Earlier this year I told myself, “I want to learn photography.” It is almost instinct when you move to any area with a mountain in sight. No model can play with lighting or angles like a large rock in the sky. I took a photography class in high school, but it is not a lie when I say it was without a doubt the worst taught class I have taken throughout my years of education; I remember nothing. A couple of days later I told my mother, “I want to learn photography.” I can only imagine the shock on her face as I relayed my message. About a month later, she brought me my father’s camera which is a Sony Cyber-shot camera of some sort that had not opened its eye to see the world since a family trip in February 2020 (more information on the camera will be supplied in a more informed blog post). The camera at a glance is very nice and seems professional enough in its matte black shell. It has a large sticker on the top reading “63x Optical Zoom,” which I imagine to be a good number. A round number would have been better, even if it ended in a five, but I am new to this. Worst case scenario I climb higher and venture further, a simple excuse to play.

The first day I took the camera out, I forgot one small detail. It was a simple one really but did need to be addressed in order to move forward; I have no idea how to work this camera or any camera. Why can’t every camera just be like an iPhone? With those, I can tap on the screen to create focus and instantly think of myself as a Roger Deakins prototype taking nature photos for your grandma’s calendar. With this Sony camera, I have identified that it has 8 modes for the simple task of taking a photo. When I said earlier that I wanted to learn photography at the time, I more or less just wanted to take a simple picture here and there when the opportunity struck. About 20 minutes into this new hobby, I managed to turn the camera on and briefly blind myself with the delayed flash. I phoned my father for advice but discovered that no one in my family knows how this thing works besides how to turn it on and click the button that takes a picture. And so with that, I put the camera away and picked up my phone to take pictures.

The camera sat on a shelf for 5 months where I would occasionally glance at it and feel disappointed in myself for not sticking with an emerging passion. However, after a long semester and an eagerness to get outside, I eventually came to my senses and realized my time in Fernie is quickly coming to a close. Before last semester ended, I told myself I would attempt to learn photography again during the summer. Now with EDTC 300, I have an excuse to play with my camera and talk about it.

For my learning project, my goal is to learn the basics of photography and how to properly work a camera to its fullest potential. I will use several locations throughout the Kootenay region for my models as I will be driving around a lot this summer when I am not working. My plan for the first couple of classes is to do research on photography and cameras in general by getting used to the terms, what they mean, and how they look in practice. I will also learn how to transfer my images onto my laptop in order for everyone to actually see my progress. By understanding cameras and photography terms better, I will be able to better utilize my camera in order to understand what it can do with its different modes and how/when they are used. As I begin to comprehend the intricacies of photography, my hope is that images will show developing knowledge of what works best for the situation and model I am photographing. However, I want the most important aspect of my learning project to be my willingness to experiment and try new things with this camera so I can finally give photography a fair shot. Experimentation ideas I have at this point are comparisons to iPhone cameras, how lighting affects taking black and white photos, and even what type of weather is easiest to photograph. I simply want to try new things and have fun doing them. In the next blog post, I will discuss the research I have done regarding how to operate a camera and the basics of photography. This research will help my handling of the camera for all of my future blog posts. The only thing I fear is the possibility that the pictures taken with my iPhone will always turn out better.