I've been taking photos for a really long time. Except for a brief lesson way back in a undergrad materials science lab, I have never had any formal instruction in photography. Wanting to really learn more about the art and science of photography, I decided to take a class at The International Center of Photography.
I wanted to enroll in Digital Photography I. Looking at their schedule, I was disappointed to find that none of the timeframes for the class fit my schedule. I then spied Digital Photography I Intensive. This crams the 10 weeks of the normal class into two weekends. I would be in class for 7 hours a day for two straight weekends. I crossed my fingers hoping that this would not be pure torture and clicked on the enroll button.
Luck was on my side this time as it turned out to be very worthwhile. We seated at a workstation featuring a Power Mac, a scanner, and a very large Epson printer. After introductions, the instructor ,Deanna Lawson, jumped right in.
The hours flew by. Most of the time we were seated in the classroom, some of the time we were shooting outside. Some of the technical matters I already knew, but much of the lessons were about seeing. I started looking at light and shadow, rest and motion, in different ways. I was also forced to shoot photos outside of my usual milieu, which was both difficult and liberating if that makes any sense.
The people taking the class ran the gamut in experience with photography. Some were old pros already taking some stunning shots. Others were pretty much pure beginners. Everyone seemed to get better as the class progressed.
We had to come up with a final project, shooting pretty much what we wanted to do. Surprise, I chose to photograph food. Some of the shots were good, some were so-so. But I certainly learned a lot and I am now looking at the world in a different light, literally.
All the shots here are from the final project. I want to end this post by saying thanks to our great teacher Deanna Lawson.
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