A Less Than Satisfactory End To Unit 4

Well, I'm not overly happy with my test results for Unit 4 (I got my first B,) and there are 1 or two of them which I definitely shouldn't have missed. Apparently there was at least one "not" that I somehow missed, as in "Which one of these is NOT an advantage?" I swear I read all the questions correctly, but that's not how my test score came out. Oh well, it's been submitted now, and I can't take it back. This is a section I'll have to study more though, because lighting is one of the most important aspects of photography. I'm sure I'll have a better grasp of it once I actually start to shoot my photo projects for Unit 4.

That being said, I still have to shoot my pictures for Unit 2, and all of this rain is not making that very easy. True, I COULD shoot the pictures indoors, but that would be rather boring, and wouldn't have the best lighting, especially since we're not supposed to be adding any additional lighting (other than the camera's pop-up flash) at this point. So I'm having to wait for this lousy weather to clear up. I guess I can't complain too much though. It is the middle of winter, and the temperatures have been in the 50s and 60s for the most part.

I think I'm going to hold off on starting the Unit 5 training materials, and focus on getting my photo assignments for Units 2-4 submitted first. I LOVE learning new material, but I'm getting too far ahead of myself. And Unit 5 covers some things I'm really interested in (i.e. - Photojournalism,) so I want to take my time with that material and fully absorb it. (I can hear some of you out there saying, "You probably should have done the same thing with the lighting material from Unit 4!") All I can say to that is...yes, I probably should have. But it's a journey, and the important part isn't the destination, it's the path you take along the way. I will absorb the information more readily as I put the techniques into practice.

So I guess that's about it for now. I have to submit a couple of payment to NYIP, and then they will send me my final Unit of study, Unit 6. Then I should have all the materials, and will be able to work through them at my own pace. Now, if I can just get things rolling with all these photo projects I have to do! :-)

Winter Update

Well, on one of the few days that have actually felt somewhat like winter here in Georgia, I'm back on my computer again, and back editing pictures. I've also almost wrapped up Unit 4 of my training, at least the reading part. I have the "Location Portraiture" booklet to read, and then I have to watch and listen to all of the audio/visual materials and take the Unit test online, but then I will be ready to move onto Unit 5, which I'm really excited about. I still need to get caught up on my photo projects though, since I've only submitted my pictures for Unit 1 so far.

This time, at the suggestion of my advisor, I'm going to submit multiple pictures for each project. This will allow me to get more practice with the given elements of the assignment, and experiment a bit more in the process. When I have pictures ready to submit, I will post some of them here for you to see, and provide feedback on if you so desire. Any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is welcome.

I hope everyone is staying warm as the temperatures finally start to drop, and if you're an NYIP student yourself, feel free to post your experiences with the course in the comments section. Also, stop by my main photography page and check out the progress of my 366 day project. I'll be posting Friday the 13th's picture later today!