Remember the HORRID woman who took the most unflattering image of me yesterday? Well I happen to absolutely love that horrid woman! HA! She’s awesome. She’s talented and creative and trustworthy and kind and has one of the biggest hearts around. She’s truly amazing and I feel blessed to call her a friend even though growing up I would have called her my mom’s friend. Now she’s mine too and I’m so lucky.
She came to our Fresh Class over the weekend and then wrote about her experience on her blog (which I did link to yesterday). With her permission I’m re-posting it here b/c I think the way she describes learning photography is perfection.
Thanks for letting me post this Donna! And if you ever take another image like that of me again I will kill you!
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It [the Fresh Class] was a wonderfully relaxed setting with patient, professional instructors.
And, in the everyday detritus of family life, there were plenty of subjects – both
inside and out.
It was a lot like learning another language.
Not that all the terms or phrases were unfamiliar –
but rather akin to thinking that because you can order ‘quesadilla’ or ‘chimichanga’
at a Mexican restaurant you can speak Spanish!
“Aperture, ISO, depth of field, F-stops” and being surrounded by much younger heads
nodding in unspoken understanding all combined to make me feel like a total bottle blonde!
I was reminded though of an observation by Sherman Alexie, a Native American humorist,
who asked: “Do you know why the Indian rain dance always worked”?
and then answered, “Because the Indians would keep dancing until it rained.”
There’s no magic… you just have to keep doing it until you get the result you want.
You wouldn’t take the training wheels off a bike and expect to participate in the
Tour de France the next day. Why should this be any different?
There’s no magic… it takes practice to get where you want to be.
So I came home and, being the essential slug that I am, continued to practice from
the comfort of my bed…
Playing with settings, seeing what I liked best.
I also signed up for Project 365 and made a promise to myself to post an image a day
for a year – and NOT go back to Automatic Focus no matter how tough it may be.
Sometimes it’s good to stretch yourself.
Am I worried that I’ll miss some shots because it takes me so long now to think
about what I’m doing? Yes.
But I have spent thousands of dollars in therapy seeking consciousness and
awareness of what I’m doing… I think I can allocate however many hours it takes to
do the same thing with photography!
Can’t you just hear Pearl thinking it’s gonna be a hell of a long year!?
I don’t see the same things you see when you see your picture…I don’t see chins,blemishes, bad hair or weight that’s not where you want it to be. I see Jodi – talented, loving, funny, energetic, creative, kind-hearted, faithful and a gift to her family and friends.
I’m not too crazy about the image you took of me either…but at my age, I’m trying to accept that it is what it is!
Thanks again for a great session…and for helping me learn and try new things.
If you’re not trying, you’re dying…and I’m not quite there yet!