Photo Journal: Back to the Basics, by Tina M. Austin

I've decided that I am going to spend this summer improving my photography skills. In order to do that I need to go back to the basics so that I can understand how to use my DSLR camera from the inside out. I've enrolled in an 11-weeks photo course, thanks to my resourceful sister Sharon, at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago. The class is a small intimate group of mainly women (and one guy) who like me have planned their own creative summer projects. Our first class was on aperture, shutter speed, and ISO (my instructor refers to ISO as "Is the Sun Out"). They call this trio the Exposure Triangle and I find this sheet below re-enforces those very basic photography skills.

Our first homework assignment was to take your camera off the automatic mode and practice these new skills in the manual setting. With an agenda of weekly homework assignments planned, I recognize that my Canon Rebel and I will become best-friends quickly ... where I go my camera shall follow. Here are some of my practice shots using the manual setting. I found all kinds of interesting things to photograph in the park near the lake front.