques at a time and will build upon each other each week. Class length is 5 weeks.
Day trip on-location workshops: In these workshops Cara will take students to a variety of locations, this can include historical locations, or cities/neighborhoods for street photography, such as a potential day trip to Detroit. Cara will guide students to areas of interest to shoot as well compositional techniques to try in such a location. Attendees will take care of their own transportation, and are encouraged to carpool. Cara will also offer a follow up Zoom class where students will have the chance to discuss their work and get feedback from other attendees.
Silents Please: This lecture series will cover various topics like the early/famous directors in the era of silent films, horror in early silent cinema, pre-code actresses and directors, or the early serials -the equivalent of today's tv series.
Women in Early Photography: This class will be a discussion and education on early female film photographers from the very early days of photography, and their notable works. Each week there will be a lecture, and a potential documentary may be assigned for at-home viewing.
The Early Surrealists in Photography and Filmmaking: For the Photography series, we will discuss famous surrealist photographers and their contribution to the Surrealist movement as well as what their work meant within the social context of the time. For the Filmmaking series, there will be screenings and discussions of works from artists like Cocteau, Maya Deren, Bunuel, etc.
Director Series/Film Screening Night: We are considering the possibility of a monthly, or bimonthly (every two months) film screening series where we will cover various historic film themes and directors. There will be a talk before the movie, discussing the significance of the director, or the movement, and a short discussion after the film.