The course junkie strikes again

Copyright Brisbane College of Photography & Art
Ok. I have a confession to make. I'm a course junkie. Always have been, and, no doubt, always will be.

I've done a few photography workshops in the last 18 months, and while they were awesome, I found that there was a lot of information to take in on these intensive all day courses. Perhaps I'm a slow learner, but I think I definitely absorb technical information (such as theory about aperture, exposure, guide numbers and f-stops) slowly. S-l-o-w-l-y I say. Not even the new glasses and supposed increase in IQ are helping my information absorption and retention rates these days. I need time to think about what I'm learning, play with the camera settings, experiment, and generally take A LOT of pictures while I put a particular technique into practice.

So, in the interests of improving the consistency of my photography, and specifically my understanding of the magical element in any photo, light, I signed up for the 8-week Colour Level 1 course at the Brisbane College of Photography & Art in Fortitude Valley.

I did an 8-week photoshop workshop last semester with them, and liked the 2-hour a night, 1-night a week format. It gave this slow learner time to experiment, ask questions and practice - which I reckon is ultimately what it all comes down to.

This course covers everything from exposure and metering, to on and off camera flash work, and all sorts of other little tips along the way. It started tonight!

Our lecturer, Steve Lispet is an architectural photographer and Canon shooter - so he must know what he's talking about. (And, what's more, what is it about Steve's and photography???)  :).

He gave us a refresher of the relationship between aperture and shutter speed, which I'd heard before. BUT, it was great to go over it again, having taken some 30,000 images since the last time I did a workshop that talked about the same stuff, and with a far better practical understanding of what it all meant.

The fact that Steve shoots with a 5D II is brilliant, because he's now going to be my personal help manual for the next 8 weeks. Gotta love that as you're working your way round a new camera!

I also learnt a few little tips about getting the correct exposure for shooting weddings - making the whites whiter and the blacks blacker, which is handy, cos I've been invited to tag along to shoot one the weekend after next. That's a tad scaryciting (scaryciting = as scary as it is exciting), but that's a whole other blog post.

We were given an assignment too. It's all about seeing the different quality and colour of light around sunset at various intervals. Methinks Southbank or the Kangaroo Point cliffs will get a bit of a visit some time this weekend. Stay tuned!

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