"I feel like I'm in 'Far Side'"

so many instructions...


Photography class is... interesting. The more I'm there the more befuddled I get. I tend to overly simplify things so I can understand something, but clearly I'm only turning myself around further.

However, I am not the only one who feels/felt that way.

At the end of class last night, the teacher invited us to take turns practicing with objects on a table. Being that there were about 30 of us, plenty of us had to wait for our turn in the paparazzi line. The white-haired men, the pros, had a cluster of about three people around them, watching as they animatedly explained something technical. The teen girls were wide-mouthed, wide-eyed, giggling. Others stared at the camera in their hands with puzzled looks. I was one of the latter, until I realized something: this was really a prime people-watching opportunity. Everyone was distracted, and quite expressive in his or her own way. I found the general mayhem of confused camera-folk far more intriguing as subjects than the objects on the table.

One man, who I quickly decided was far more interesting than them all, looked as if he wanted to cry. His face was red, and he switched from staring at his camera with furrowed brows to staring at the people around him with a look that clearly said, "I am the only person here who is not getting any of this. I am such an idiot." He left with this same rather crumpled expression, carrying his big camera and tripod, and at this point the teacher paused in helping me to ask him how it was going. He made a face.

"I don't know... I feel like I'm in a 'Far Side' cartoon," he said (Far Side featuring lolling, overweight men with the IQs of cattle).

Teacher said something reassuring, but the guy didn't seem to buy it, only nodding vaguely as if he weren't listening. I would have said something to him, but he seemed a little angry as well so I decided against it. For privacy's sake I'll refrain from posting any of my group "spy" photos, including this fellow.

However, here are a few (the best, ha) that I took at home this week, experimenting with aperture. Editing helps. I really don't think I'm getting it, but this is one thing you learn from college: you have to give yourself time to learn something new, like something as huge as 'photography,' and not expect one source to be your one-stop shopping for understanding it completely (although I'm hopeful this class will teach a lot).

Shots:




















































And here's a link to classmate Anna's photos from last week as well.