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Photography Faculty
Terry Abrams' Bio:
I have been fascinated by photography ever since I saw my father
use an early Polaroid camera that produced an instant image.
The magic of the photographic process continues to amaze me.
I graduated from the Maryland Institute, College of Art and
Design with a BFA in Photography. Upon graduation I was hired
by an American College to develop and teach photography courses
and programs on US Military bases in Europe. For thirteen
years I lived and taught in England, Spain, Portugal, Italy
and Germany, and I traveled throughout the European continent.
This experience of traveling, photographing and living in
different cultural, political and economic systems has had
a profound effect on how I view life.
While in Europe, I earned an EdM in Educational Leadership from
Boston University in Heidelberg, Germany. In addition to teaching
traditional art and photography courses, I also developed
and taught travel photography workshops, 'hike and photograph'
and 'ski and photograph' workshops. Also I taught German,
math, English, GED and reading courses.
I believe that photography has almost unlimited applications,
and that the person learning photography can find an application
that meets their need, whether it is to begin a career as
a commercial photographer or artist, or just to make better
family photographs. With this in mind, I try to help students
understand the nature of their vision and teach them how to
use the latest technology to accomplish it.
Most
of my recent photography is large and medium format, black
and white. I exhibit my work in galleries, both nationally
and locally. I like to photograph outdoors, and the landscape
is a favorite subject of mine. I have been pioneering the
use of digital imaging in creating high quality black and
white prints made from desktop printers.
Jennifer Baker's Bio:
I have been teaching photography here at W.C.C. since 1990,
full time since 1995. I consider myself lucky to be in a position
where I can say I truly love my job. I enjoy sharing my knowledge
with students and I am always learning from them. It is an
environment that has so much to offer.
My
interest in photography began when I was in high school. I
received my first degree from the very program in which I
now teach. Upon completion of my Associates degree in Photographic
Technology I spent a year at the Maine Photographic Workshops
where I continued my photographic studies. It was in Maine
that I decided to pursue teaching as a career. I returned
to Michigan to complete a Bachelor's degree at the University
of Michigan with a concentration in English. I graduated in
1988 and went straight to graduate school at Rhode Island
School of Design where I received my Masters of Fine Arts
in Photography in 1990.
In
addition to teaching I continue my work as a artist. My photographic
work is an essential part of my personal growth as an educator
and as an individual. Recent endeavors have been exclusively
in the digital realm from the point of capture to the final
print. I am learning to think differently about photography,
what it is, and what it has to offer.
Donald Werthmann Bio:
I used a 35mm SLR camera for the first time at age sixteen,
in 1979, that my sister allowed me to borrow for a two-week
vacation to Hawaii. After that experience -- and fifteen rolls
of film -- I knew intuitively that photography was going to
be a large part of my life, but not exactly how. I absolutely
loved it.
After
obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in photography from
Wayne State University in 1986, I worked as a freelance camera
assistant for five years in commercial photography studios
in Detroit, which specialize in automotive catalog and national
print-ad imagery. I gleaned considerable technical knowledge
during this period of my career, which proved to be invaluable
during the next several years of my employment at the Santa
Fe Photographic Workshops. I experienced dramatic career growth
and maturity, from participant, to Work/Study, to Course Assistant,
to Operations Manager, to Instructor. It was an honor to work
with some of the most influential names in the international
photographic community, and have access to the incredible
technological acceleration that photography experienced in
the 1990's.
My
recent induction into the Photography Department at WCC has
been equally intriguing. I have realigned my teaching approach
from an intensive one-week workshop format to a fifteen-week
semester format, and I have adapted to a new instructional
philosophy. I have always enjoyed the hands-on aspect of teaching
photography, and the fact that students learn not only from
me but from each other. Each student brings their own photographic
experience to class and that experience is tapped into simply
by having to work together, trying to resolve visual problems.
It's a deep learning tool to have students work in groups
of three -- not alone. This dynamic really enhances retention
of the information.
Currently,
I am pursuing a Master of Arts Degree in photography from
Wayne State University. In addition to a few regional advertising
assignments around Ann Arbor, my environmental portrait work
and photo illustrations have appeared in various editorial
publications in the American southwest. My personal work speaks
mostly about lyrical moments found in everyday life, whether
at home or in a foreign country. I believe that foreign travel
is one of the greatest experiences that you can give to yourself.
I make an effort to see a new country at least once every
five years or so because it makes me more observant and it
invigorates my creative process.
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