Photography, quite literally, means “drawing with light”. We use photographs to preserve history and memories. We use photographs to communicate what is important to us. We use photographs to share something of wonder and beauty that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. With a photograph, we can transport someone anywhere on the globe to a place we have been. Another person gets to stand next to us on that mountain top or kneel with us in the dappled light of a tree to look at the soft petals of a flower at sunrise.
In Photography class we learn about composition and balance and how to capture a portrait or action shot. We experience the challenge of close-up photography and discover what styles of images we like.
Students are also challenged to “work a scene”. You see, a photographer rarely captures a fantastic shot with a single press of the shutter button. The reality is that it is after this first shot where the challenge can begin, namely, the challenge of taking up the chase to capture what is seen in the mind’s eye. Sometimes we win. Sometimes we lose. But every time we can learn.
Above all else, students in this class learn to become better photographers – to learn how to paint with light more expertly, more convincingly, and more beautifully. And hopefully, this passion called photography is something that will be a source of pleasure and wonder into the future.