ONLINE COURSE OVERVIEW:

This course is for writers, storytellers, and all creatives who want to explore photography as a tool for storytelling. This is not a technical photography class. We’ll focus on how to see, notice, trust, and conjure character, emotion, and narrative via the still image. Any camera will do — phone, digital, film, Polaroid — the emphasis is on telling powerful visual stories, not on gear. Cause, no matter what, it's NEVER about your gear. It's about your heart and how you see.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

• Develop the ability to tell compelling stories using photography

• Explore character, setting, conflict, and emotion through still images

• Learn to observe and "notice" the world with your storyteller's eye

• Build a portfolio of photo essays, vignettes, and visual narratives

• Cultivate creative confidence and passion for taking notice

WHO THIS IS FOR:

Writers, storytellers, artists, and photographers. Anyone who wants to expand into visual mediums. No prior photography experience necessary. There is a maximum limit of 10 participants per course, allowing for concentrated attention and exhibition space at the culmination of these 5 weeks of working together.

WHO IS CHICK?

T. Chick McClure is an artist, photographer, and writer. He’s won some stuff in animation (a Latin Grammy and VMA award). He is a former Sunday Company Member at the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he studied painting and drawing. He is passionate about art and creativity. He believes in fostering creativity in others and in the act of paying it forward.

WHO IS ALTAR | LOS ANGELES?

Curated by art handler and custom framing expert, Ever Morales and Natasha Estrada, an award-winning Chicana performer and Creative Director born and raised in the neighborhood, Altar is a space to gather, create, and celebrate.

The unique space hosts monthly exhibits, workshops, pop-ups, and events, collaborating with both renowned and emerging artists and eclectics.  

While both Cypress Park and Highland Park face implications of gentrification, the two curators are determined to preserve, honor, and highlight the culture and communities at Altar. 

WEEK-BY-WEEK BREAKDOWN:

• Week 1: Noticing

• Week 2: Character Without Words

• Week 3: Setting as a Character

• Week 4: Sequencing for Story

• Week 5: Final Projects & Sharing

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• Any camera (smartphone, film, point-and-shoot, DSLR, etc.)

• Notebook or journal for reflections and/or storyboarding, sketching of ideas, etc.

• Access to basic editing tools (Lightroom, phone editing apps, etc.)

CHICK’S MENTORING STYLE:

Conversational, fun, improvisational, and experimental. Weekly assignments are designed to push your creative seeing and storytelling instincts, not to grade technical perfection. Feedback is communal and supportive. I believe that all creative spaces should be safe to explore and take risks. Anything less is not helpful and is even sometimes detrimental to the learner’s progress and confidence.

OPTIONAL READING & INSPIRATION:

• "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger

• "Camera Lucida" by Roland Barthes

OUTCOME:

By the end of this course, participants will have a stronger sense of how to build a visual story, a personal portfolio of narrative images, an exhibition of participant works from an overall perspective or a story captured in a single photograph, plus a deeper appreciation for photography as a tool of storytelling and noticing and a trust of your "eye" and your point of view as a creator of visual work.