Unit 1 Reflections
There is so much to learn it is overwhelming. However, at this point, I have learned that what I like most about photography is the action of it. Getting out and taking pictures. Unfortunately, I am still not very good at that. I feel I still do not know what I am doing. I think this course is too advanced for my knowledge level and skill set. I think that I need more of a course on how to just operate my camera and leave the computer digital editing for another class. Nevertheless, I am here now and will make the best of it and learn what I can.
For Tech Ex 1 I enjoyed getting outside to take pictures for this exercise I went for a walk with my dog and Husband out at Comox Lake. It was an overcast day with a low-lying fog over the lake. I have a NIKON D5200 and know nothing about how to operate it other than point-and-shoot. I have some nice pictures of the atmosphere, (the cold and dark lake), but very few are in focus. I do have a few good in-focus pictures of my dog in the water. I took a lot of pictures but chose only three for the exercise. They are more abstract in nature and I am satisfied with how they turned out.
I edited the pictures in lightroom which was not an easy thing to figure out. I am still having trouble with it, though I did enjoy the editing process and do like how the colours turned out. I think once I figure out to operate my camera to the best of its abilities and learn to use the Adobe apps to the best of my abilities, I will really enjoy photography. Learning the triangle, aperture, ISO, and F-stops is not new to me but the concept is difficult for me to grasp. I will keep reading and trying out the buttons on my camera.
I did play around a lot with my camera pressing buttons and trying out settings and have unfortunately messed up the settings. Now, none of the pictures I take is in focus and I can’t seem to get the settings back to normal so that my camera works properly. So frustrating!
I have been quite sick and I’ve not been able to venture out into the world to snap pictures of what is beyond. I went out into my yard and took pictures of things that I found interesting. I took them with my cell phone because my camera is still not focussing. I used some of those pictures to edit in Lightroom. I am also having a hard time exporting and importing files into LRC. I will figure it out eventually, but it is very frustrating. I had one semi-successful time with it, editing the previous photos but since then I can’t seem to get imports to work. Still, I am not able to export to WordPress so that the picture files can be enlarged when viewing. I will keep working on this too but for now, I just can’t seem to get it.
For the final assignment in unit 1, I chose from the series of photos I had on my camera when I went for that walkout at Comox Lake and some from a walk along the pipeline and then a few from the walk around my yard.
I find the editing in lightroom and photoshop was and is challenging I am happy with how these eight photos I chose turned out. I especially am pleased with the final photo of the tree on the mountain across the lake.
I reiterate my frustration with photography. It may be an art form that is not for me though I do like some of my photos and would like to print them as art. I just find all this difficult, perhaps because it is new. I still think this course is too advanced for my knowledge level and skill set. I think that I need more of a course on how to just operate my camera and leave the computer digital editing for another class.