ESP Biography



ALEX CATULLO, An NEU student who loves photo and studies psych.




Major: Psychology

College/Employer: Northeastern University

Year of Graduation: 2013

Picture of Alex Catullo

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I'm in my third year studying psychology at Northeastern University, and you'll seldom see me without a camera slung over my shoulder. Since high school I've studied both analog and digital photography with the likes of Joe Swayze and Neal Rantoul, and I will admit that my passion has been for old fashioned black-and-white printing though I'm no stranger to the digital age.

When I tell people this and they then ask me what my major in college is, they sometimes get confused when I tell them it's psychology. This, in turn, confuses me; what else is psychology besides capturing the human experience where we can understand and appreciate it? Kind of sounds like photography if you ask me. Much like the camera, I like to use my psych studies to learn and teach others, and that's what I'm excited to do this summer at HSSP!



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

S4763: Social Psychology: Why people do what they do, and how to outsmart them in HSSP Summer 2011 (Jul. 10, 2011)
In this course you’ll learn about the root of prejudice, and where bad decisions come from. You’ll figure out how to be a better leader, and why your lab partner is so lazy. You’ll learn whether or not you can trust a jury, and how otherwise good people can be driven to commit acts of evil. For better or for worse, people do things which we sometimes can’t explain, yet we go on interacting with them because we have to; but wouldn’t things be easier if we knew the reasons why? This course is about people, how they think about other people, and why. As we study experiments and theories which reveal surprising truths about our own thoughts, this course will teach you how to recognize where social thinking goes wrong, and how to outsmart it.


A4764: Introduction to Film Photography in HSSP Summer 2011 (Jul. 10, 2011)
Learn the photographic process from start to finish! In this class you'll learn to take photos on old-fashioned black-and-white film, and to make beautiful prints in a darkroom just like the pros do. You'll learn how to manipulate light with your own hands, how to develop your own film, and create prints with stunning detail and quality. We'll start out with the basics of how to shoot with a film camera; mastering shutter, focus, ISO, and aperture control by shooting around the MIT campus, and on field trips to places like the Charles River Esplanade or the MIT museum. We'll then move on to rolling and developing our own film to make negatives that will last forever, and finally we'll learn how to use a darkroom to develop our pictures and bring them to life. We'll go over advanced and expressive techniques like burning & dodging, and how to make pictures without a camera. Each time you make a print, you'll get a critique and guidance on how to improve. By the time the class is over you'll have a the beginnings of your own portfolio, shot in classic black-and-white, with a quality greater than any digital print. With your newfound knowledge of the darkroom, you'll be free to create your own art with no computers involved; just with your own two hands.


A4773: Intro to Digital Photography in HSSP Summer 2011 (Jul. 10, 2011)
Learn the photographic process from start to finish! Go beyond the “automatic” mode and learn how to take the most abstract concepts and stunning visual subjects, and turn them into beautiful works of art. We’ll start out by learning the basics of photography; going over shutter, focus, ISO, and aperture control, as well as post-production and digital editing techniques. From there we’ll learn the tricks and styles you can use to express your artistic vision, studying the examples of famous photographers from the past. We can explore the tools of framing, lighting and composition as we spend half of each day doing photo shoots around the MIT campus. Each shoot will have a theme such as landscapes, street photography, portraits, or any subject we decide to pursue. The course will culminate in a final project where each student will assemble a brief portfolio centered around any topic, subject or technique you like. On the last day of class you’ll receive a critique to leave or take with you as you go on to wield one of art’s most powerful tools: the camera.


A3543: Intro to Photography in HSSP Summer 2010 (Jul. 11, 2010 - Jul. 11, 2011)
Learn the photographic process from start to finish! Go beyond the "automatic" mode and learn how to take the most abstract concepts and stunning visual subjects, and turn them into beautiful works of art. We'll start out by learning the basics of photography; going over shutter, focus, ISO, and aperture control, as well as post-production and digital editing techniques. From there we'll learn the tricks and styles you can use to express your artistic vision, studying the examples of famous photographers from the past. We can explore the tools of framing, lighting and composition as we spend half of each day doing photo shoots around the MIT campus. Each shoot will have a theme such as landscapes, street photography, portraits, or any subject we decide to pursue. The course will culminate in a final project where each student will assemble a brief portfolio centered around any topic, subject or technique you like. On the last day of class you'll receive a critique to leave or take with you as you go on to wield one of art's most powerful tools: the camera.


A3598: Intro to Photography in HSSP Summer 2010 (Jul. 11, 2010 - Jul. 11, 2011)
Learn the photographic process from start to finish! Go beyond the "automatic" mode and learn how to take the most abstract concepts and stunning visual subjects, and turn them into beautiful works of art. We'll start out by learning the basics of photography; going over shutter, focus, ISO, and aperture control, as well as post-production techniques like digital editing, film developing, and darkroom printing. From there we'll learn the tricks and styles you can use to express your artistic vision, studying the examples of famous photographers from the past. We can explore the tools of framing, lighting and composition as we spend half of each day doing photo shoots around the MIT campus. Each shoot will have a theme such as landscapes, street photography, portraits, or any subject we decide to pursue. The course will culminate in a final project where each student will assemble a brief portfolio centered around any topic, subject or technique you like. On the last day of class you'll receive a critique to leave or take with you as you go on to wield one of art's most powerful tools: the camera.


S3614: Social Psychology: Why people do what they do, and how to outsmart them. in HSSP Summer 2010 (Jul. 11, 2010 - Jul. 11, 2011)
In this course you'll learn about the root of prejudice, and where bad decisions come from. You'll figure out how to be a better leader, and why your lab partner is so lazy. You'll learn whether or not you can trust a jury, and how otherwise good people can be driven to commit acts of evil. For better or for worse, people do things which we sometimes can't explain, yet we go on interacting with them because we have to; but wouldn't things be easier if we knew the reasons why? This course is about people, how they think about other people, and why. As we study experiments and theories which reveal surprising truths about our own thoughts, this course will teach you how to recognize where social thinking goes wrong, and how to outsmart it.