Re-Learning 'new' old skills...

I have said it for many years; 'You can learn something new every day'. 

Whether a novice, an amateur or a professional, you can never know too much! Technically, I have been taking photos since 1979 (when I started taking it seriously), with over a decades hiatus (personal reasons) during that time. 

Now I am re-learning things I had thought I had forgotten and learning new things with regards to digital cameras. It is a whole new ball game with a new set of rules! I am having to change my habits and assumptions from my old 35mm film SLR and deal with a whole new set of settings and technical stuff to drag me into the digital age. 

I have a love/hate relationship with computers on the best of days; you will rarely see me talking about computer enhancing photos. Most of mine are as they are made, in camera, at the time they are shot. I have just starting shooting RAW which I am told (and seems to be) so much closer in colour variations to that of my old beloved film. 

Don't get me wrong. I am loving the fact that I can fire off tens of photos, for a subject, instead of having to eek out or two and hope I get one that will work. The immediacy of viewing the photo and removing the prohibitive cost of film is a huge bonus. But... 

I read and hear so often : "Don't worry you can fix it in post production'.

I am so glad I learnt on film. (... trying not to sound too old here) Film taught me to think about the composition of the photo, to be aware of little details and think twice about the lighting. I am grateful for that as not being able to 'fix it in postproduction', has made me a less lazy photographer and more aware of seeing the world for the beauty it can contain, in colour, light, shadow and form. I highly recommend that people try (at least once), using just a 24 roll of film of a set ISO(ASA) and then have to wait for it to be developed. Or, if cost is an issue, try to limit yourself to taking ONLY 24 shots and a set ISO. It really makes you think about what you are photographing.

Workshops: 

What I was originally going to post about (before I went off on a tangent, sorry) was that every one can learn something new. Last month, the Australian Costumers' Guild had a photography workshop held by Emmanual. Some of us had been photographing for a while and some were novices. He went through info on digital 'stuff' which I was grateful to hear more on. I learnt a new setting on my new DSLR and he helped me work out how to set my new flash up as a wireless slave. (techies will know what that means). This has given me a whole new set of lighting possibilities with minimal equipment. Happy me!!

Afterwards, we were set loose to take some pics....

'Pegs' is available on Redbubble.

Back home, I quickly shot of this, with my new flash- detatched from the camera.. wahooooooo! (warning: I am a big fan of dark shadows and high contrast)   My poor hubby is always being roped in as a model.. 

I highly recommend attending a workshop or trying something new that you may have read about. It could become a favourite.

It is always a good thing to listen to the ideas of others, how they approach challenges and creative ideas. You can (well, I can) always learn something new, get inspiration or an idea of your own. We do not live in a vacuum. We are part of a wonderous world - if only we can learn to see it's beauty.