Last night I started my photography class at the University of Utah. I am really hoping to learn a lot. In class we had to say what we hoped to get out of the class. Of course, I got all nervous when I had to speak to the whole class, and I just said something dumb. I said I wanted to take better pictures of my kids–which is what pretty much every other woman in the class said. Afterwards, I thought about what I really wanted to get out of the class. Many people said that they wanted to learn to get out of “Auto” mode. I think that I have already successfully done that. My real goal is to be able to get great photos right out of my camera. I know that I can spend hours editing photos in Photoshop, but I don’t want to do that. I want to learn how to take good shots.

The first class was an intro to how shutter speed and iso work together. I have a good handle on that already, but I still learned and had a good time in class. The instructor talked a lot about how photos can show motion. I learned the panning technique, which I had heard about but didn’t really know how to do.

At the end of the class, we got an assignment. I think that is one of the best parts of taking a class. Just forcing me to try new techniques every week. This week we are supposed to take photos of motion. I am supposed to try the panning technique, and then experiment with freezing the subject compared to the background.

Today I took Ian to his ski lessons, and I decided to practice some of my new skills. It didn’t go as well as I thought, but I did get a few good shots. I found the panning technique harder than I thought it would be. One of the things that I never quite figured out was how to leave the shutter open longer without overexposing the shots. Everytime I left the shutter open long enough to pan, the shot was totally overexposed. I’ll have to ask about that in class.

But, I did get a few good shots of Ian skiing. I was so impressed with how well he was skiing! I haven’t seen him ski for a few lessons, but today I watched and I was blown away. He can totally ski all by himself! I watched him turning back and forth through the cones, and then go on the roller coasters. I was so proud of him. He has learned so much!