STEAMgraphic helps families Homeschool by teaching S.T.E.A.M. through photography
Photography is an art that draws from all five areas of S.T.E.A.M: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics. It is a great way to learn about these disciplines as well as the subject matter of the photograph.
Methods in Action
11 year old Isa is skillfully operating a modern Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera (DSLR) with a 50-year-old lens from a different manufacturer. He is shooting macro- The art of photographing very small things at high magnification. In this case, he is shooting a flower, in all its amazing detail, but with the antique lens mounted backward to obtain very high magnification. He is practicing great patience and times his actions for maximum impact, using fine motor skills to manually focus the shot. There are many careers that require fine motor skills, such as a surgeon or a pilot.
Finding The Shot
Naeemah and her son Azeriah are in the workshop. Naeemah has a good eye, which means she has great visual sense. Here she has found a distinctive metal casting, and is capturing the unique textures in the metal that she found interesting. She is using a modern autofocus lens but has it reversed on the camera, using a special adapter ring. There are limitations to reversing lenses, but because we continually “hack” the technology, we have found ways for these students to get the shots they are after.
Hacking The Technology
12 year old Azariah is trying bird photography at the San Francisco Bay shoreline for the first time. He is using an antique 600mm manual focus lens adapted to it. Even for an experienced photographer this would be difficult, but we press into our limitations in order to get past them. All of the students have continually improved, and the next time we focus on BIF’s, (birds in flight), they will be better than the time before. Planning each shot and operating the camera manually can be very difficult, and we always tell the students to be happy even if they only capture a few really well-executed shots.
Attitude Is Everything
Aishah and her son Isa are enthusiastic participants. Aishah has a natural sense of composition. She is very precise with her focusing technique, so much so, that it seemed she must have done DSLR photography before. It turns out that she hasn’t, but she does have talent. Her enthusiasm is evident from her joyful exclamations when she sees and/or photographs something amazing. Her photography is excellent, as is the work of all the other students. Take a look at her gallery page, the pictures tell the story.
Gallery Preview
Click Galleries in the menu bar to see all of our students work!