Goal #23 – Attend a Photography Class/ Workshop

Since I work at the Denver Botanic Gardens, I have the opportunity to take classes for free, so when I found out that there were numerous photography classes offered throughout the year, I jumped at the chance and signed up for all of them.  The classes are led by Scott Dressel-Martin who has been the official photographer for the Gardens for many years.  Even though I work at the gardens and can walk around and take pictures every day if want to, I still like the opportunity to attend a class.  During the classes I have time to really focus on the picture taking (as opposed to trying to find some good stuff during a 15 minute break) and there is more freedom to spread out, stretch out, and really think about what I’m doing.

I believe I already know quite a bit about general photography skills and I have a good handle on my equipment, so I don’t always need the formal instruction part.  However, I do listen as much as possible because I believe that there is always something new I can learn.  If I come away from a class with at least one new tip or trick that makes my photography life easier or better, than I judge the class a success.

So far I’ve taken two classes at the gardens, one that took place around sunset and one that took place at sunrise (and needed a 5:30am start time!) and I learned one handy thing during each:

1. In low light situations, taking a burst of 3 or 4 photos should guarantee that at least one of them will be in sharp focus.  Most likely it will be the 2nd or 3rd one of the series b/c these are the photos taken while your finger is depressed on the shutter, therefore eliminating camera shake from your hands as you push down the shutter and bring your finger back up.

2. Photographing in the 15-2o minutes just before sunrise and just after sunset provides beautiful, soft, light, and nice saturated colors.  I’ve heard about this ‘skylight’ before, but this is the first time I have really had a chance to work with it.  It still requires relatively high ISO’s and a steady hand, but I know this is the kind of light I’ll be loving with wedding photography.

Below are some of the results from my two classes.  I’ll be taking more classes in the coming months and I’m going to challenge myself to use my clunky tripod in the next ones so I can work with lower ISO’s.  I definitely need to get an easier-to-use tripod in the near future.

Here’s to checking goal #23 off my 101 Goals in 1001 Days list!


Just before sunrise, the air is really still which made photographing the pond much easier.  Without ripples on the surface or swaying stems, I was able to use slower shutter speeds as long as I braced the camera against camera shake during exposure.

This is my absolute favorite shot from my sunrise class.
I never knew that you could get such vibrant colors in a reflection, but this is the result of that beautiful pre-sunrise skylight.

Once the early rays of sun were over the horizon, I was able to lower my ISO and capture some smaller details that I wasn’t able to get
with a handheld camera in lower light.

Trying a few shots with direct backlighting.  I’m looking forward to trying this with people instead of plants!

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