While the photography department within the School of Art creatively makes use of their budget provided by the university, an additional photography location is also equipped for students in the Department of Communications.

Photographic technician Karen Grubb said the department received funding from the Scripps Howard Foundation to purchase over 20 Macintosh computers and Nikon D-70 digital cameras.

“The journalism photography courses have moved out of the darkroom and are now entirely digital,” Grubb said. “The art department is still using their wet lab, roll film and small and large format analog cameras, where photojournalism course assignments are based on learning to capture newsworthy, standardized images; art photography is conceptual and interpretational.”

The photojournalism department had newspaper organizations help fund their conversion from film to digital. Converting overall lab operations and equipment, which went digital in the fall semester of 2004, took several years.

Andrew Liccardo, assistant professor of photography, has recently made use of the department’s budget to purchase a dozen new computers and monitors. The digital lab, which originally was conjoined with the dark room lab, will now have a room of its own.

“My goal has always been to balance traditional methodologies with digital,” Liccardo said. “We’re working to expand as much as possible. With our original budget, we would only have been able to purchase six computers, which is why we’re building our own. It’s cheaper and much easier to maintain.”

Senior photography major Kelly Krupa said the photography department has done a great deal of work to provide both equipment and workable space.

“The department does provide large and medium format cameras, but not 35mm or digital SLRs [single-lens reflex],” Krupa said. “There are inexpensive options for those who wish to work with film cameras, but it can get pricey.”

The new computers will be up and running in the digital lab in two months. Liccardo is also working toward setting up color collaborated viewing booths and finding practical solutions for bulk inking.

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