I’m signed up for a photo class that starts in two weeks and I am so ridiculously excited. I took photo in High School and I loved it. Loved it! I spent hours in the dark room. I thought about it constantly. I brought my camera with me everywhere. I proudly showed off my portfolio.
Then, the regular photo teacher came back (I had taken photo classes with her sabbatical replacement). She didn’t like me. She didn’t like my photos. She gave non-constructive criticism. She scared me away from the dark room. I did the bare minimum amount of work for her class. She gave me my first (and only) C. I left photo for other art classes and I never looked back.
Until I started hanging out with my friend Eric and he encouraged me to go off on photo-seeking adventures with him. My boyfriend at the time (John) joined us. We drove all around Connecticut taking pictures of abandoned mental hospitals. We called ourselves Photo Club and it was awesome.
John upgraded to a Nikon D70 and he gave me his old Canon S50. I started playing around with aperture and shutter speed and depth of field. John and I broke up and that camera did too. I got it fixed but eventually replaced it with a Canon Digital Rebel. I remembered the joy of taking photos with an SLR camera. The sound of the shutter clicking open and shut brought hundreds of happy memories flooding back.
Over the past year or so, I’ve taken thousands of photos. I’ve brought my camera with me to Dublin, France and Scotland. I’ve gotten compliments from friends and family on the pictures that I’ve taken. But, there’s been something missing. My photos are ok, but they could be better. So, I signed up for a photo class at the local Adult Ed Center.
I’m freaking stoked. I’ve been thinking about independent projects. I finally bit the bullet and bought a flash. I installed photoshop on my laptop. I got a bigger CF card so that I can shoot RAW format.
I know that taking this class isn’t going to magically transform me into a better photographer. But, I think that it will help me to hone my technique. I’m also hoping to get some constructive criticism and a lot of feedback. If it goes well, I’m going to take a “Digital Darkroom” class as well. If it doesn’t go well? Well, I’ll still be taking pictures.
Oh, and Eric sent me a totally kickass birthday present. A reverse lens mount that lets me use my standard lens as a macro lens. Check out my macro set on Flickr.
