How can I learn to use Flickr's API in PHP without PEAR?

I am doing a gallery display and uploader for my school’s intramural’s webpage. But there is no space on the server, so we decided to use flickr to do so. I am new at using API’s (really beginner in that area). I tried some wrapper classes for API, but the catch is that they use PEAR extension. The school doesn’t want me to change anything on the server (using PHP Version 4.2.2) because it’s really old (delicate condition. massive update coming soon). Any links or sites that I can use to learn to use flickr’s api in php 4 without using PEAR.