This past week I started photography classes. Through a local nature center I’m taking a series of six classes from a professor at a local university. There are only 10 of us in the class and we meet for two hours once a week. I have a really nice camera and feel like I’ve gotten some beautiful shots with it, but I rely too much on luck for those images. My teacher says I should discard the power of luck, but we agree it would be nice if some skill was involved.

The first class was about while balance and lighting. We did cover a few other things but they were review for me. White balance is something I’ve always understood but just adjusted for in Photoshop. One of my good friends was horrified when he learned that I edit every. single. picture. with Photoshop. I have a system and it’s fast to do, but still. If the color balance was any better in the original photo, I’d be a lot better off.

After each class period we will be turning in five to ten of our favorite images and they will be used in a calendar for the nature center. Do you know what that means? My photography could be appearing in two 2012 calendars. Also, by taking the class, I am working at checking another thing off of my 100 list.

Some of my favorites from the first class:

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