Sunday we started off. All is well with the world. We are headed North on the thruway. The sun is shining. It is a beautiful day. But wait… Headed North, isn’t Delray South? Oops! Just a slight miscalculation. A quick U turn and we are on our way. Robbie’s artistic eye is seeing all these wonderful things to photograph. However I don’t think it would be a good idea to slam on the breaks while driving down the thruway, just to take a picture of an old building.

I was so excited to be going on this shoot. My photographic experience is to put my camera on auto, point, and shoot. Just as we pulled into the Japanese gardens it started to pour. My spirits sank. I thought we would have to turn around and just go home. Rob never hesitated. He just muttered a note about bringing rain gear next time.

First thing I learned was how to stand properly. Putting my left foot forward and holding my camera properly greatly reduced camera shake. Then I had a lesson on how to shoot in the aperture mode. Rob’s words. “The higher the f stop the more of the story you will see.” The lower f stop will blur your background . I also learned it is important to take a few pictures. Then take a break and review your pictures. Looking at mine revealed that I had strange white spots on my pictures. The cause was rain drops on my lens. Another lesson learned Always make sure you lens is clean. I also learned how to use the ev button. This allowed me to control the amount of light in my picture. Also it is very important to make sure that your camera is zeroed out. Having the wrong settings will greatly affect the color in the picture.

The last lesson that I learned was to arrive early. Then you have the time to take all the pictures that you want. The guards really don’t enjoy taking you by the collar and throwing you out.

Thank you Rob for a wonderful day. I learned so much!