Aberystwyth Photographers

This page is for those interested in photography in the Aberystwyth area

Can students take a degree in photography at Aberystwyth University’s School of Art?

There are many flexible pathways a student can take and a number of degree schemes. In the first year of our Art Practice course students learn a variety of art techniques and processes (including photography) alongside an introduction to Art History. From the second year onwards, if they want to, they can specialise in photography. Postgraduate students can also come to the School of Art to specialise in practical photography or photo-history at MA or PhD level. Click here for more information on our various degree schemes.

What kinds of photography do you teach at Aberystywth University’s School of Art?

We teach both digital and analogue practice including the opportunity of working with historical and alternative processes of photography including (but not limited to) cyanotypes, gum bichromate and the wet plate collodion process. Alongside our digital and darkroom facilities we have a dedicated darkroom for these experimental processes. Over the years students have produced first class examples in all of these disciplines of photography.

Why do you still teach analogue (film) photography alongside digital?

In order to understand the potential of the medium, the mechanics of photography (optics, light, exposure, etc. ) nothing beats film photography for getting students to grasp the basics of what photography actually is and without the computer chip (and sophisticated cameras) doing all the work. Of course for many students once they've tried it they're hooked!

Is analogue photography unusual in modern art schools?

Many UK art departments threw out their darkroom equipment in the late 1990s and then realised their shortsightedness as it's a perfect medium for art schools and expressive work. Inspired by the example of leading American art schools, I was determined to avoid this folly and ensure that our department would maintain the choice for our students. Thankfully, I've been supported by my institute. Traditional film manufacturers like Ilford (and now, increasingly, new independent innovators) are making film and paper products for the art school /artist market. Ilford even have a campaign called 'Defend the Darkroom'! Analogue photography has emerged from the digital era as something associated with creative practices, with artists and art schools.

Isn’t analogue photography just ‘old fashioned’?

Think about printmaking as a comparison. The commercial world today does not use etching, lithography, screen-printing, etc. , commercial work is produced digitally. BUT imagine how it would be to be a student in an art school that had no print facilities except inkjet printers, imagine if it was ALL computers! These traditional analogue, inky techniques are the bedrock of creative artistic practice in printmaking whether they are commercially obsolete or not. At the School of Art we experiment, explore, learn skills and push the boundaries of practical experimentation with analogue and digital processes. In photography, many students develop a hybrid process that lies somewhere between analogue and digital, some end up working with film or video or animation. That's what artists do, think outside the box. This is why the School of Art is more innovative, our students have the choice and the opportunity to be really creative.

But you do teach digital photography as well?

We teach digital photography on an equal footing with analogue photography, it's up to the student from second year onwards which way they take it. We have a fully equipped Mac suite, with scanners and printers for digital work. The key thing is that students have that creative-aesthetic choice.