Now that we own a DSLR camera, I figured it’s high time I learn something about photography. So I turned to that local bastion of adult education, the Munich Volkshochschule. Perusing the online course offerings, I was pleased to find a variety of classes on offer. Like this one:
Basiswissen Fotografie – Photography Fundamentals
Sie erwerben die wichtigsten Grundkenntnisse in der Handhabung von analogen und digitalen Fotokameras und erfahren Wissenswertes über die unterschiedlichen Funktionen und Möglichkeiten in der Anwendung. Themenbereiche sind Aufnahmetechnik (Blende, Verschlusszeit, Tiefenschärfe etc.) und eine Einführung in die Bildgestaltung. Eine Exkursion bietet Gelegenheit, das Erlernte in der Praxis auszuprobieren. Die anschließende Bildbesprechung schult das fotografische Sehen sowie die Wahrnehmung und Beurteilung der eigenen Fotografien.[You will acquire the most basic skills in the use of analog and digital cameras and learn to use the different features and capabilities. Topics include recording technique (aperture, shutter speed, depth etc.) and an introduction to image making. A field trip provides an opportunity to learn in practice. The subsequent picture critique will teach students about photographic vision and the perception and assessment of their own photographs.]**
That sounds like what I’m looking for, right? Well, only if I’m willing to take a course that’s not tailored specifically to my genitalia. Luckily, I won’t have to settle for that. The next course on the list:
Basiswissen Fotografie für Frauen – Photography Fundamentals for Women
Wie gehe ich fantasievoll mit dem Medium Fotografie um? Welche Kamera ist für meine Bedürfnisse die richtige? Welche Technik brauche ich wirklich? Was ist der Unterschied zwischen analog und digital? Praxisnah werden die Grundlagen der Fotografie wie Blende, Zeit, Belichtung und Bildgestaltung vermittelt und geübt. Dabei spielt es keine Rolle, ob Sie mit einer analogen Kamera, also herkömmlich mit Filmmaterial, das entwickelt werden muss, oder mit einer digitalen Kamera, bei der die Bilder auf einer Speicherkarte gespeichert und dann am PC weiterverarbeitet werden, fotografieren.[How do I work creatively with the medium of photography? Which camera is the right one for my needs? What technology do I really need? What is the difference between analog and digital? We will practice the basics of photography such as aperture, time, exposure and image design. It does not matter whether you are using an analog camera, ie a conventional one with film which has to be developed, or with a digital camera, in which the images go on a memory card and then are processed on a PC.]
And it wasn’t only this class. While the Digital Photography with Picture Editing course covers ‘the basics of photography in theory and practice’, the Digital Photography with Picture Editing for Women course description starts with the difference between old-fashioned cameras and those new-fangled digital thingies (in case you were wondering – they’re the same except one has film you have to develop). They didn’t mention it specifically, but I’m pretty sure all the pictures taken in this class are going to be of flowers and jewelry, too.
Um, huh? What’s the theory behind this? Does photography involve a competitive sport element I’m unaware of? Are certain parts of the camera best adjusted using one’s penis?
*Props to the fabulously funny Samantha Bee for the term “lady-brain”, which I use as often as possible. Video and transcript here.
** Translations are lazy approximate.
“Are certain parts of the camera best adjusted using one’s penis?”
If it’s handy, certainly!
alright hb!
there are some great listings for schools in santa fe but i guess you wont be there anytime soon.
the chateau lasserre seems to have photography outings – i think you are clever enough to do well without formal lessons….
When you develop photos in a classroom darkroom you have to squeeze into a dark, enclosed space filled with strangers, so maybe this is just a variation of spas offering a Frauensauna day?
Then again, they don’t mention a darkroom.
I find sexism quite strong in Germany. The answer of the school would probably be that this appeals to the “little wome” and they have found it works best this way to attract participants. And, in the case of women over 60 (their target market) it may.
Ian, the last darkroom I was in in school was 30 years ago- I don’t think they have them for general ed anymore.
found a link this a.m. while searching for another link – seemed to have several topics relating to dslr
http://www.prosphotos.com/?REF=6219
if you want to see the worst of the ‘my camera is bigger than yours’ attitude, waste some time on the forums at dpreview.com and you’ll see why you’d be best out of it.
