A digital photography class and Tlingit panel-carving class will begin in the coming weeks, community education director John Hagen said.
Local photographer Ron Horn will teach the four-session beginning digital photography class Wednesdays starting April 3, and woodworker Jim Heaton will lead the six-session Tlingit wood panel-carving class Thursdays beginning March 28.
Horn said his class is meant to teach the fundamentals of digital photography, with the first session focusing on shutter speed, aperture size and the various focus mechanisms on a camera.
“The first night is pretty intense in terms of a lot of new concepts. Everybody looks like they have the deer in the headlights kind of glaze on their face. The next week it makes more sense, after they go home and play around with their camera a little bit,” Horn said.
While participants can bring a point-and-shoot camera, Horn is intending the class to be geared toward more serious photographers with higher-quality equipment. He also said the class is a series; people should not expect to drop in during the third session and know what’s going on.
“If they miss the first two nights, they should not be there. It’s not progressive. They really need to attend the first two meetings; of course it’s best if they get all four. If they miss the first class, they’re going to miss a tremendous amount,” Horn said.
Hagen said he contacted Heaton to conduct the wood-carving class because of Heaton’s popularity and local following. However, Hagen said he noticed fading participation in Heaton’s classes – possibly because they were too advanced for interested students – and so asked Heaton to focus on something more elementary this time around.
“I’m trying to get him back down to basics, because he might be losing basic carvers. You need to learn how to carve a straight line before you can carve a face,” Hagen said.
Horn’s digital photography class is $50 for four sessions, while Heaton’s is $60 for six, Hagen said.
To register, contact Hagen at 766-6727.