Like I mentioned in my last post, my mom and KJ got me a gift card to Dallas Center for Photography.

In response, Sam gave me a film camera for my birthday. We've been using it to take photos since. We are waiting until we have several rolls before we get the film developed. It'll be like a surprise when we finally see the pics!

I was really nervous to take my first photography class! I had no idea what to expect. I don't have my own digital camera so I borrowed my mom's.

The first class I took was DSLR-1: The Basics. The class gives you a tour of your camera and thoroughly demonstrates the fundamentals. I learned about the buttons and dials and the menu settings. We focused on exposure. The instructor was very knowledgeable, approachable and funny. He explained how a camera works with live demonstrations.

One of my favorite parts of the class was hearing why the other 30 people were there. Some were stay-at-home moms, one lady owns a landscaping company, there was REALTOR and my favorite was a cosmetic dentist. He wanted to learn how to take better before and after photos of his patients. Because of what KJ told me about the power of a smile, I thought that was fascinating.

The second class I took was Smartphone Photography. I highly recommend this class to any amateur photographers! We met for an hour in a classroom at the Dallas Public Library then we walked around downtown for an hour snapping photos before we returned to the classroom for review. I learned so much! They taught us a lot about perspective and introduced us to some great editing apps. The class focused on using photos to tell stories.

It was a cold winter day in Dallas, but I still enjoyed exploring downtown. I've always wanted to go to Thanks-Giving Square, and I got to do that. Thanks-Giving Square serves as the soul and spiritual hub of the community. The stained glass spiral is the ceiling in the chapel.

Here are my pics!