We came back from Japan, which was a lifetime's experience. I had barely scratched the surface of photography. I was treating my camera as a better version of my cell phone camera, keeping it in automatic mode. Shortly after coming back from Japan, we went on a long weekend trip to Maine. Specifically, the Cliff House Maine. While staying at this beautiful place, we took a photography course from Seacoast Photography School taught by David Mazur.
David taught us so many things during the course. Technical lessons on camera settings: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Art lessons on how to frame a photo, angles, and inspiration for creativity. Taking the camera out of automatic mode and forcing myself to be intentional with the act of photographing, was initially frustrating. Too slow of the shutter speed and the photo is blurry. Too small of the aperture size and the photo becomes very noisy.
Every now and then, with enough patience and willingness to learn, things started to click. These photos tell the story of how we studied the environment, envisioned an idea of a photo, and manipulated the camera to capture the moment. It was the turning point of intentionality, of seeking meaning behind the act of capturing a photo.
