SUMMER CLASS REGISTRATION MAY 18

Registration for summer classes that start in June begins May 18 at 10 a.m.  The complete catalogue of courses can be found online or in the Summer Catalogue available at the Recreation Center or Photo Center. The Harvey Milk Recreation Center for the Arts will not host any classes during the summer since the facility is used by the Summer Camp program. 

However, the Photo Center is still offering classes this summer. One course being offered is the 2.5-hour Scanning and Digitizing Your Negatives and Slides, on June 13 and August 1, both from 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

This class explores the process of scanning and digitizing your precious memories and preserving them while also allowing you to share them easily with the world. Topics will include scanners and software, which settings to use, cleaning negatives, color correction, and how to fix scratches and remove dust from your images. This class is great for those of us who have boxes of photographic family slides and negatives in our closets that we want to share and preserve for future generations.

NEW PHOTO EXHIBIT – SF_RETAKE

Twenty-two photographers were asked for their take on San Francisco by showing us their personal projects, images that capture an essence of the Bay Area, here and now. The result is a month-long art exhibit, SF_retake, that showcases small collections of the artists’ insights and projects. The show opened on May 4 and continues through June 8. It was curated and designed by Maren Levinson, David Peters, and Rhonda Rubinstein.

According to the curator’s statement, “it was 2004, when a small creative team invited 20 established photographers from the art and editorial world, as well as a handful of newly-emerging photographers, documented that post-internet megaboom-to-bust moment in time. Produced as a 152-page glossy magazine, under the imprint of the NYC-based BIG magazine, issue 54 has become a coveted time capsule.

Take two, twenty years later, our world is yet again in the midst of disruptive change…the impact of remote work on the character of downtown San Francisco is unmistakable. Virtual and artificial technologies are transforming our words, pictures, and our perception of reality itself. The concerns of AI replacing the need for photographers and their work feels very real – or as real as anything is today.

Unsurprisingly, new figures are coming into focus. We see more clearly the distinct representation from a diversity of individuals — women and minorities who were not as visible as they are today in the photographic space. They bring a fresh perspective, a sensitivity, an awakening, and an energy that is more reflective of the larger world we see around us.”