Photography in New York

a syllabus

photograph © Bill Barrett

Fall 2011
PHOT 4000.03
© Bill Barrett 2011

Feedback (general opinions, problems, suggestions, etc.) on this hypersyllabus is encouraged! Bookmark this, but don't rely on printing it out. It is very likely that this page will be updated in the course of the semester.

We will spend a week (Monday through Friday of fall break) in New York City, exploring this city which really is one of the world's centers of photographic activity. After an intensive orientation to the city, we will visit museums and galleries, meet photographers and other professionals in the industry, and still have time to visit major sites and attractions in the city so that we can make photographs.

Lab fees include housing (double rooms with shared bath) at the Seafarer’s & International House just off Union Square adjacent to the Photo District in Manhattan, a MetroCard transit pass for all subway and bus travel, admission to all sites we visit, and some meals. Airport transfers are included if you travel with the group. Airfare, airport transfers (if you travel by yourself) and most meals are not included in the lab fees. Plan to arrive by Sunday early afternoon and leave on Saturday.

Participation in all class activities is required. Some side trips to NYC attractions will be optional.

How you're graded (Assessment Criteria): Your final grade is based on your performance throughout the trip. Your attendance and active participation count for 60%; a portfolio of photos you take in NYC and present after the trip counts for 25%; a brief paper counts for 15%. Doing more than required can earn you extra credit; talk to me outside class if you're interested. This is what the grades mean...

Before you go, you might want to check out Concierge.com's Ten Things Not To Do in New York City. Also, information on traveling as a photographer is here, and the TSA has a page to make your air travel more hassle-free.

Here's what we plan (subject to change, but this is our story so far):

Sunday, 16 October

• Meet at Newark Airport (airport code EWR) in the Southwest Airlines baggage arrival area; meeting SW 1261 at 1:10 pm.
• Travel into NYC together, and get settled at the Seafarer's and International House.
• Brief walking tour of the neighborhood.
• 5:00 leave for Pier 83, West 42nd St. and 12th Ave.
• 6:00-8:00 Circle Line Harbor Lights cruise. Photo opportunity.
• Visit Times Square. Photo opportunity.

Monday, 17 October

• 9:00 - Orientation to the city and our class, and a New York breakfast.
  
• 10:00 - Subway uptown (L train to 8th Ave, C train to 86th Street, exit to 88th St.)
• 11:00 - Photograph magazine visit (64 W. 89 St.)
• Noon - Walk through Central Park Photo opportunity.
• 3:00 - Photographer talk with Stephen Mallon at Shadowbox, 491 6th Ave (between 11th & 12th Sts. in Park Slope) 7th Ave. stop on F train.
• Evening on your own.

Tuesday, 18 October

• 10:00 - Imag'in Productions (digital capture and retouching), 515 Greenwich St. #503.
• M5 bus north, to lunch at Famous Ray's of Greenwich Village (pizza), then take the PATH train to Hoboken...
• 1:00 - Gentl & Hyers at Edge Reps, 596 Broadway, 11th floor.
• 4:15 Visit to 911 Memorial, World Trade Center site. (Check-in at Thames St. & Trinity Place by 4:00) reservation 89167
• Optional: Gallery opening, Herb Fixler: Luminosity. Manhattan Athletic Club Gallery, 48th Street between Park and Lexington Aves. (across from the Hotel InterContinental), 6-9 pm.
  

Wednesday, 19 October

• 8:30 - Leave to visit the High Line park, 14th St. & 10th Ave. (M14D bus)
• 10:00 - Drive-In Studios, 443 W. 18th St.
• 1:00 - Photographer Jill Enfield at her studio on East 18th St.
• 3:00 - International Center of Photography, 1133 Ave of the Americas, 10036. Remembering 9/11. Signs of Life: Photographs by Peter Sekaer. Harper’s Bazaar: A Decade of Style.
• Top of the Rock observation deck visit (entrance on 50th Street between 5th and 6th Aves) Photo opportunity.
• Dinner in Little India.

Thursday, 20 October

• 9:00 - Brunch together at the University Restaurant (a local favorite in the neighborhood).
• 11:00 - Photographer talk with Benedict J. Fernandez. We'll look at his work, visit his photography gallery, and possibly take a walking tour of Hoboken (if there's time).
• Return to Manhattan on the PATH train to the World Trade Center.
• Walk to Battery Park.
• Ferry trip to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. (Be aware that there is airport level security and X-ray.) Photo opportunity.
• Evening on your own.

Friday, 21 October

• 10:00 - Jean Cabacungan-Jarvis, Photo Director of Self Magazine at Condé Nast, 4 Times Square.
• Lunch at Katz's Delicatessen on the Lower East Side.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: Photographic Treasures from the Collection of Alfred Stieglitz. (Also on display: After the Gold Rush: Contemporary Photography from the Collection and Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O'Keeffe.)
• 7:00 Optional: Informal meeting with some NYC photographers at Heartland Brewery on Union Square.

Saturday, 22 October

• (Morning on your own) Visit Union Square Greenmarket. Photo opportunity.
• 11:45 - Leave Seafarers for Newark Airport (SOUTHWEST AIRLINES Flight # 1823 at 4:40 pm).