Photo Therapy

A couple of years ago when I bought a nice camera, I promised myself I'd take a photography course one day. Then, of course, I forgot all about it.

It was in the beginning of October that I accidentally stumbled upon Eesti Foto's (Estonian Photo's) web page and with great surprise I realised they were JUST about to start with another beginners' course. The timing felt perfect. So I took a deep breath and signed up. This meant a photography feast every Thursday evening for two months. 

There are a couple of things I learnt. First, my camera turned from this obscure and spooky thing into something I actually understand. I have a million miles to go when it comes to taking really good pictures but at least I'm no longer afraid of my camera. That's a big one!

Then a myth was busted. I thought of professional photographers as introverted people who work alone and who are maybe not the best of public speakers. But, oh my days, they all turned out to be very different from that picture in my head. They were witty and sharp and talkative and it was a pure joy to listen to them and go through hundreds of their photos with them. I was thoroughly impressed by the lot!

And I've also learnt that a good distraction from the horrors of the world is sometimes a pure blessing. I've gone a little crazy about this photography thing - I watch videos and read articles and make everyone pose for me and just yesterday I purchased a program called Capture One for photo editing (I called it an early Christmas present). And I suspect this craziness is not only a harmless hobby but also something that offers me an escape from the world. It's as if taking pictures is a tiny world in itself, a world untouched by psychopath presidents and apocalyptic viruses (although I did test negative just a few days ago!) and November mud and school life. And man, if there ever was a time one needed an escape... 

So here are a handful of photos from recent times. I used some of them in our last class where we analysed our homework. Some of them got shot down, of course, but that's ok, that's a part of the progress.