Learn how to take better photos by taking a photography class with Professor Carrine Knight, who has been teaching here for three years. If you thought about taking the class but don’t have a camera, don’t worry you can borrow one. Prof. Knight explains how the camera works. She explains that the camera draws light and then she demonstrates how to use the DSLR camera. Professor Knight’s class is thorough when it comes to explaining everything about the different settings on the camera and she encourages questions with every class.

Carrine Knight was born and raised in a small town called Riceville, Pennsylvania near Lake Eerie, population 82. She grew up loving snow and skiing since

her family lived near the Great Lakes. She had an hour-long bus ride every day to school. Professor Knight attended elementary school and high school in Pennsylvania. After high school, she went to a satellite campus at Pennsylvania State University.

Riceville is a very small town “where you either live there your whole life or move away. The town was a bustling town in the 1800’s and a railroad went through my backyard. When the neighbors retired from running the post office, the house I grew up in became the post office.” She shared, “So I guess you could say I grew up in a post office… but this allowed my mom a chance to work from home.”

At Penn State, Prof. Knight wanted to be a film director or producer and ended up doing that for a couple of years in college. She could see the process and complexity of creating films but also saw what goes into creating one photograph. This is where she realized the difference and how “you are telling a story in a different way.” She decided to change her major from Communications and Film to being an art major in photography. She said, “Penn State was a step into the world… I am really thankful for the time I had there.” She adds that “the professors were great” and “they continue to influence my life.” Professor Knight got to do photography for the football team and for music events as well.

When asked about what Professor Knight’s favorite memory was with photography, she shared how she had a powerful experience as the only photographer shooting the football game on one side of the field. She got this exclusive shot of all the football players reaching for the football on both teams. The picture captured this moment in time that left an impact not only for her but for everyone who sees her photograph. She shared, “The Penn State home game was in their third quarter. I wanted to get some wide shots. Suddenly there’s an interception and they are all coming at me. I am the only one nearby to get these shots. I was in the right place at the right time.” Professor Knight explained that if it wasn’t for everyone in the stands wearing white, she wouldn’t have had the best lighting for these photos. Penn State calls their home games the “White-Out-Game.”

Carrine Knight was influenced by her mom to become a teacher. Her mom was an elementary school teacher, so she had that influence growing up and as a ski instructor Professor Knight had a taste of teaching. After Penn State, Knight got some “real-world experience” as a freelance photographer, ski instructor, and waitress in South Lake Tahoe.

During the pandemic, she went back to Pennsylvania and when things got better she applied to grad school and attended the University of California, Santa Cruz. She graduated with her Master’s Degree in Digital Art and New Media. While at UCSC she had an incredible opportunity to work for Harrison Studios with world-famous Newton and Helen Mayer Harrison for five and a half years.

Knight published an article in the 2023 Leonardo Magazine about them and their life’s work called “Eco-Art: On The Topography Of The Harrisons.” Once Knight graduated, she had a chance to travel because she had saved whatever she could for ten years. She bought a one-way ticket to Prague and traveled around Europe for three months and even went to where her ancestors lived. When she got back she was looking for teaching jobs and found the College of Sequoias as the perfect fit for her. She runs two different classes for Multimedia and Digital Art and is a welcome addition to COS.

Carinne Knight, M.F.A. (She, Her, Hers)

Assistant Professor of Multimedia and Digital Art

Career Technical Education & Fine Arts Division College of the Sequoias

[email protected] | (559) 730-3848