Got Talent?

This week I finished my fourth digital photography class. Our assignment for this class was to bring in photos that we had to take while thinking about them printed in a square format. Square, as opposed to the traditional rectangle format. Seems like a simple change, but it does change the way you approach your subject. So off I went, thinking square.

Each week everyone breaks out their prints of that week’s assignment and we all look at them while the instructor critiques them. Let’s just say this process is a humbling experience for me each week. The only other woman in the class is doing her big project for the class on photos that represent important literature in her life (meanwhile I’m out shooting photos of daisies). One of the guys is experimenting with pinhole photography (I had to ask what the heck is pinhole photography?) and another is practicing on local wildlife while preparing for an upcoming safari (do photos of my cats count?). Their photographs are amazing and beautiful.

While I have moments where I think I should just put the camera in a drawer and forget about it, the truth is that I am inspired by the incredible amount of talent that is out there. It just makes me want to be better. So back to those weekly critiques; the one consistent comment my instructor makes is that he’d like to see my work in a large print . . . I’m talking something like 40 x 48 inches. Of course this is going to mean a new, more robust camera and a move to a larger house with more space to hang big huge prints!