Photography lessons

For Christmas, Tom surprised me with a wonderful gift-a gift certificate for 5 digital photography lessons. I was determined to not let the days slip by and have so much time pass before I cashed in on the lesson that I then ran out of 'free' time to do it. So i finally signed up and did it. It was an amazing experience. I went every Tuesday and Thursday for 2 weeks and then an additional Tuesday to make up the five classes. They were each about 2 1/2 hours along. The class was comprised of 5 students of all abilities and ages. I definitely leaned toward one girl with the same camera so that we could answer one and other's questions. Our teacher, was patient and talented. She was a hard critic. She expected a lot of us. Each class had a homework assignment that she picked apart in front of the class. I had a return of slight anxiety at the start of each class as I submitted my pictures for critique. I handled myself well-taking notes,  and spending nap times perfecting the technique for that week (to the best of MY ability). I was rewarded with praise at each class and the satisfaction of feeling like I was actually "getting it".  I learned so much, had a great time getting out of the house to meet some new people and more importantly, I left the lessons feeling so much more comfortable with our camera. We bought a Nikon D3000 a year and a half ago, before Jack's 2nd birthday. We have used it a lot, but never to the full potential that it is capable of. Now I think I can use it at least to 50% of it's potential. :) Below are a bunch of my 'homework' assignments that helped me to understand depth of field, shutter speed differences, changes in perspective and composure. I was able to switch my camera out of AUTO and into the manual mode to create some great shots. 

Working with depth of field.

This was the end of a series of photos that showed a full progression in depth of field.

We had to use eggs as our focus for our next assignment.

This is my favorite.

Showing motion with shutter speed.

Showing stopped motion with shutter speed.

My favorite subjects.

Although it is hard to switch out of AUTO when I am trying to take pictures of Jack and Will,  I have continued to experiment with it. I really have enjoyed the opportunity to change my perspective on the world through the lens of my camera. I hope to keep working on my skills and be able to create images that help me to tell OUR STORY.