I notice the women get to be creative with their cameras, too.
Here in the US there are a variety of ‘women only’ photographic courses, retreats, workshops etc. It always seemed an odd notion, but so many of these classes/ workshops do end up as something of a competitive sport, which is a bit sad.
Don't waste your money for these dumb VHS courses, get yourself one of these http://www.amazon.de/s/ref=nb_ss_eb?__mk_de_DE=%C5M%C5Z%D5%D1&url;=search-alias%3Denglish-books&field-keywords;=national+geographic+photo+field+guide&x;=0&y;=0 and a flickr account.
By the way these girl's courses are not there because of discrimination, but because men (especially when its about using electronic devices) behave like apes in these courses-show offs (who has the longest, tele lens that is), I-know-everything-better than the teacher and so on…
Great blog – sparked some good discussion. May you find what you are looking for in terms of photography guidance without anyone’s appendages getting in the way!
Ditto what Gordon said. I’d take the “lady” class anyday.
Also kudos to you for realising that taking a class is a good idea. In the photoshop age, most people incorrectly believe that all it takes to become a rockstar photographer is a 1000 euro camera and some editing software.
Suckers.
You’ll also be delighted to know that there is a “Computer Schule für Frauen” near Rotkreuzplatz too!
Not sure if there is a gender bias it’s more a question of demand.
Why isn’t there a demand for photo fundamentals for men? How to capture: your budd’s reaction to using a netty pot filled with whiskey.. or the essence of a good ass shot.
I’d be tempted 😉
Hmmm… so my options are a competitive testosterone-driven group of men or a bunch of old ladies who enjoy being talked down to? Talk about Sophie’s choice…
wow, impressively offense. Being a new mom, I have noticed that baby-stuff marketed to dads have a similar, condescending sound (because we all know that men can’t do baby things!). I could have got my regular baby carrier or one specifically designed for men with ‘a simpler design’. I decided to challenge my poor, simple husband and get the difficult one.
Deborah – thanks for the link! It would be fun to travel somewhere for a photography course. I’ll add that to my list of things to do when I’m insanely wealthy.
G – the descriptions certainly sound geared to the ‘little women’, don’t they?
Ian – is this a nude darkroom?
Headbang – why do I get the feeling yours is always handy?
Gordon – I’m hoping that the cocky attitude won’t be so bad in a beginner’s course. We will see…
Anon – I already have the flickr account – you can find a link to it on the sidebar. I wouldn’t call the separate women’s courses “discrimination” either, given that women are allowed to take any of the courses on offer (as far as I know). But the way they talk down to the audience for the women’s courses definitely smells a lot like sexism, don’t you think?
Rachel – thanks! I’m looking into other options, as well.
Kesha – I’m not so sure a Volkshochschule class is going to spit out many rockstar photographers, either, but I’m definitely too lazy to teach myself how to use all these settings well.
Heza – you mean they let ladies use computers here? Crazy talk!
Tammy – that’s pretty funny. Hope he’s up for the challenge. 🙂
The idea for those classes came from the feminist side, not from the males. They offer also non-technical courses in different fields for females only. Rather I as a man feel discriminated cause there are no offers for men and I am excluded from those classes. As well as from the female-only-swimming days in public bathes.
Yeah, and I wonder why health club types think women need their own sauna, but men don’t.
I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Hmm, Anon and Cliff, I think there’s a difference between stripping one’s clothes off in front of the opposite sex and learning, fully clothed about a non-gender subject.
Sauna makes sense when one realizes that in this country, it is usually nude. The swimming is an artifact of the Muslim community and the near nudity (and perhaps actual nudity if there is a sauna) of swimming.But I’m guessing you already knew that.
Btw, anon, feminist and female are not synonymous.
@G in Berlin:
I am aware of the difference between feminist and female. So I did not intend to exclude the possibility that it was a male feminist who had the idea that there should be female only classes. Even if I doubt it.
Alos it was for a long time an issue to have girl-only-schools or classes for better performance of girls (even if the average performance of girls in school is already anyways better than of boys) suggesting that there are not many female engineers cause of traumatic expiriences in their school time with boys. See those classes at VHS in the same context.
