Teachable Moment: A podcast on shooting with a camera on manual mode

   Let's make this perfectly clear - shooting photography on manual mode is HARD!
   Consider this: There are three sets of numbers for ISO, fstop and shutter speed. These are the most common standard settings that are used:

• ISO = 400 | 800 | 1600 |  3200 | 6400
• fstops = f2.8 | f4 | f5.6 | f8 | f11 | f16| f22 | f32
• Shutter speeds = 1/30 | 1/60 | 1/125 | 1/250 | 1/500 | 1/1000 | 1/2000 | 1/4000 | 1/8000

Owens Pres. Steve Robinson and me

   It takes the right combination of all three numbers for a correct exposure. If you don't know how to meter a scene, there is way higher chance of screwing it up than getting it right. It is paramount that photographers know what each number means, and how they work.
  So, I had this discussion on a podcast show called Teachable Moment, hosted by Owens Community College President Steve Robinson. We met in his office in late October and spend a little over 30 minutes gabbing about photography.
   Thank you, Pres. Robinson, for having me on your show to talk about what I love doing - teaching photography!
   Give it a listen - 

Photojournalism: Two skills, one class

   It's seven weeks into the semester and the students finally have their first shooting assignment. The timing couldn't be better. They are instructed to document the weather, so this weekend should give them lots of photo opportunities. Toledo is supposed to get up to nine inches of snow.
   This shooting assignment will challenge the students in many ways. First, they are tasked to approach strangers dealing with weather, like shoveling or sledding, document the activity and collect caption information. That's the journalism part. The photography part is knowing how to take photos in the snow. Knowing how to properly meter a white scene is key to accomplishing this assignment successfully.
   That's the complexity of this class: photography (math) + journalism (writing) = photojournalism. These are two distinct skills that are learned in one class. The wonderful writing in their blogs prove they are ready to use their cameras. Like one student blogged in her most recent post, "I am a photographer...I did not sign up for grammar."
   Yes, you did, Kathy, and you're doing a wonderful job.