[LadyStardust]

I've followed the changes to the site in recent weeks and thought it was about time to say hello. I'm a keen amateur and seem to have a reasonable eye for composition but am still learning the theory to a certain extent (manual controls, use of flash, macro etc).

I absolutely love photography and have always been a keen "snapper". I moved over to a Canon DSLR last year but still use my Sony compact (7.2 megapixels) a lot as it's so much easier to cart around.

By the way, I was considering doing a City & Guilds Photography course (6923 Progression Award Level 2). It's 35 weeks, 1 evening a week. I believe it concentrates quite a lot on film and film processing but at least I would learn the theory properly and could perhaps apply it to digital afterwards. Any comments from anyone on that one?

Thanks.

I am looking forward to being an active participant on the site!

Lucy

[Gary Bagshawe]

Hi Lucy I believe that learning the basics on a course such as that will be a great help to you, just remember to enjoy it.

[Dabhand16]

Hi Lucy. Good to have you aboard. I started a City and Guilds course years ago, primarily to get access to a darkroom. Sadly, my job gives me unpredictable hours, and after a fairly good start, I started missing so many dates that I had to give it up. If you can stay the course, I think it would be a great way to learn. Much better than trial and error, which usually means more errors than anything else

[Dave]

Hi Lucy & welcome aboard

I do wonder why they still force film in these courses. Maybe it's to force you to think ahead, as you won't get instant responses, plus your limited to max 36 shots ? Must admit having used a completely manual film camera in the past it helped me understand the basics better.

Just out of interest where did you find out about courses, as I would love to do one if near Cheltenham, Glos ?

[Sonsey]

to the forums Lucy, glad to have you here.

[Dabhand16]

Dave - I got a prospectus from the council that detailed all of the courses available in my area. Might have been from the library. At schools you can get evening courses, and the colleges do daytime or evenings. If my memory serves me right it was 7 -9. not much good if you did not get home until 10, or even the next day, though!

[stepheno]

....and a belated from me too, Lucy. I think you should go on the course then you can tell us how to do things properly

regards

[LadyStardust]

Thanks for all your kind greetings!

The C&G course is run by West Sussex Country Council at Haywards Heath College. A friend of mine did most of the course a few years ago at Crawley, but was unable to finish due to family commitments. She said it was a great course and gave her confidence in handling her film and digital cameras, as well as immense satisfaction in having developed her own exposures at home.

Well, I seemed to get resounding encouragement to give it a go so will take the next stage of speaking with the tutor next week and arranging to go for an interview (yes, an interview!). They are apparently a little picky about who they accept on the course as the time commitment is quite high. Fair enough, I suppose. I'm fortunate as flextime at work will allow me to make the evening classes without any forseeable issues.

I will let you know how I get on.

Thank you!

[stepheno]

Thanks for the info, Lucy, be interested to know how you get on.

[Fangman]

Welcome! Enjoy your course - starting from basics is a very good idea to get an understanding of light - yes we all tend to use a digital darkroom these days but the Pro's still use film (mainly transparencies) and scan to give the quality needed for repro work. I was started by my father aged about 10 dish developing and printing glass plates and then roll film - you really get to understand what is required - nowadays we use a digital darkroom but the principals are the same and Photoshop tries to copy the techniques of the traditional process. The advantage of Digital is that you can experiment cheaply and usually get an acceptable result for domestic use from minor disasters. The main thing is to enjoy and share in the pleasure of your creations with others - such as on the Forum. They are a kindly bunch - yes they will criticise but wiling to share knowledge and offer a frank opinion and advice. The other thing is to join the local Club - I have had a lot of pleasure from this in this last year as with retirement I have more time.

[Dave]

Noticed tuttonp giving away a complete B&W darkroom in the classifed section. Now that would be handy for the course

[MickB]

Hi Lucy. Is that your own eye in the avatar ? Very arty

[LadyStardust]

Hi all!

Thanks for your postings of encouragement - and top leads on the B&W darkroom equipment.

My friend at work was talking to me today about some of the items covered in the course and she was saying that being able to play around with a medium format camera and proper lighting equipment under proper supervision and guidance is second to none. Sounds good.

And... yes, that is my eye!

Lucy