Confidence!

So I'm going to a photography workshop in DC in a few weeks.  I'm so excited!

First, I get to spend over a week with my best friend.  That alone is priceless. No kids, no homeschooling, no mom-24/7, just me and my camera and my friend (and her kid, and her husband, and her cats...) Heh.  The only thing I have to do at her house is make lasagna.  Easy-peasy, as my kids would say.

Two days on the weekend are taken up by the workshop and I'm so happy that I finally get to go.  I've been wanting to go to this workshop ever since my friend Monique put that particular flea into my ear.  She's one awesome photographer and has encouraged me every step on my way.  Without her selfless praise, I don't think I'd be where I am today in my photography. Check out her work!  Those adorable twins are hers, by the way.  An all around lucky girl, Monique is.

She introduced me to Me Ra Koh and her photography and I've followed Me Ra's website and blog for years now.  We've dreamed of going to a workshop together but with us stuck in Germany between jobs and little money, and her living in Colombia and then Spain, it was difficult and turned out to be impossible.  Monique ended up going to the workshop in Arizona in the spring and I am going in a few weeks to DC!  Yay!

So, what do I want from this workshop? 

I want to shoot in Manual.  At the moment, I'm primarily shooting in AV mode (aperture priority) which means I'm setting the aperture and the ISO and the camera works out the shutter speed.  I can adjust that up and down with the spin of a wheel and I often do that - that's sort of shooting in half Manual.  But I rarely shoot in full M.  I just get confused with too many things to do at once.  (I have to admit that I felt the same way when I just jumped into AV mode - I often forgot and still sometimes do, to adjust the ISO settings from one shoot to the next.  So maybe I should just do it... Hm.)  I've gotten fast with AV and M just slows me down so much.  I photograph mostly children and they are fast moving targets.  Speed is of the essence. So, I need some encouragement with that.

Me Ra says we will shoot in M after the workshop but how that works, I'm curious to see.  The range of photograpy skills in this group is wide - from the professional photographer to the new mom who just got her first camera.  The teacher in me whispers that she's glad she doesn't have to teach 22 levels of skill at the same time.  Apparently, Me Ra pulls it off and that's why I go to this workshop.

Also, I want more confidence.  I have this little nagging voice in my brain that always tells me I'm not good enough, don't have enough experience, blah, blah, blah.  So, confidence in my skills is definitely on my list of things I need. 

Let's have at it!

 

Comments

[Christine]

I bet you have a wonderful week. I'm looking forward to seeing your photos. Wish I could fly down for a couple of days to spend time with you and your best friend. Enjoy.