The View from Here

Monday night marked the last night of my 3-month digital photography class I’ve been taking since January at the local college.  For those of you that noticed the date on the calendar, you’re right, the 3-month course is ending at the end of April – FOUR FULL MONTHS INTO THE YEAR!  You know why, don’t you?  Of course.  Our course went long because of the LONGEST WINTER IN HISTORY.  During the first 3 months of 2009 we suffered enough storm stays on Mondays to close down school, thus extending the time we’d be in the classroom learning all the tools and techniques of digital photography.  No one, not even the instructor, thought we’d still be in the classroom as late as April 27!

I’d like to say that I graduated with honours, suma cum laude as it were.  I’d like to say that my talent clearly indicated I was the only choice for Photo School Valedictorian.  That my use of subject matter, light, filter and composition garnered me a diploma suitable for framing.  Alas, I cannot make any of those claims.  I was clearly not the most talented photographer in the course.  That I think would go to Karen who always found unique and interesting subjects for her photo assignments, while mine were mostly Dwayne and/or Snickers & Gidget whom I would cajole, beg, plead and sometimes bribe into being my willing subjects (not that they aren’t unique or interesting – they most certainly ARE, but mostly to ME).  Or, perhaps to Bunty who had such an artistic flare that she would photograph the cut-off stem of a tulip and, through her exposure setting and editing skills make it look like a neon green light installation work of art, while the best I could do on that front was the photo of the crystal blue egg against the cerulean blue sky.  Or, perhaps to Cara who took such candid photos of her twin 3-year old daughters they simply took your breath away for their beauty, innocence and wonder, while I was busy photographing candid shots of knots in wooden beams.  Seriously. 

I did graduate the course, but not with honours; not because I didn’t earn that grade, but because they didn’t actually give out grades!  But I sure learned a lot.  I learned about depth of field and how to focus your camera lens so that everything else is blurred either in the foreground or background, except your main focus.  I learned about the composition rule that every photographer should know:  “the rule of thirds”.  I learned about aperture, lighting, where to place the sun to ensure best exposure or backlight exposure.  I learned how to photograph moving water, which was one of my MOST exciting lessons.  I learned that when you show up for in the field instruction at the beach at 7am on a Saturday morning you really should be dressed for full on winter, even though the calendar says it’s April 18.  I learned that no matter what you take a picture of or how good it is – you can ALWAYS improve it by editing it with a photo-editing application.  I learned that the work really begins after you’ve taken the picture, which can make photography a VERY long process.  I learned that producing good photography really is hard work and that those people that take this up professionally really deserve the $125 an hour they charge!

I also learned I have a good eye for composition.  I have unleashed my inner artist and can spend hours shooting and then even more hours editing and creating digital photo albums and on-line galleries.  I pushed the send button to order my very first black & white portfolio album and it should be here in 6 – 10 business days.  I can’t wait to see the results of my winter’s work, documented and bound in a professional portfolio. 

But mostly, I learned enough to whet my appetite to keep learning.  I learned that while the point & shoot camera I used during school is great for people that want to give all control over to the camera, that for those that want to control their aperture, lighting, exposure and filtration – well really, you need an SLR camera.  I learned I should start putting all my spare change in the piggy bank because those cameras do not come cheap!

What follows are samples of my weekly assignments at photo school.  I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I did making them.