helloMoni

Controlling my geekiness

Friday, September 19 2008

So I’ve learned that in order to get to my Photo class on time (by 6) on Thursday nights, I need to do two important things:

1. Leave by 5:15 PM – traffic on I-95N by the Blue Rocks Stadium was a bear! I sat for like 15-20 minutes without moving.
2. Remember not to park in the County Court House Parking Garage – it closes at 7PM – which resulted in me frantically driving out and searching for another spot that looked safe and well lit.

My first night was interesting – I was so excited to be going to a class that I chose, instead of a class that I had to go to. I was pretty nervous though – I’ve never been to art school before – what if I looked like a total dork? Or worse, too geeky?

Sometimes, I come across to people I’ve just met as too geeky. I have a tendency to talk too much when I’m nervous and I’m afraid that came make me come across as full of myself. I’m not – really I’m not – I guess I just have this rambling tendency that takes over when I’m not sure what to say. I had decided when I was walking in, that if we were asked to share about ourselves, that I would limit myself to five sentences or less. I’d share that I loved photography, had been doing it for a long time for fun, and that I wanted to step my skills up. I decided that sharing that I started a business would probably sound silly/strange/weird to the other students.

But when it was my turn, my rambling tendency took over – I shared the above AND that I had started my own business and was currently shooting weddings on my own. I so wanted to clap my hand over my mouth and make myself be quiet! In reality, I know I didn’t talk that much but I’m sure the instructor, and the other students in the class probably thought I was strange.

We didn’t do too much the first night. Since it is a continuing education class, the students seem to come from all walks of life, which should make class interesting. The instructor talked about the course expectations,  the basics of shooting, with a focus on white balancing, and gave us a handout about exposure. We took a few minutes to get our cameras out, I was a little disappointed about this because I had been hoping we’d shoot more the first day, and were divided into our respective gear groups – Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc… It was pretty evenly split. The instructor spent a few minutes showing everyone how meter and get into Manual mode. Oh yes, Manual mode is going to be my friend over the next 15 weeks. I’m not sure if I like him/her yet, but I did snap a few decent manual shots (despite the ugly overhead lighting).

I toted both of my bodies to the first class, which I won’t be doing in the future. It was overkill because I didn’t need both and it makes my bag heavy. Speaking of bags – according to Amazon, my new bag is arriving today – yea!