Salud, I send you warm greetings and wishes for good health. 

Welcome back from the last beginner session of the Canon-Academy for the year 2024, held on the 28th of September 2024 at the MCI Hub in Kabalagala. 

I learned that when you are preparing to facilitate a beginner session, the element of surprise can be a very good ally. 

I like a class that sizzles with challenge, as much as I love a class that is not afraid to ask questions and be present to learn.

During the session, my jaw dropped and I had no hurried inclination to pick it up but watch the class blend instead. 

The room was exceptional because it had people that had never interacted with a professional camera at all, but were interested in learning and curious enough to sign up to attend the training. 

On the flip side of the coin, I had people that have worked with cameras extensively. 

That would have made it seem like there was an invisible line drawn across the room on the spectrum of knowledge but no, I saw what happens when people are human enough to be patient and answer their colleagues who didn’t know a thing, I saw what happens when people are confident enough to express what they know and more, that when people are gathered in a room, it’s refreshing to hear someone say “Hey, what if you looked at Jpeg as the AI version of this?” that much richness in a beginner session. 

I discussed how a story told through a lens could change dramatically. For instance, the same photo of a building can look like it was taken by a travel tourist with the building standing by a busy dock that’s just quietened down, to looking like it was taken by a journalist reporting on a religious event, same photo, same building, different perspectives. 

That takes me back; everything you do in photography is going to be determined by what, where, when and why. So before you consider buying equipment, have you figured out what kind of photography you like? Have you acquired the knowledge you need to inform your purchase. 

I talked about the things that could seem casual but important to photographers; why do you hold a camera the way you do? Why is it good etiquette to replace your lens caps after use? 

I also took the class down history lane from pinhole cameras, point and shoot, the DSLR and the now coveted mirror-less era, emphasizing that, a mastery of your camera settings will always set you apart in the field. 

If you have missed the beginner sessions this year, consider this a reminder to mark your calendars for the 2025 sessions. Knowledge can never go out of fashion. 

Keep a look out for the last intermediate training of the year. 

Until then, 

Watsemba Miriam 

 

 

 

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments