Photographic Memory..

I went to lunch with an old friend. Norman and I have known each other for about 13 years, but most of the time between then and now we have not stayed in touch. As it goes sometimes, we are back in a situation where we work in the same company. This affords us the opportunity to talk, have lunch, and enjoy good company.

In passing, Norman made a comment that he likes photography. Having a nice camera myself, I mentioned to him that I would love to learn more about photography. We ended up at lunch one day, and I surprised him by bringing my camera. I shared the embarrassing tale of owning a Canon 30D and not really knowing what to do with it. I told him I usually just keep it on the desk and use my little, compact camera for everything. After a few moments of silence (I think he actually lost consciousness), he said, "Don't worry, Chris! It's easy!"

This is a great time to stop and explain Norman speak. Norman is a very kind, very optimistic, and very gracious person. Although I had caught him off-guard with my failure to use my expensive camera, he was sure I would be able to quickly pick it up and learn.

Here is a rough outline of the advice that followed.

1. Get out the camera booklet and read it. Even if the settings don't really make sense, it is important to know where the settings are on the camera and how to adjust them.
2. Don't ever use Auto Mode again. Only use Manual Mode, Aperture Priority Mode, or Shutter Priority Mode. If you're going to learn how to use a digital SLR, don't look back.
3. Read Understand Exposure by Bryan Peterson. It is a relatively short book (160 pages) and includes pictures as examples on every page.
4. As you read sections, stop, put down the book, pick up your camera, and take pictures. As I started this step, I had to look at my camera booklet to see how to change the settings, then I could practice. This is a critical part of the process. If you don't take pictures as you go along, you will not carry that over as actual learned information.
5. When you finish the book, take more pictures.

As you can see, actually taking pictures is a huge part of his advice. The book he recommended really did a great job at breaking down photography for someone like me (newbie). Now, I will admit that I haven't become a professional photographer overnight. That's the good news -- I'm not making any silly statements about some magic bullet. However, I now can say for sure that I have made more progress than I expected to have made in only a few days time. Here's a list of accomplishments I've made:

I know where most of the manual settings are on my camera. I know how to change the aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and several other items. In full Manual Mode, I can actually take pictures. (I know that sounds silly, but I could not make that statement a few days ago.) I can actually go outside or into a poorly lit room and take pictures. If my picture comes out too dark, I don't have to get the flash out. I can make a quick change to my settings and magically lighten the picture.

With a few of these basics down, I'm also able to throw in a few fun (artistic) tricks. I have photos using pan, distorted proportions, and subject isolation. For me, these are some of the pictures that really get me wanting to learn more and become a better photographer.