Traditional photography instruction is very valuable if it's complete and detailed. Whether you eventually shoot digital or film, an in-depth understanding of exposure and the various parameters that affect your work will serve you well. You can learn a lot from books. My favorites are the three Ansel Adams books: the camera, the negative, and the print. These can take you way beyond the basics, but they require serious study. Once you've mastered the technical details, the transition to digital is simple. Digital cameras work in a very similar manner. There are some differences in the way the sensor records a scene as opposed to film, but there are differences from one type of film to another anyway. Learn as much as you can.
> You know I am beginning to wonder if I would be wasting money to go to > school...I can't afford to go to someplace like UC, and the two junior > colleges out here seem to be stuck in the dark ages in so far as > photography goes. One barely has a program. The other, it's pretty > bad. City College seems viable, and has a good program I am told, but > then again 99% of it is geared towards traditional photography, at > least so far as I can tell though they do seem to be adding more > digital stuff towards the end. I think I can still learn a lot there, > but I'm not sure I can learn everything I want to... > > I'm told the Harvey Milk Center has a good program and I am likely > doing some swapping in so far as skills with an instructor there. I've > got lots of digital imaging skills because I was a graphic designer > trainee before I got hurt, and I am swapping him some digital work for > help with the basics of regular photography. They do seem to have a > wonderful lab set up. So I am thinking I may just go that route and > take a class at a time there as I can. It's far cheaper than most of > the colleges and while I won't have an AS degree at the end, I'll > still have the skills.... > > This is a second career for me, and it's what I'd like to do with rest > of my life. I have some medical problems which are making it difficult > for me physically, and I don't know that I'll make it much past 65 > maybe. I'm almost 40 now, so I decided that if am going to be stuck > being disabled and sick, I am going to do what I want, and not just > rot on SS income....I'm not likely to get married or have kids, The > "work" is my life, and I feel it has to have more meaning than just > collecting a paycheck. > > I wanna leave something behind, even if it is just a few pretty pictures, > and > will do whatevr I have to do to accomplish that even if it means > teaching myself from books. It wouldn't be ideal but it wouldn't be > the first time either... > > I mean to have a lil studio in 3 years. I'm going to do mostly > portrait stuff, kids, animals, people. Maybe catalog or magazine work > if I can get it. I'm not aiming to be some hot shot. I just want to > make a living and shoot what I want on the side...Fill my life up with > something meaningful so that I can enjoy whatever time I do have. I'm > likely to be doing that partly from a wheelchair at some point, but I > don't mean to let it slow me down....much.... > > PQ > > > > On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 10:30:15 +0000 (GMT), Kostas Kavoussanakis > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Fri, 14 Jan 2005, Cotty wrote: > > > > > On 13/1/05, n/a, discombobulated, unleashed: > > > > > > >That surprises me because my future teacher that I spoke to seemed to > > > >think I was premature in predicting that the pros were focusing more > > > >in digital. She was pretty admant about telling me that I needed to > > > >"rethink" my idea of mostly being a digital photographer. > > > > > > [snip] > > > > > > Well there you are. The last people you should listen to are teachers! > > > > Good point. Here is another point: as far as I understand, the lass > > with no name wants to learn photography. She can do most of that with > > any camera and leave the digi vs film dust to settle on its own. A > > learner (in my opinion) need not have strong opinions, open eyes and > > ears will do. > > > > Kostas > > > > >
