WCC Logo
Autumn 2024
DMA Logo

Don Werthmann
Professional Photo Faculty

Quatrain34
pho103

History of Photography

Course Description, Syllabus, Assignments — Distance Learning on Blackboard.
• 26AUG ›› 15DEC | SEC.D01 | CRN#90011

pho117

Intro to Studio

Course Description, Syllabus, Assignments, Grade System, and more. Class meets in the Photo Studio on-campus.
• 26AUG ›› 11DEC | SEC.01 | CRN#91748
• MON 12:30 ›› 14:25 + WED 12:30 ›› 16:25 | GM012a

pho216

Environmental Portraiture

Course Description, Syllabus, Assignments, Grade System, and more. Class meets on-campus for lectures, and on-location for field sessions.
• 27AUG ›› 05NOV | SEC.F1 | CRN#92005
• TUE + THU 17:30 ›› 20:25 | GM012a

pho230

Portfolio Projects

Course Description, Syllabus, Assignments, Grade System, and more. Class meets in a traditional classroom & the Photo Lab on-campus.
• 29AUG ›› 12DEC | SEC.01 | CRN#91747
• THU 11:30 ›› 12:25 GM017 | 12:30 ›› 15:25 GM010

WCC Google Drive

Google Drive


WCC Google Drive is a robust suite of applications that keeps students connected to important class operations, like equipment check-out, turn-in work, printing, and more.

College Contact

College Contact

Students with questions about their course content or about the WCC Digital Media Arts Department, tap this icon to view various ways to contact me.

OpenLabs

Open Labs

Digital Media Arts open labs are available across campus. Need to keep up on assignments due in your class? Then you'll really value this index.

Academic Advisement

Program Advisor

Information to complete Photo Certificates [CTPHOD, CTPHOP, CTPHOR], Associate in Applied Science in Photographic Technology Degree [APPHOT], or Associate in Arts in Digital Media Arts Degree [APDMA] is mapped out here.


SFW

Santa Fe Workshops | Editing with Intention


11 January — 01 February 2025 | Saturdays; 9:30 — 11:30AM [Mountain Time] Learning image editing, sequencing, syncopation, and other strategies to organize what you’ve created requires time to stop, look, and listen to yourself think. These pivotal skills enable the development of ideas about what a body of work means to you, let alone what it might convey to your viewers. If you’re seeking for ways to make your visual art meaningful, then learning how to edit with intention is the best place to start. Four online group sessions on Zoom, limited to 12 participants. Tap the SFW Logo for the course description, tuition, and other registration info.

Trends

Trends in Occupational Studies | 2024 Outstanding Faculty Award


I am really honored to be a recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Faculty Award at the TRENDS in Education Conference.

The TRENDS Conference is designed by faculty and staff who are passionate about career and technical college education. This event serves as a mechanism for community college professionals and stakeholders to share best practices in teaching and learning, educational modalities, equipment and facilities, working with industry partners, program outcomes, experiential learning, student access, recruitment, and success, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and many more!

It is funded by the Michigan Occupational Deans Administrative Council [MODAC] and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Workforce Development. It takes multiple individuals, from a variety of educational backgrounds, to make this conference succeed.

policies & expectations

Attendance Policies

All students are expected to be present for each class session. Students are expected to participate in class lecture times and to work during studio/lab as needed to complete images for their portfolio. Showing up and then not engaging in work for the class does not earn attendance credit. Tardiness of 15 minutes or more is considered as a half-hour of absence. Departing class early is considered unaccountable time, so attendance credit is not earned.

• This is an academic learning environment, not a country club: students are not customers.

• Come in prepared to work. Running out of materials is not a reasonable excuse to leave early.

• SmartPhone usage during lab & lecture times is strongly discouraged.

• Trips to stores to buy supplies or the like is not considered a wise use of class time, nor a reasonable excuse to depart class. These are errands that need to be completed outside of classtime.

• Contact the instructor by eMail if you find that extenuating circumstances prevent you from attending class.

• The number of contact hours accrued during the semester is the student's responsibility. Read your class attendance policy since it directly impacts the final letter grade.

• Lack of preparation on your part does not consitute an emergency on the instructor. Students are expected to have an awareness of what is occurring in each class meeting by means of the course syllabus. Plan work sessions accordingly, especially when it comes to inviting in friends, companions, or relatives to be photographed for assignments in the studio.

• Attendance is more than just being a warm body in an instructional space. Students are expected to be actively engaged with assignments and materials relevant to the course. Full attendance credit is garnered only when a student displays appropriate use of class or studio time.

• If you are too tired to be here because you pulled an all-nighter before your 8:00am class, or have a splitting migrane, then go home. Napping does not garner attendance credit.

