When I first started working at Columbia College Chicago in 2011, I team-taught a number of classes with colleague Fo Wilson. What follows is one example of the many projects we developed together.

In advance of the first day of this assignment, students were asked to bring old cereal boxes to class. Next, using a printed template and electrical tape, they created a windable pinhole camera that could capture multiple exposures on a standard roll of 35mm film.

Students accustomed to digital photography often found this first part of this process challenging. Without access to instant results, they were forced to slow down and take a scientific approach towards their DIY cameras. How much light was needed, and for how long? Bracketing became essential, as did taking careful process notes.

Once all the film was exposed, students had their images printed out the local drug store. At the critique, we combined all the images on the table, then reorganized them based on emergent themes. Students were encouraged to react to what they found before them, rather than focusing on original intentions.

Wilson and I wrote this project up for 72 Assignments: The Foundation Course in Art and Design Today, where it was published by Paris College of Art.