Beginning The Art of Photography

I officially started the course and my learning blog on Sunday 11 March 2012.  I had been looking for an online photography course for some time.  Although I have been enjoying photography for over 20 years, I recently wanted to take it to a higher level.  This started with the purchase of a Nikon D5000 in Hong Kong in December 2010 and there then followed a period of overlap while I experimented with my new purchase and continued to use a compact for safety.  For sometime I was confused by the features and mechanics of a DSLR and how the balance between ISO, aperture and shutter speed worked (and what that all meant), however, with the help of a few courses and a few readings of the manual, it gradually sank in, fortunately just before I started this course.

What I'm looking for from this course is increased confidence and understanding, being able to be in a position to take a shot knowing how to position everything correctly, and of course to be able to take images that I'm proud of.

I currently belong to Kingston Camera Club and am therefore being regularly exposed to how profesionals view photography, use composition and different techniques and what the world in general (and particularly a judge) expects from a photograph.  But through this process, I am becoming aware that there is another dimension to photography: where the classic rules can be broken.  This is the point that I want to get to: how to create beautiful images that are slightly "edgy", that have drama and that are original, and that don't necessarily follow standard practice.

I hope to complete the whole BA(Hons) in Photography with the OCA, and this course is the first step.  Of course this is about the achievement, but it is also about the journey and self discovery.  Approximately four weeks into the course, I have developed already: in particular the modules teaching where to place the subject in the frame, the relationship of the subject with its background, the exercises on shutter speeds (using water as the subject in my case), and the sequence of composition exercise, which I loved and did several times!

I have now abandoned my limiting compact and will only use it when I can literally only carry a camera in my pocket. My only regret at this stage is that I don't have more time!

4 weeks into the course, my overall reflection on learning is that I do not take enough time over composition; many shots fail because I haven't taken the time to work out the best angle or I've cut some detail out of the frame.  I am also still struggling to bring all the elements of ISO, aperture and shutter speed together to get the right balance.  I am also finding that when I am concentrating on the exercise, I am able to get the item that the exercise is teaching correct, but everything else "goes out of the window"; it's as if I can only concentrate on one thing at a time.  So my learning point here is to start trying to bring all the elements together!