Abstract

Dynamic range describes the range of tones a medium can capture or reproduce, directly impacting exposure, contrast, and what becomes visible or remains obscured. Working within these constraints, photographers adjust lighting and exposure to make their subjects visible. This concept offers an analogy for the complexities facing postsecondary educators by questioning what a long-exposure image, capturing a course's entire semester on a single sheet of film, might reveal about the dynamics of a learning environment. Reframing educational design and research, I use sensitometry, the study of photographic materials' response to light exposure, as an analytical and metaphorical lens to reflect on how learning is made visible, measured, and understood in educational settings. Inspired by my students, I created a 34-hour exposure of their photography theory class between January and April 2023. Analyzing the resulting image prompted reflection on power dynamics, visibility, embodied learning, and co-creation across art, technology, and education. I repeated the process in September 2024, aiming to correct the earlier image’s perceived shortcomings. Yet instead of improvements, the new image revealed unexpected nuances and challenges, not objectively better or worse, simply different. Expanding upon this visual inquiry, using a/r/tography I illustrate and hypothesize the potential of discipline-specific artifacts to provide bridges for facilitating interdisciplinary reflection and scholarship of teaching and learning conversations among post-secondary vocational educators.