In this course, students extend their photographic practice through independent, critically engaged studio research. Working across analogue, digital, and experimental approaches, the course emphasises the hybrid and expanded possibilities of photography in contemporary art. Students are encouraged to test, refine, and situate their own creative directions through a combination of workshops, peer exchange, and reflective documentation.

Emphasis is placed on experimenting with materials and methods while reflecting on the cultural, historical, and theoretical conditions that shape photographic practice. Through making and discussion, students develop confidence in articulating their own practice and in understanding how different modes of production and presentation influence meaning.

Students may enrol in this course more than once, up to a maximum of 12 units, provided they complete a different topic each time. Content, assessment, and reading lists vary according to the topic and convenor. Please refer to the class summary for detailed information about the topic offered in a given semester.

Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Analogue Practices and the Archive: This topic explores the continued relevance of analogue and film-based image-making within contemporary photographic practice. Students will engage with medium and large format cameras, darkroom techniques, and obsolete technologies, considering how these processes offer distinct ways of seeing and making. Hybrid workflows that combine analogue capture with digital output encourage reflection on how material processes and technical choices shape meaning. Workshops and independent projects enable students to experiment with scale, process, and historical legacies while developing artworks that situate analogue practices within contemporary contexts.

Experimental Practices in Photography: This topic provides space for students to extend their practice through self-directed studio research that combines analogue, digital, and experimental processes. Workshops introduce exploratory methods that students adapt to their own research questions. Emphasis is placed on curiosity, testing, and iterative development, with students reflecting on how processes of making shape conceptual directions. Peer exchange and documentation support articulation of an independent practice that is materially experimental and critically aware. Students will leave with greater capacity to define their own creative direction.

Circulation and Distribution: This topic examines how photographic work circulates beyond the studio, moving into diverse contexts and audiences. Students explore strategies of dissemination ranging from artists’ books and zines to experimental publishing and online platforms. Emphasis is placed on how form, medium, and distribution contribute to meaning, shaping how work is received and valued. Workshops and peer exchange support self-directed projects, giving students the opportunity to test models of circulation and reflect on the cultural, social, and political implications of distribution. The topic fosters awareness of how artists position their work within contemporary photographic networks.

Photography off the Wall: This topic investigates how photography operates beyond the flat print, engaging with installation, staging, and intermedial practices. Students explore how scale, materiality, architecture, and digital environments transform the experience of photographic work. Through workshops and discussion, students consider how images intersect with performance, relational practices, and experimental exhibition strategies. Independent projects support reconfiguration of photographic works in space, highlighting how modes of display shape reception and interpretation. Students gain confidence in experimenting with photography as a spatial and situational practice.