For some time now, I’ve been thinking of taking a photography class.  But that’s as far as I’d gotten on the idea.  Until I went to the Nice Girls of the North Marketplace. There I saw a flyer for a photography class, on the table where I was admiring beautiful photos that were being sold on greeting cards.  That spurred me into action, and a few weeks later I gathered with a small group of students in a photographer’s studio for class.  What a find!  We had three professional photographers to seven students, and six weeks in which to absorb all the skills they so enthusiastically shared.

After two weeks of lecture, and trying to absorb massive amounts of information about using our cameras, we had our first field session.  Gathering at Lester River, we set up our tripods and were given assignments – setting up the scene, getting the lighting right, framing the picture and other basics of photography.  The hands-on experience was invaluable, particularly paired with close oversight from our cadre of instructors.  In fact, the woman photographer from the craft fair came to assist as well, and became my personal mentor for the evening.

With her help, I moved down river and worked on capturing the moving water.  First we focused on stopping the action of the water. While the photo itself may not be all that interesting, I was extremely pleased to see the splashing water drops caught in mid-air.  After many shots,  camera adjustments and gentle tutoring, I finally got it.

The next assignment was to blur the water.  I enjoyed that even more.  The camera settings actually began to make sense as I manipulated them time after time and could see the resulting effect.  And I ultimately achieved the milky whiteness I was after.

Who knew there were so many techniques to explore in photography?  And I’m only just starting.  I’m so glad I decided to go to that craft market.