Manual Override

Now that I have 4 full weeks of photo class under my belt I would like to proudly share with you what I've learned.

- I can take the camera off automatic and shoot manual exposures
- I can use the histogram
- I can use the highlights thingy
- I can upload and organize my photos in lightroom (yet another photo editing and managing software)
- I can sort of edit them and fix the exposures that I messed up
- I can use most of the buttons on the back of the camera and the wheels (yup it has wheels)
- I know how to get to the different modes on the back
- I can fix the white balance
- I move my body into position instead of zooming in (which distorts the shot)

Things I can't really do
- Upload from lightroom to flickr (total pain in the behind)
- Figure out what a few of the buttons do
- Use most of what is in the menus
- Reliable shoot manually without a whole lot of trial and error
- Automatically figure out which way to turn the wheel to fix the exposure
- Most everything else

When I get the exposure right there is a great improvement in the image quality, it has a lovely depth and that rich quality that I admire so much. The more I take pictures in manual, which is very tedious, the easier it gets for me to figure it out and the more freedom I have in composing the picture. It is the exact opposite of what I thought would happen. I had resisted the class for a while (as had my dad) on the basis that worrying about the technical aspects would ruin my composition.

I haven't shot anything very interesting on manual (like an afternoon at coney) but I'll force myself to shoot in manual with occasional breakdowns into automatic when I need to shoot quickly.