Last month, I had the GREAT PLEASURE to teach DSLR basics to a group of women at the Women Centered Art Coop. And can I just say, I am not sure there is anything more daunting that teaching a bunch of artists! I used to be so creative… drawing, writing poetry, snapping away with my Dad’s old Pentax. But lately I feel like life has just pulled me into a “get through the day” kindof place and I honestly felt like I was some kindof artistic poser and I would be discovered and thrown out into the street with my gear flying over my head after me.

Now, first, lemme just say: these could not be the nicest women, so don’t judge them based on my hang-ups. They LOVE teaching and encouraging and are just the sweetest! I don’t think there has been a day that I have visited the WCAC that I didn’t walk away with a hug or two. That was just the best way to describe what I was feeling.

But back to the class. Teaching the mechanics of a DSLR is something all together different than being overly artistic. I felt very comfortable in that role and thoroughly enjoyed my time teaching. AND if you have a DSLR and want to learn how to use that bad boy (well, you know… more than just setting it on “automatic” and going), I am planning a repeat class here in Hickory over the summer. Leave me some blog love and let me know if you are interested in at least learning more.

One of the lovely ladies that came had to leave early and didn’t have an SRL camera. She brought her point and shoot, but she wanted to learn about DRLRs because she was in the market for one. So, lucky for me, she borrowed mine and I have some great shots to show of one of my students practicing what she learned:

First we learned how to shoot in Manual. After a morning of learning, we took a break to try out what we learned on some inanimate objects. The ladies really got it!

Then the chair from a different angle. A little trickier with the light pouring in the window, but she stuck with her meter and rocked it:

I am super-proud of this next shot and I will tell you why: it is blurry because of camera shake. Why does that make me so proud? Because she gets it! She paid attention to the meter, set her shutter speed accordingly and snapped. Sure, it was too slow to get a crisp image, BUT the exposure of the plant is good, so she gets it!

After lunch we explored all of the other bells and whistles these marvelous little devices have. One of which is white balance. Here are two shots one participant took to see the difference in Auto WB and Coudy (sidenote: I LOVE Cloudy. I almost always leave my WB set to Cloudy — I mean, doesn’t it just look delicious?). I brought some small objects to practice on and this was one of them.

And finally, one participant was picked up by her man and her little man. We took some time to practice with the little man before she left. And look at how dedicated she is. I know you can’t really tell in this picture, but she is expecting another little one.

So if you’ve made it this far and are still reading, how about a big round of applause for these brave ladies! They rocked those cameras and I am so proud to have been a part of it.

Feel free to leave them some blog love, also.