• Conducting a food banquet during lab time is not acceptable. Students ordering take-out food and using class as their meal time does not garner credit. The Photo Lab is closed for one hour between classes to accommodate meals.

• Students are responsible for bringing what's required to stay busy during class. Showing up for class and then sitting at a computer workstation, doing nothing, does not earn a student attendance credit.

Class Communications

Students enrolled in any of these courses must use their WCC issued eMail account. Students that do not currently utilize this account must activate it, and can then choose to forward messages to their favored eMail account. Throughout the semester, the instructor sends messages regarding syllabus updates, assignment updates, grade status, and other important announcements.

Interpersonal Communications

Students are strongly encouraged to complete COM 102 prior to registering for any of my classes. Just because you have paid for the privlege of enrolling in a course does not give you the right to call people degenerative and offensive names. This is a growing problem that appears to be especially applicable to the critique environment. Students using language or actions that creates a hostile, uncomfortable, or unsafe environment for others to remain present, or is perceived to be degenerative, distasteful, or disrepectful to any person, race, class, or social group, can be immediately discharged from the class session, and forfeit all earned grading credits for the classs session.

Abrupt College Closings

Students are strongly encouraged check the WCC Website for college closings due to extreme weather conditions or other unforseen, extreme events. Login to MyWCC, and enable the Automatic Emergency Notification Service in your account settings. Taking this pre-emptive measure can save you time, money, personal hardship, gas and the environment. Students can choose to be notified automatically by voice mail, text message, and/or eMail.

Campus Safety & Security

Fire: If there is a fire or other reason a building needs to be evacuated, the fire alarm will ring. Exit the building using the nearest stairway. Do not use elevators. When exiting the building, make sure you are at least 150 feet from the building until the all clear signal is given.

Tornado: The Garden Level of the Gunder Myran Building is the best tornado shelter on campus! If a tornado warning is issued for the WCC campus area, the tornado siren will activate outside and an emergency message will broadcast throughout campus. Please seek shelter in the closest room/area designated as a tornado shelter. If you are unable to find a marked tornado shelter, seek shelter in an inner hallway or restroom, away from exterior windows.

Property Security: Do not leave laptop computers, smart phones, tablets or other valuables unattended anywhere on campus. If parking on campus, roll up your windows, lock your doors and keep personal belongings out of sight.

Call Campus Safety (734) 973-3411 or 3411 from a College house phone to report any suspicious activity or safety concern. Contact the security office if you'd like to be escorted to your vehicle in any campus parking lot [especially at the conclusion of evening classes] if you do not feel safe going alone.

g-drive

WCC Google Drive / TurnInWork

• IMAGES FOR CRITIQUE and portfolio evaluations are submitted and accepted only by means of your TurnInWork Folder, that Don sets up for each student, in each of his classes. Details regarding the submission of images can be found on each course Website.

• Unless otherwise noted, most assignments can be turned in by hand, in a hard-copy paper format. Make sure to write clearly and legibly with either a pencil or black/blue color pens. Word-processed documents are also accepted, however, errors created during the transcription of the course material which result in incorrect responses are the responsibility of the student. Assignments are accepted late but do not garner full credit.

• NEVER eMail completed work to the instructor, unless requested to do so.

Examination Make Up

Mid Term and Final Exams can be taken before or after the scheduled day of the exam. Students that are absent the day of the exam however, forfeit the points possible in any hands-on component designed into the exam. The hands-on questions are set up only on the day of the exam. The loss of these points can make a significant impact on the potential grade of the exam itself, and the final letter grade for the course.

Academic Integrity

The instructor is very aware of the possibility that the open format of cognitive assignments enables students to share answers and information to increase the likelihood of obtaining a better score. The instructor strongly encourages you to take ownership of your learning process. Do not reveal, share, copy, or discuss answers of cognitive assignments/quizzes until AFTER a deadline has expired. Clear evidence of plagiarism discovered among student work is subjected to all individuals involved receiving zero credit for the assignment.

Learning Accommodations

If you need an academic accommodation because of a learning disability, contact the instructor at your earliest convenience. You are not required to disclose any details about the disability with the instructor, but should contact a counselor in Learning Support Services (LA 104, 734.973.3342) to obtain documentation of the condition so that it can be verified. The instructor can then make arrangements with you to accommodate the condition.

Assignment Distribution Format

It is the responsibility of the student to obtain assignments and handouts for these courses, which are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. It is required that a student has access to a computer, the Internet, a black-and-white printer, and paper. If you don't have access to these resources at home, then utilize the WCC Library Computer Commons — your first one-hundred copies are free!