ARTS 1171: Photography for Non-Majors

This online photography course invites students to explore their environments, families and personal archives through the lens of storytelling. Using any camera (smartphone, film, or DSLR) students will learn foundational photography skills while developing short visual narratives rooted in memory, identity and place. The course is structured around weekly creative prompts and reflection activities, culminating in the creation of a final photo album composed of 5–15 images. Students will also revisit old personal photos (archival editing), reframe them with new insight and optionally share select images on a private class Instagram account for communal engagement. All work is asynchronous and accessible from any location, with an emphasis on flexibility, creativity and personal expression.

Learning Objectives

• Create original photographs using mobile, film or digital cameras;
• Apply principles of composition, framing and light to visual storytelling;
• Edit images using free or low-cost mobile editing tools such as Snapseed or Photoshop Express;
• Reflect on photography’s role in personal memory, identity and history;
• Construct a cohesive photo album (5–15 images) with a unifying theme or narrative arc;
• Revisit and re-edit personal or family archive images with new intention;
• Share visual work in a community setting through discussion boards and optional Instagram contributions.

In this course, you will

   Create and share weekly themed photo stories that reflect where you are in your life right now, including a final personal photo album you build and keep;

   Practice daily shooting: one photo a day with guided prompts to help you see light, mood and meaning in your everyday spaces — family gatherings, travel, work shifts, even quiet moments alone;

   Revisit and edit your own personal archive: pull older images from your phone or past years, re-edit them with new intention and reflect on what those images say about memory and identity.

Meet Your Instructor

J. Benjamin Burney

  burney@colorado.edu 

J. Benjamin Burney is a Black American artist, educator and former athlete whose practice bridges poetry, performance and the visual arts. After playing football for the University of Colorado Buffaloes from 2005 to 2010 and earning “Comeback Player of the Year” following five major reconstructive surgeries; Burney briefly joined the NFL’s Cleveland Browns before choosing to pursue art full time.

He earned a BFA in Film Studies and later a dual master’s degree in Mixed Media Art Practices and an MBA in Entrepreneurship from CU Boulder, where he now teaches digital photography. Over a 15-year career across film, photography and design, Burney has worked in the cannabis, fashion, culinary and events industries, as well as being a documentarian in both video and photography. As a poet, Burney is the author of two books: "Bluesin’: Confessions of a D1 Athlete," which became a viral sensation following its publication on Facebook, and "Poems Can Fly," a collection of poems and short stories published in 2003 under his artistic pseudonym, Zoid Hæm. His creative journey has included collaborations with Denver Arts & Venues on a public mural, curatorial work at Union Hall Gallery and photography and fashion features with Westword Magazine.

Benjamin’s art practice is guided by absurdism and autoethnography, his art confronts the spiritual stagnation of the modern world, seeking to reignite it through performance, installation and creative technology. As the founder of Zoid Art Haus (ZAH), a creative design studio devoted to building community through art, he creates exhibitions, archives and educational spaces that explore art as a means of education, resistance and spiritual upliftment.