But this time without the plaid skirt and mandatory closed heel and toe shoes

As the calendar page was turning from 2007 to 2008, I was looking at the horizon of the new year and asking myself what I wanted to see there. Knowledge, that's what I wanted to see there. I decided that I was going to study or take a course each month of the year, or as they were available, on something that I found of interest.

On Saturday, I attended an all-day course in photography. You might be thinking, wait a minute, she already knows about photography. And you're right, I do. But as cameras have become more sophisticated over the years, I got lazy and relied more and more on the in-camera settings, and as on-line editing sites became more sophisticated, I began to rely on them to change the auto-shot picture to what I had wanted in the first place. I can get the same look I'm after, but it doesn't feel pure -- forgive the uppity term but it's the truth -- to rely on automatic and then post photo editing. I like the results, to be sure, but there is no feeling of satisfaction because there's no skill involved. Take the four pictures of the trees I posted before this post. I like those shots, I do, but my only involvement was how I framed them in the viewfinder. The camera did the work, and then I played with a few editing tools, and there you have it.

What's missing from those shots though is me. And what's missing from me is that feeling of being there, and the feeling of being content with the results of something that I created.

I wanted to get back to basics, to take my finger off the automatic settings that are so easy to rely on and start to use my eye again, to consider light and dark again, to meter again, to set up the shot that I wanted and nail it. To do that, I had to take a refresher course.

On Saturday, that's what I did. And what fun it was! The course dusted off the knowledge I'd discarded from college photography courses, primarily the necessary math of balancing f-stops and shutter speeds. It also re-ignited my passion for composition, my eye for light, my feel for balance. It reminded me that I love looking through the lens. I love the light and the shapes. It reminded me of who I am, and who I am is someone who looks at the world with a camera in mind.