Last night was the second session of Warren Mitchell’s Beyond the Basics photography class. Mackenzie is in San Diego, so I was without a partner in crime.

Warren has been discussing important pieces of photographic equipment. Last week he stated that “photography begins with a tripod.” That’s fine. I have a tripod. This week he advocated nice tripods. I don’t have one of those, and shooting during the past few days has helped me understand the ways in which my tripod is barely adequate.

Last night, Warren also stressed that “lens hoods are absolutely essential“. I don’t have one of those, either.

J.D.: “Photography kinda seems like an expensive hobby.”
Class: Knowing laughter

So far, I find the class rather overwhelming.

When I took computer classes in 1999, the assignments sometimes intimidated me. We’d get an assignment like “implement an address book C++ using a doubly-linked list and appropriate classes – use inheritance” and my heart would sink. How could I possibly complete the assignment in a week? Linked lists were scary!

(Of course, linked lists became less scary with time, and as each week progressed I developed a solution to the problem in time to complete the assignment, and usually earned an A.)

These photography assignments are equally daunting. The final project especially so: we’re to develop a two-minute-seventeen-second slide show to accompany Louis Armstrong’s version of “It’s a Wonderful World”.

At the end of last night’s meeting, we shared the prints we took last week. Our assignment was to photograph trees. Here are four of my photographs (click a thumbnail to open a new window with a larger version of the image):

Our next assignment?

Warren: “I want you to get closer this week.”
Student: “What do you want us to shoot?”
Warren: “Patterns.”
Student: “That’s it? Patterns?”
Warren: “Patterns. And rain.”

At least I have more photograph ideas involving patterns than I did photograph ideas involving trees.

As I was driving home from the photography class, KMHD played a haunting, beautiful rendition of “Autumn Leaves”. “Autumn Leaves” isn’t one of my favorite standards, but the singer, Eva Cassidy, had a strong, clear voice that spoke of heart-ache, of love lost, never to be regained. The acoustic guitar accompaniment was perfect.

Autumn Leaves
(English lyrics by Johnny Mercer)

The falling leaves drift by my window,
The autumn leaves of red and gold.
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sunburned hands I used to hold.

Since you went away the days grow long,
And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song,
But I miss you most of all, my darling,
When autumn leaves start to fall.

I’ve heard of Eva Cassidy before, but I’ve never paid her much attention. Perhaps I should.