Photo classes received a face lift at the beginning of the school year. The class switched from a traditional photo class which utilizes darkroom facilities and print labs to a digital format.

“We [Mrs. Penny Tolokly, the department head, and photo teachers Mrs. Sarah Verpooten and Miss Carrie Wadycki] decided [to change] since technology is changing and Kodak was discontinuing their black and white photo paper; it made it more expensive for the students,” Miss Wadycki said.

The change from two semesters to one allows more students to take the class. Since the photography process moves at a much quicker pace with digital cameras, the students are still taught the same things.

“We talk about ethics and how much distortion is too far or crossing the line at the beginning of the class so [the students] know what’s right and wrong at the beginning,” Miss Wadycki said.

Currently the darkroom is being used for storage, but Miss Wadycki has plans in mind for future years.

An advanced class may be in store for students who are thinking about using photography in their professions. This won’t be happening for a few years because the teachers want the students who have already taken traditional photo to graduate. The teachers felt that learning the basics with digital fits better with the current times, but that traditional photo would be a good secondary course.

“I think [the students] feel like it’s more relevant, but I don’t know if they necessary like [digital] better,” Mrs. Verpooten said.

Students who took the “old school” photo classes learned how to develop their own film and print their own pictures, while this new class of photo students was taught how to manipulate their images in Adobe Photoshop. The students learned how to crop, layer, and adjust levels for their pictures.

“Digital is overrated, I think it’s better to learn with an actual camera,” senior Allison Hill said.

Junior Harry Blaundin took the newly formatted class first semester. He wanted to take photo before it went digital, but couldn’t due to scheduling reasons. Blaundin said he liked the class but wanted to learn the old techniques. He also whishes he had more time in the digital class.

Junior Jordan Meredith wishes she had been able to take the traditional class.

“I don’t think they should have changed it because most people don’t know how to use the darkroom, and most have digital cameras. It would have been cooler to learn something new,” Meredith said.

Many students may say they wish they had more time in photo class, but the teachers think one semester for digital photography is just enough.

“If it was a year class I don’t know what I would do; the semester class is short and sweet and more kids can take it,” Miss Wadycki said.

The students actually did more projects in one semester than they would have been able to do in the full year traditional class. The biggest difference between the courses was the use of Photoshop to work with their images instead of printing their photos onto paper with the use of enlargers and chemicals.

“The work they do is on the computer,” Miss Wadycki said. “They don’t print it out, so as a teacher I have to go and access things. It’s harder to grade.”

The changes to the class can best be described in the words of Miss Wadycki, “I miss the darkroom a lot because it’s not something students experience everyday, but I don’t miss cleaning it up every day.”