Photography 101- Fun!

"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera."

--Dorothea Lange

I did a Photography Workshop at my house last night for the women in my church. A signup went around and I thought, maybe 7-8 women would sign up and we would sit around my computer and talk about photography stuff. Apparently it's a popular subject matter as the final count on the list was 26! With that number we weren't going to be able to sit around my computer. With benches and other available seating we were able to fit in my living room. (Sorry about the bench seating, gals.) It was fun to have such a great turnout. Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a great evening. I gave out the assignment (hint, hint to anyone who was there!) to make their own personal owner's manual using a packet that I myself had filled out for my camera in one of my classes. If you know your camera, you can really start to enjoy it. Even point and shoot digital camera's are capable of more than we give them credit for. I wanted people leave excited about using their cameras and trying some new things.

In preparing for the workshop I went through some old photos and combined them with some more recent ones as an informal display. The photos were from different times in my life and it reinforced to me how important photos are in helping us remember. Along with that, I had collected some quotes by famous photographers that I like:

"If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough."

--Robert Capa

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."

--Ansel Adams

"If I could tell the story in words. I wouldn't need to lug around around a camera."

--Lewis Hine

"You know, so often it's just sticking around and being there, remaining there, not swooping out in a cloud of dust: sitting down on the ground with people, letting children look at your camera with their dirty, grimy little hands, and putting their fingers on the lens, and you just let them, because you know that if you will behave in a generous manner, you are apt to receive it, you know?"

--Dorothea Lange

David De Dios at AZPPA

     The AZPPA (Arizona Professional Photographers Association) meets on the first Tuesday of every month at the Airport Hilton. I decided to check it out this month. Their program featured  David De Dios- "The Art of Wedding Photography". Check out his website here. I'm so glad that I went. I have learned more about networking within the photography community than anywhere else. People are very generous with their knowledge and talent. Brian is amazed that photographers are will to share so much information with each other. We are competing with each other, after all, but I have found it to be a very giving community, whether it's here locally or other photographers I've found online.   

David De Dios

David brought a couple of models to do a demo  of some Bride/Groom poses.

     One of the biggest pieces of information I came away with was his simple lighting technique for night photography and indoor portraits. He uses a flashlight!  I love that! A Brinkman Dual Xenon flashlight.  That was very exciting to me! Here are some shots from his demo.  It was a very enlightening evening. David was very personable and I can see why couples would hire him. I have really enjoyed meeting and getting to know other photographers. I've made some great new friends in the process.

        

So glad I went!