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Back to School!

January 29, 2008 by Nicole 31 Comments

Canon AE-1 Camera

I have an exciting announcement. Well, it’s exciting for me, we’ll see what you think. I am taking my very first photography class! The class is Basic Black and White Photography and I will be using my mom’s Canon AE-1 Program.

The last time I used this camera, I was in elementary school taking photos for 4-H. I guess the 4-H thing could be considered my first photography class but we didn’t learn much about camera operation other than point and shoot. And I was the only kid without a fully automatic camera, which of course I thought was terrible!

But I entered those 4-H photos in the fair and I won second or third place for a photo of the front end of my parents’ 1950 Studebaker Commander. The title of the photo was ‘1950 Stude’ and it was framed in a yellow mat. I don’t know what happened to it but I remember exactly what it looked like. If you looked closely at the photo, you could see my reflection in the chrome. I was kneeling down with the camera and was wearing a green Howard Bulldogs t-shirt (my elementary school). Strange the things we remember.

That was the end of my brief adolescent stint with photography. It took 20 years for me to pick it up again, but this time I think it’s gonna stick.

When I arrived at my sister’s house in November, she brought a box into the room and said, “do you want this?” It was my mom’s camera, complete with flash, three lenses, and all of the original boxes, paperwork, and instruction manuals. In the 9 years since my mom died, I had completely forgotten about the camera. My sister had taken it because at that time, she was more interested in photography than I was. But it has been sitting in storage and neither one of us has used it for years.

I had already been thinking about taking photography classes when I got back to the states but when my sister walked into the room with my mom’s camera, it was like everything had fallen into place. I got online and found out about the photography program at City College. I managed to enroll at the last minute and even got the out-of-state tuition fees waived. I had been waitlisted for the class because they were all full by the time I got registered. But as of yesterday, I am officially enrolled in the class. So here I am, 20 years later, taking my first photography class with the first camera I ever used.

Going back to film is a little daunting now that I’ve become so reliant on the instant gratification of digital cameras. But it’s also exciting because I know that learning the basics will make me a better digital photographer. And I can’t wait for our first day in the darkroom tomorrow!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Andrea says

    January 31, 2008 at 1:30 pm

    Yipee!! I wanted to take a photography class so bad, but all they had were college classes and they were like 5 hours a day. So happy for you though!!
    Reply
  2. renee says

    January 31, 2008 at 5:01 pm

    oh how wonderful and special! i am so excited for you! just the other day, i started to really understand aperture. i hope to one day enroll in a class like yours. you go girl!
    Reply
  3. VeggieGirl says

    January 31, 2008 at 5:09 pm

    oh I THOROUGHLY enjoyed all my photography courses back in high school - a lot of work, but so much fun and very rewarding/worthwhile!! good luck, Nicole, and enjoy!! :0)
    Reply
  4. scottb says

    February 1, 2008 at 7:23 pm

    I think I learned on the same camera (or very close cousin to it) I lived in the darkroom my Sr. year of High School and Freshman year of college. Was the photo editor as a freshman - which basically helped me get over the photo bug! Was a good time though, back in the pre-digital days.
    Reply
  5. David says

    February 3, 2008 at 12:20 pm

    I still use film along side my digital. In certain situations, film is a much better choice than digital, especially in low light and very bright conditions. And, a film camera is much more rugged than a digital. You'll do great in your photography class.
    Reply
  6. leslie says

    February 3, 2008 at 8:58 pm

    Oh, Nicole!! My very first camera is a canon AE1. I love it so much. That's what I used for my first photog class. I am actually looking into taking some more classes too. Good luck, it will be so much fun
    Reply
  7. Evie says

    February 5, 2008 at 1:11 pm

    Nicole, that's so exciting!!! I borrowed my sister's film Rebel because it can use the same lenses as mine and I have yet to use the thing because I'm afraid to waste the film!! I can't wait to read and see what photos you take with that camera. Have fun in your class!
    Reply
  8. Maryann says

    February 5, 2008 at 8:46 pm

    You must be naturally talented then, because your photography is amazing :)
    Reply
  9. janelle says

    February 7, 2008 at 11:18 am

    COOL, I am salivating at the thought of photography classes. I am falling more and more in love with photos... speaking of which, next (probably monday) I am posting your mini cheesecake recipe AND sending people over to your site to look at YOUR photo because, well, your photo is gorgeous:)... By the way, they were YUM.
    Reply
  10. Nicole says

    February 7, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    Natalie: You aren't kidding! This is turning out to be a very expensive class! Luckily community college tuition in California is very very reasonable and we get several hours a week in the darkroom as part of the class. But equipment/film/paper costs are already getting out of control! :-) Cynthia: I'll do my best to keep you guys updated on what we're learning. Right now I'm feeling completely lost in the darkroom! I'll have some of my first prints by next week and I'll scan a few and put them up here. Corinne: You'll just have to take a night class at FCC one of these days. I think you'd really like it! And I'm sure someone in the family has a manual 35mm camera you could borrow (NOT MINE!) hahaha :-) Susan: I hope you do dig that old camera out. It's been a lot of fun so far! Andrea: Hopefully you can find a class that's a bit less time consuming. My class meets twice a week for 3 hours each class. Of course we have to spend quite a bit of time behind the camera when we're not in class, too. Renee: This class is really helping me to get a better grasp on exposure. Everything is finally starting to click! VeggieGirl: Thanks! ScottB: I really wish I would have done this in high school or my first round of college! But like I said in my post, I guess this is the time in life that I'm supposed to be learning this :-) David: Thanks for the vote of confidence! I think I'll eventually do the same, use both film and digital side by side. :-) Leslie: Now that I'm getting used to this camera, I'm really enjoying it! It felt strange to be switching cameras after using my digital one for so long but this one is starting to feel good in my hands. And, like David said, this camera is much more rugged than my digital. I'm really glad I'm able to use it for this class! Evie: I have the 35mm Rebel Ti and most of my lenses are interchangeable between that and my digital. Once I get comfortable using this older Canon, I'll probably switch back to the modern one. I just wanted to force myself to use only manual controls and focusing during this first class :-) Maryann: Thanks so much! It just comes from lots of reading, lots of studying other photos on flickr and food blogs, and asking lots of questions to other foodbloggers/food photographers :-) Janelle: Thanks! Which mini cheesecakes did you make? The cherry cheesecake photo was one of the first food photos I took that I really really liked :-) It seems like so long ago but I guess it hasn't been that long!
    Reply
  11. mari says

    February 9, 2008 at 2:05 pm

    HI there, I found you through the very awesome Bloglily. Well, I'm excited that you're going to study photography. I think I need to take some classes and I was thinking that it would be better to take a class in 'traditional' photography to better understand the real fundamentals (aperture, film speed and so on). I still have my first camera, a cute little Olympus OMG which I put aside once I got a digital camera. But now I'm occasionally at a loss about how to use my newest digi-camera with all its bells and whistles. Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading about your photography adventures. best, m
    Reply
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