F/Stop - Prizewinning Photography - April, 2005

Due to some unfortunate mishaps, only a few of us received our images from yesterday in time to review before today's photography shoot. But everything happens for a reason, and we all took off for the Farmerís Market.

Today our assignments were to use creative lighting, leading lines, and the rule of thirds to compose our photos into more creative, pleasing images. We also used black & white film for the first time this week. Yeh!

Once we got back to the Training Center, we found that our prints from yesterday had arrived, and we were all eager to review and critique them. I think we all learned something new and will be able to apply it to our work in the future!

Unfortunately, once again, only a few of us received our prints from the morning photo shoot on time for the evening session. I guess God is trying to teach us patience, huh? But hey, it was a blessing in disguise, because not having them right away meant a change of schedule and time to play ultimate Frisbee! (I'm sure the instructors were glad anyway. I mean, I'm sure we were looking a little zombie-ish after all the brain overload from all the information on apertures, and "this is how you create a catch light", and "film smells so good", from all our enthralling sessions. Tee hee!)

All the sessions have been amazing and I personally have learned so much. Today we learned about flash photography, portraiture, and the wonders of digital photography! I can't wait to see what we'll be doing tomorrow!

—Prizewinning Photography Student Johanna Gertz

I am truly amazed at how much knowledge I have gained in just two days of attending the Prizewinning Photography course! I thoroughly appreciate the small classroom setting, hands-on learning, and one-on-one attention given to us by the instructors. Their goal and passion for photography bubbles over into the classroom through their unique teaching techniques.

Today was very exciting as we began to implement the principles of aperture and shutter speed that was taught yesterday. So off we went, armed with two rolls of film, a tripod, and our camera gear.

If you had been a quiet observer among us, you would've noticed many character qualities being displayed.

First, there was a boldness to tackle a job that was, at times, beyond our understanding. Secondly, there was creativity in viewing an object from an entirely different perspective. Wisdom was a priority in choosing the correct settings and speeds on our cameras and patience and diligence were used equally in getting just the right shot.

Perseverance was displayed in overcoming obstacles, and genuine love was shown by the instructors through their availability to answer questions and many helpful hints. Finally, there was joyfulness in having a morning well spent and a job well done.

Each day's assignments are based on the topics discussed during the previous day. So, today's assignments dealt with exposure, aperture, shutter speed, and metering. There was a fun competitive spirit among us as we set off to see if our shot would be the one to win the contest of "best picture of the day."

Today's topics centered on lighting, black & white photography, filters, macro, and composition. Each session was filled with wonderful illustrations and ended with a very profitable question and answer time.

The interaction between instructors and students has been great. We are confident that they are doing their absolute best to ensure that we come away with a great knowledge and love for photography!

—Prizewinning Photography Student Jennifer Gwin

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