Learning the Art of Photography at HCT Fujairah Women’s College

Recently an exhibition of student photographs at the Fujairah Women’s College (FWC) served as the culmination of a new course on the art of photography.

Many of the women were in attendance on Thursday, 24 February 2011 to offer comments to their parents, teachers and other interested people who visited to check out their photographic skills.

Entitled ‘The History and Practice of Photography’, the course ran for the first time as an elective unit for the Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree at the FWC.

The course was taught by HCT teacher and Fujairah photographic identity, Alan Nambiar who said, “The course consisted of 30% theory and 70% experiential learning in which students needed to have access to a camera, were trained in the basics of using it and then they were to engage in taking photographs in a variety of locations, including their homes, the College, around Fujairah, Kalba, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”

Nambiar, who has run many courses and workshops around the world, added this reflection: “Teaching this course was very exciting, very demanding and very rewarding. It was exciting to see the photos which illustrate the way my students are beginning to see the world differently and express themselves in such creative ways.”

Instead of writing essays, the women were asked to submit a portfolio of photographs that illustrated such things as their choice of an interesting subject, their use of light, good compositional techniques, creativity and their ability to shoot a photo that conveyed a message with impact.

The students at the exhibition spoke with energy and passion about the course in which they had conquered the basics and learned for the first time how to use a camera. Without exception, the exhibiters were planning to look for opportunities to continue their training and some were seriously contemplating the possibility of a camera-related career in spheres such as photo journalism and marketing.

Take a Look
Here is an album of photos that were entered by photographers into the Fujairah Women’s College Photographic Exhibition.

Geoff Pound

This article is also posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

Image: Photo by Bashayer Mohamed, Fujairah Women’s College (HCT).