First post

I have started this photoblog because I have enrolled in some photography courses at UT, starting this month. I have gotten more and more into digital photography over the past few years until the point where I'd actually consider some of my photographs as art and not just pictures. I am using this post to list my goals or expectations of the classes and to serve as a baseline.

I am taking this class because although I have an eye for photography and have produced some nice results, I want to be a more knowledgeable and consistent photographer. Here is what I am hoping to learn in the first two courses (16 classes, 4 field trips):

• Truly understand and comprehend the relationships of aperture, shutter speed, ISO, EV, white balance, etc. I want to practice them so much that they become intuitive. I think of it like learning karate, how at first, I thought through the mechanics of the punches and kicks but now it is almost automatic.
  
• Learn how to use my light meter and manual controls of the Nikon D60 to get perfect exposures.
• Learn how to use my external bounce flash as needed.
• Learn how to use my home studio lighting to take studio quality portraits of my family.
• Learn how to shoot in extremely difficult lighting, such as late afternoon back lighting and at the martial arts school (fluorescent lighting, dark floors, white walls, mirrored wall, and high speed action)
  

In order to establish a baseline, I am going to post 5-10 of what I consider my best photographs before I start the course. After the two courses, I want to compare these photos against ones taken for the course work. That should give me a good idea of my progress.