Art Meets Biology

J-Term trip to Tucson captures biodiversity in photographs

Zawadi Mageni, '11, didn't come to Carthage to study art. A junior from Moshi, Tanzania, she came here to double-major in environmental science and geography, and to double-minor in computer science and geographic information science. Shutter speed and the artful composition of a photograph were far from Mageni's mind.

So she was very surprised to discover a new talent on a recent J-Term trip to Arizona. Mageni learned that she loves digital photography. Even better, she found out that she's also pretty good at it. Mageni now takes her camera everywhere, has an online portfolio of her work, and expects to incorporate digital photography into her future career in sustainable development. She even had a photograph featured in a Tucson, Ariz., travel guide.

"It's amazing to go back and look at my pictures and say, 'Wow, this is good,'" Mageni said, laughing. "I was never going to take pictures like that before. ... I was never going to know anything about art if I had not taken this class."

One Subject, Two Directions

The course, Focusing on Nature: Investigating Biodiversity and Conservation with Digital Photography, is a Carthage Symposium offered during J-Term. A Carthage Symposium is a course taught by instructors from two different departments, exploring a subject from the vantage point of two disciplines. Focusing on Nature was offered by the Biology Department and the Communication and Digital Media Department. Students were introduced to the art of digital photography as a way to explore plant and animal species and their habitats. The course was open to students in any major and grade level.

Carthage student Tyler Jump captured this photograph of a male hummingbird with its wings spread wide. Click here to see more of his work.

The four-credit course began on campus with an introduction to biodiversity and digital photography. Students learned how to use the features on their cameras, how to compose photographs, what to look for in organisms, and more. Then students and faculty traveled to Tucson, Ariz., where they spent seven days taking pictures of animals and plants. The group returned to campus for the final days of the course to learn web design and complete an online photography project.

The course was taught by Associate Biology Prof. Dana Garrigan and Assistant CDM Prof. Laura Rodman Huaracha.

"Every morning, you made a decision: Do you want to take Laura's van or Dana's van?" said Tyler Jump, '11, from Necedah, Wis., one of 18 students who took the course. "If you took Dana's van, you were going to get all of the biology stuff. If you passed a cactus, he'd tell you everything about the cactus and the ecosystem. If you were in Laura's van, she'd talk about the great light we had or the sunset that we'd get later.

"It's cool combining disciplines to teach the same thing," continued Jump, a communication and digital media major, minoring in graphic design and public relations. "It gives you a dual perspective on things."

Tucson Surprises

While in Arizona, students visited Downtown Tucson, the Sonora Desert, the Sonora Desert Museum, Mt. Lemmon, Sabino Canyon, Patagonia, San Xavier Mission Church, Arizona State University's photography museum, Gates Pass, and Biosphere 2.

"We tried to go to a new place every day to get them to experience as much as possible around Tucson," Prof. Huaracha said. "At the Sonora Desert Museum, we got to see a lot of the native animals you can find in Tucson. ... Biosphere 2 is a place they built to replicate what life would be like if we lived on the moon."

This photograph by Carthage student Katie Ramirez shows a purple prickly pear cactus near San Xavier Mission Church. Click here to see more of her work.

They basically took pictures from morning to night.

"We were exhausted," Prof. Huaracha said. "We took pictures from 8 or 9 in the morning until 3, and then after a couple of hours, we had dinner, and then class for two hours at night. ... We were looking for things that happened in nature that showed adaptation: How did that cactus change because the sun was too hot?"

In addition to the informal instruction students received during day trips, students and faculty gathered in the evenings to discuss their favorite photographs and the biodiversity they were capturing. Students then selected one topic for a final presentation. Mageni chose to focus on adaptations of plants and animals in the desert. Jump chose to focus on aves of the winter Sonora Desert.

One of Jump's photographs from Arizona — a shot of a hummingbird with its wings spread wide — was included in Carthage's Spring Student Art Show. "I stalked this hummingbird for about an hour, and this was the last picture that I took of him," Jump remembered. "It's a really crisp image with his wings spread out. Hummingbird pictures are very difficult to get because their wings move so quickly. I'm just really proud of it."

Capturing Change

By the end of the course, each student had a portfolio of images illustrating how people, pollution, global warming and development have affected the biodiversity in Arizona. Students had also conquered digital photography, photo editing and web design skills — skills they'll continue to use no matter what their major or future career, Prof. Huaracha said.

Student Collette Reynolds poses for a photograph while hiking in Tucson, Ariz. Photo by Prof. Laura Rodman Huaracha.

Now Profs. Huaracha and Garrigan are considering creating a book of the students' work. "There are all these wonderful photography books that discuss how biodiversity is changing due to global warming and pollution," Prof. Huaracha said. "The goal of the course was to get students to enjoy and experience photography, but also to capture and draw out some of these images so people will be aware of what's going on. ... We're using photography to capture how our world is changing."

The course was so successful, Profs. Huaracha and Garrigan taught a version of the class this summer to adults at Carthage, and Focusing on Nature will be back for J-Term 2010. "It was a wonderful experience. I have never been that hands-on with my students before," Prof. Huaracha said. "To be right there, 24-7. They learned so much. To have that experience with them was the most rewarding professional experience I've ever had. ... I had a wonderful time and I want to do it again and again."

As for Mageni, she plans to practice her new skill around the world. For J-Term 2010, she hopes to travel to India to study religion. "I love to travel. I want to immerse myself in different cultures," she said. "Now I can travel and come home with stories of a lifetime — in pictures."

Focusing on Nature

Student Work. See photographs taken by Carthage students during a J-Term trip to Tucson, Ariz.

The Carthage Symposium

"It's cool combining disciplines to teach the same thing. The Carthage symposium gives you that dual perspective."

— Tyler Jump, '11.

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Past J-Term Stories

2011
J-Term 2011: A Time to Explore
Understanding AIDS
Crime in Media
Shakespeare in Rome
The Sociology of Adventure

2010
J-Term 2010: On-Campus Courses
Video: Nicaragua
An Opera in 3 1/2 weeks
Social Context of Knitting
Telescope Making
Aviation and Meteorology

2009
Art Meets Biology in Arizona
Forensic Science
Unearthing the Past in Omrit