Focus on Photographers; Tuesday, First Period [01/14].

[hashtag_chocobro]

"Hey, guys," Prompto greeted the class with his usual grin and excitement get talking more about photography and photographers, "welcome back. We started with something modern last week with some recent photography, and now we're going back. Not all the way back to the historical photography of the 19th century when it was still starting to..." His grin grew broader, unapologetic, because he was a dad, he could make these jokes, and you'll just have to deal with it, "develop, but to one of the big names that sort of stands over almost all the photography world of the last century on this planet that sort of laid the foundation for a certain artistry to the craft, and that is, of course, Ansel Adams.

"Now, since Adams is pretty much a titan of mid-20th century photography here," he continued, "there's people out there that can tell you more about him way better than I can, we're going to watch parts of a documentary about him to give you a little bit of his story, where his journey as one of the most iconic landscape photographers started as a teenager just sort of blown away by the beauty of nature. The parts I picked out are going to focus on his inspirations, his influences, and his techniques, and then we're going to discuss it a little, but I really want you all to consider that Adams is known mostly for his black and white photography. A lot of photographers like the sort of drama and depth that you get from monochrome photos...in fact, it's said that the main reason Adams worked in black and white was because color photography, at his height of influence, wasn't really capable of giving him the depth or feel that he'd wanted to really showcase nature. Now, last week, we saw a ton of bright and brilliant nature photographs that show how much things have changed in that regard since Adams' time, but also, if you look at some of his contemporaries that were working in color, like Ruth Orkin or Saul Leiter, you could see that color photography, even in those days, had a lot of potential. You could also point out that Orkin and Leiter were more interested in human nature, rather than the natural world, and urban settings that lent themselves better to what the technology was capable of.

"But I," he chuckled a little shaking his head, "am getting way ahead of myself! Let's watch some of the documentary, and then we'll start in on all that. But keep that in mind, especially when considering examples of Adams' work as we watch."

Friendship is Magic!, Tuesday, January 14, 2025

[sith_happened]

"Since some of you mentioned being friendless and alone last week--" Not one of them had put it like that, Anakin, "--we've decided to facilitate you making friends here in this class!"

"And we thought we'd take a cue from one of the island traditions." Ahsoka had what looked suspiciously like a seating chart. A seating chart that someone had put a lightsaber through. Several times.

"Three Minute Dates," Anakin agreed. "But this time you don't have Tino to blame. In case you don't know how to start with small talk, I have prepared three talking points: 'My favorite color is,' 'I hate the winter because,' and 'Anakin Skywalker is the best teacher for this reason.'"

He beamed at Ahsoka. "It's helpful!" It wasn't.

Ahsoka cheerfully did not offer an opinion on Anakin's helpfulness or lack thereof. "We'll be doing things a bit more free-form." Seating chart. Lightsaber burns. Organising this had seemed a lot simpler when they'd come up with this idea. "More three minute mingling, talk with someone, when the chime sounds, find someone new. If you find yourself gravitating towards certain people, that's probably a sign."

Anakin nodded like he had the first idea what it would be a sign of. "Let's get started."

And that was why Ahsoka had more friends than you, Anakin.

Mad Kings & Queens: Raving Royals and How To Survive Them [Tuesday, 2nd Period]

[atreideslioness]

 When class arrived today, Ghanima was sitting on the floor with Trebor, playing with a pair of wooden horses.  As soon as the bell rang, she handed her horse to her son, and stood up with a smile.

"Today, we start near the beginning," she said, brushing-off her hands on her skirt. "Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, more commonly known by his nickname Caligula, was the third emperor of the Roman Empire, and a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty which descended from Augustus."

( I, Caligula Caesar, command in the name of the senate and the people of Rome. I, Caligula Caesar, command in the name of the senate and the people of Rome. I, Caligula Caesar, command in the name of the senate and the people of Rome. Rome! Rome! Rome! Caesar! Caesar! Rome! Rome! Rubbish! Rubbish! )