Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

School is finally over for another year.  The strike is over for another year.  It's time to relax.  Jen had me make a list of things I wanted to accomplish this summer.  One of them was to get back to blogging.  Working last summer really took the steam out of my blogging and I'm hoping to get my mojo back this summer.  We're travelling a bit this summer which will give me a little bit more to write about.  So here is the first of what will turn into many interesting blog posts.

I have been taking a camera course for the past couple of weeks.  This has made it a pretty hectic last couple of weeks of school.  Between baseball, camera course and nerd club, I'm busy every night of the week.  I  paid quite a bit of money for this course.  I had it recommended by a friend and I really wanted to get deeper into my camera so I could use it as more than an ultra-expensive point and shoot.  So, far the course has been underwhelming.  The first class was spent finding the basic buttons on our cameras.  I am someone who actually reads the manual, so I knew where 90% of the controls were and had a pretty good idea where to find the other 10%.  Unfortunately, most of the other students couldn't find much more than the power switch.  So, I sat with my thumb up my but while I waited for the instructor to help all the people without a clue.  Since then, we have talked about a lot of information that a quick perusal of a photography site or a Google search would have turned up quickly.  They have also been covered in such little detail  as to make the information not much more useful than a Google search.  Luckily, the last class was about shutter speed.  We looked at what it did (which I knew) but what you can do by changing it and also what kinds of speeds work best in what sorts of situations.  I also have some homework to do, so I'll be out shooting and actually getting somewhere.  Hopefully, things are looking up.

I may seem overly critical of my course, but it is true that teachers make the worst students.  I have spent the last five years developing curriculum for little people with a short attention span.  I also realize that there are lots of people who learn better when doing than just listening.  My course would be infinitely better with a few less handouts and more time hands-on.

Complaints done.  Happy Canada Day!