light {you capture}

At the beginning of the year, I faithfully linked up with You Capture each week.  It helped occupy me with something fun and "pretty" to do while the rest of my life was a little disorganized.  But lately, it has been pushed to the side by all the little things in life that make us "busy."

So, why link up this week?

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I'm taking an online workshop that teaches the technical foundation of taking pictures:  the exposure triangle, setting white balance, basic composition, etc.  A small part of our assignment last week was "finding the light," so, part of the reason is because I conveniently had taken multiple pictures that would fit the theme.  While there are probably many things wrong with this photo, technically speaking, I was really proud of it and would like to add that it is completely untouched...straight out of the camera.

And the other reason?

I'm just finishing up my fourth and final week in the Clickin' Moms Shooting 101 workshop and can't believe how much technical knowledge I've gained. The class could be called "photography boot camp," and I feel I have learned more in four weeks than I have in the past three years of scouring the internet.  I can now honestly say I have a firm grasp on how to take a great picture straight out of the camera.  Now all I need is about 50,000 frames of practice and I might be confident in the actual execution of those concepts.  I have known about Clickin' Moms for a couple of years, but was reluctant to pay for information that is widely available elsewhere for free.  But now, I can honestly say, it has been worth every penny spent (even if some of that money was my parents').

So, to get to my point:  I probably never would have signed up for this course if it had not come so highly recommended by Beth (the lovely lady who hosts You Capture each week, as well as being wife, mother to four, and fantastic photographer, for those of you who don't know her).  It is likely Beth has never even visited my blog, but she has played a small part in helping me enjoy something I've grown to love:  taking pretty pictures.  It really makes you appreciate this crazy thing we call the internet and the connections that can be made when it is used properly.

Click here to enjoy Beth's lovely "light" photos, and all the others that have linked up this week.

*** I just want to add that neither Clickin' Moms or Beth have asked me to promote them, their business, or their websites.  I know several women who have recently purchased a camera, or have their eye on a new one, and there is nothing I would love more than to share my love of photography with them.  I would highly recommend either of these sources if you are interested in learning how to take better pictures.