When I started taking my Photography seriously

When I started taking my photography seriously I read everything I could get my hands on.  I love to read anyway so it wasn’t a hardship.  There are a lot of online resources for beginning photographers and thousands of books.  But I wasn’t comprehending what I was reading….f-stops, rule of thirds, negative space, exposure triangle, the Fibonacci Spiral, juxtaposition…wait, what?

So I enrolled in a couple photography classes thru our local Parks & Recreation.  They were taught by a local professional photographer and I took pages of notes.  There was no lightbulb moment but I did learn and still refer to those notes on occasion.

Then I stumbled upon the 365 Project.  This simple idea of creating a photo a day is what I needed.  How could I learn to be a photographer if I only used my camera occasionally?  I took a lot of bad photos and I was still shooting in auto or program mode.  But I was doing and learning in comfortable steps for me.

I attempted my first 365 Project in 2015 and made thru November (oh, so close!).

In 2016 I tried a Project 52 and succeeded until October.

This year I’ve started a 365 Project again, wish me luck!

Now when I pick up my camera I’m comfortable and relaxed, like it’s an extension of my hand.  I shoot in manual mode and understand the exposure and composition rules and when to break them 😉  Do I know it all now?  Thankfully no!!  There is always more to learn and I still take bad photos.

I love photography and seeing how I’ve grown and evolved over the years.  I look forward to seeing what I learn and experience this year!