Monday, April 27, 2009

So what did I learn?

I spent all weekend in class. Photography class.  Sixteen hours of classroom lecture and demonstrations about exposure, composition, low and night light, sports and motion, and macro photography. No cameras, just paper and pens.  Much to the chagrin of FB friends, I have no pictures for my efforts.  Instead, I have a headache.

So what did I learn?  A ton and I am still typing up my notes.  But briefly, I learned...
...that photography is akin to owning a boat.  They suck you in with easy point-and-shoots, seduce you with cool DSLR kits and then clobber you with lenses, polarizers, flashes and tubes. 
... that photography is mostly about light.  Or lack of light.  Or some light.  But light. 
... that light is my best friend and worst enemy.  
... that no lens will cover everything I want to capture. 
... that as much as photography is about light, it's also about color.  
... that as much as photography is about color, it's also about positioning. 
... that as much as photography is about positioning, it's also about symmetry.  
... and if it's not about symmetry, it's about negative space.  
... and finally, as much as I know, I have a lot to learn.

A couple cool things.  I won a door prize and in the photo critique, my picture of Mr. Handsome got some very nice comments from the photography pros. (small brag).  That was totally worth it.   So lots of happy snapping coming your way.  I feel inspired and invigorated and am ready to start clicking.  Goodnight from Grand Rapids. 






2 comments:

Jewels said...

Very cool. And then after you learn all the rules, you can break them right? What was your door prize?

Lisa said...

The Desert Botanical Garden is offering a two night class on desert photography for beginners. I'm signing up. :-)

Sounds like golf and photography have a lot in common: trying to get the head, eyes, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees all to do different things at once in order to accomplish the same goal. I'll stick to my camera, thank you.

Can't wait to see the results of your inspiration.

L.