Thoughts on my first week in the classroom.

Wow.

That pretty much sums it up.

I just finished my first two photography classes (first lecture from each class). I have taken so many notes and already learned so many things. About my camera, art, but especially about myself. There was a moment in my Photographing People class tonight when I was overwhelmed with this feeling of excitement, desire and inspiration. It was while we were watching a video (on VHS by the way, it has been awhile!) about William Allard, a photographer for National Geographic. He was speaking of getting involved with the subjects in your photos. That good pictures are made for you, not for some agenda. They capture connections and emotions and that's extremely hard to capture from a distance. He said that you have to care about the story. You don't have to necessarily like or dislike the story, but you cannot be indifferent. I love the thought of capturing moments and experiences that move me, not just the scene.

I wanted to be sure I remembered that moment I had sitting in the dark classroom watching a short video about the experiences of a man I'd never even heard of before that class. These are the notes I wrote in that dark classroom:

I am inspired.
Influenced.
I feel full and excited. Consumed.
I don't want to do anything else.

That last one is a big one for me. My whole life I've never known what I wanted to be. I've always known I have this creative streak, but I've only dabbled in different things. I have stumbled across this strong pull to photography and I am energized to explore it. It really brings together my other interests; travel, learning, people, challenge, creation, art, design, expression.

I cannot wait for my field trips this Sunday. This is exciting!