eSSAY

[eleanor]

LESSLesson II assignment

Photography has been a big part of my life since I was just a little girl. My parents introduced me to photography at a very young age. They always had a camera around – most of the pictures involved people. I was given my first camera, a Brownie, around the age of 10 and have never been without a camera since, I am now 67.

I don’t believe we really paid much attention to composition back then, just to get everyone in the picture. My first serious attempt to learn about Photography was as a project for 4-H. We learned something about composition and subject matter. It was still very limited but I began to plan my pictures and what I could do to take the unusual one.

I have always been aware of what was around me and can remember watching cloud formations while working in the fields on the farm in Michigan. I would watch the clouds changing shapes and what objects they looked like and how I wanted to take pictures of every cloud formation. Of course, on the tractor it was not possible but this experience began to really influence my composition and understanding of what I wanted in a picture.

There was one professional photographer, the father of a neighbor, who took pictures for the Arizona Highways, a slick magazine that came out several times a year. I would imagine that I was taking those pictures and seeing what he saw through a camera lens.

Most of my pictures are of landscapes and nature. We live on a small lake here in Shreveport, Louisiana and have lots of wildlife in the area. I keep my camera on the kitchen counter always ready to take a shot at some antics of a squirrel, profile of a Heron, baby ducks, hummingbirds, flowers, etc. Probably the once in a lifetime shot was of a mama Opossum and her two, out of three babies, on her back. She had gotten into a box we had for the ducks to nest in and had eaten her breakfast of the two eggs. that were in the box, and then took a nap. My husband removed the sides of the box and she was left there with the babies. I was able to get within a few feet of her and she just watched me but didn’t try to leave.

I retired three years ago and had wanted to get into Photography to be able to sell some pictures. My intention was to take some courses on line and get started. I finally got the bug again just recently after taking the pictures for our church Pictorial Directory. I had never taken portraits before, so I got on line and review all I could find on portraits. I was surprised at the quality of the pictures. My candid shots inside the sanctuary were coming out too red – white balance, I learned after researching the problem. This experience really got me in the mood to learn all I could about my camera’s features.

I hope that I can say after the course, you folks had a profound impact on the quality of my pictures.

Ann Bremer
ON #2

[Duncan Rawlinson]

What a great essay. Thank you for sharing that story with us. Yes, white balance is a big issue with a lot of photographers. Unfortunately many new digital camera´s don´t allow for manual control of white balance so you are left with whatever the camera provides you.

Thanks again for sharing that with us and I look forward to your next practical photography assignment!

All the best

[Author]

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