By the way: today there was an atricle in the newspaper about female complaints that at Munich’s airport they have in the morning male only lines. The reason: over 70% of travellers in the morning are males but for mixed lines they would have to put also female personell for body searches at each line that would mostly not have anything to do, lacking female pessengers. So the airport decided to have some extra linies in the morning for males to save personell (only male personell is neccessary there) and make it more efficient.
lordy, exhausted after reading all the posts –
whenever you have the time after dealing with blogs, artshow.com does lists classes in a number of subjects.
happy hunting
Hmm, Anon and Cliff, I think there’s a difference between stripping one’s clothes off in front of the opposite sex and learning, fully clothed about a non-gender subject.
Agreed! I think a lady-brain photography course for women is probably condescending or discriminating. I don’t put swimming or sauna in the same category. The anonymous poster lamented women-only swimming days at his pool, and I was piggybacking off of that with regard to the sauna.
Sauna makes sense when one realizes that in this country, it is usually nude.
I disagree! How does a women-only sauna make sense but not a men-only sauna? Explain to me the logic please.
Oh Cliff. I’ve come to expect such tripe from anonymous commenters, but from you? It takes a special kind of male, in the context of our world full of men-only spaces, clubs, and rights, who will spend his time ‘lamenting’ the existence of women-only swimming days. I’m surprised you’re so quick to jump on his bandwagon.
And I’m also skeptical you’d really need this spelled out for you, but the logic is simple: many men are oglers, and many women prefer to swim or sauna without being ogled by men. That creates demand for women-only days. A similar demand doesn’t exist for men-only days, or I’m 100% sure they would exist. If it really bothers you, perhaps you guys should start a petition to clamor for your right to exclude women from your sauna. While you’re at it, you could demand that the VHS offer more classes that condescend to men. Demand equality!
It takes a special kind of male, in the context of our world full of men-only spaces, clubs, and rights, who will spend his time ‘lamenting’ the existence of women-only swimming days. I’m surprised you’re so quick to jump on his bandwagon.
What are these men-only spaces, clubs and rights of which you speak? Pretend I’m denser than you thought.
many men are oglers, and many women prefer to swim or sauna without being ogled by men. That creates demand for women-only days.
A demand is created, but I'm not conviced it's justified. I'm annoyed when, for example, women get to swim 7 days a week but men — even men who don't ogle — get less than that.
Whatever happened to presumed innocent until caught ogling?
Cliff, you totally ignored my context of religious needs. If you feel that preventing women from swimming is appropriate, then you don’t need women only spaces. Men are in no way prevented by religious modesty from swimming in front of women and therefore this is just false naivete and specious argumentation on your part. It’s beneath you.
By the way, in a world where women are told that what they wear allows their rapes to be deserved (1/3 of university males in the UK, let alone Italy, where Berlusconi says rape is a compliment to beautiful women)how dare you say a desire not to be seen naked by males is not borne out by reality.
Deborah – Thanks for the link! Lots of good art stuff there.
Cliff – I don’t feel like playing educator to the hypothetically dense today. Try googling ‘women’s rights’ and learn from the interwebs.
G – Excellent points. I didn’t even know there were women-only days at pools in Germany until this conversation.
Glad that the pointless women’s only photography class seems to be understood, but now we’ve got to deal with the inability to understand why women shouldn’t have their own saunas, etc? c’mon! Poor guys being soooo discriminated against by not being able to see women naked/barely clothed. I’m pretty sure men can find plenty of places to sauna/swim, whenever they want.
Egads. Time spent worrying about begrudging modest ladies a couple hours of feeling comfortable and safe is really wasted. Surely it’s not that hard to work one’s workout schedule around a once a week time slot. There’s other cardio out there. And probably more worthwhile infringements of personal liberties worthy of addressing.
2nd Anon (I’m pretty sure you’re not the same as the first one…) – And how dare I blog about silly VHS classes when I should be spending my time championing the causes of underprivileged white men!
3rd Anon – “Egads” is a word that gets way underused in the comments section on my blog. Thanks for bringing it back.