I began my journey into photography, a mere, year and 8 months ago.
Here is the"sob" story, everyone has one, here is mine.
I had a tumor the size of my fist in my right kidney. I have big hands. It was discovered, just as my kidney was about to explode. Which would have prevented me from writing this, due to the fact that would have killed me graveyard dead.
So to make a long story, longer, I just sat down and felt sorry for myself for about a year . I knew I needed to find something to do, a hobby. Anything to get me up and moving again. Wood working is out of the question, I cannot nail two pieces of wood together, I can weld the crack of dawn, but I can mess wood up faster than God can grow it. Knitting, nah still on the couch. I ran through a multitude of hobbies in my head, until I thought of buying a camera.
Bingo
I love it. I am cancer free. Both my physical and mental health have improved.

Here are a few of the things I have learned in a short time.
Please feel free to add to add the things you have learned as well.

I have learned ,photography ain't cheap.
I have learned that I can buy used, for a fraction of new.

I have learned to slow down.
I check my settings, I make sure my exposure is right. I have begun to think before I press the shutter

I have learned to shoot in manual mode.
For me this is part of slowing down. Relying more on myself than the camera. What f /stop, what's my light. I am not claiming to be smarter than my camera, and sometimes the results prove just that. But I like taking control over a shot.

I have learned, I hate tripods.
I know that they are a invaluable tool. I have been pinched, I have missed shots, and generally look like a monkey F@!$ING a football setting one up. I have a gimbal head on a tripod and a ball head on a monopole, hate em both.

I have learned, lenses make a difference.
When I first started taking pictures, I thought a lens was a lens. Then, I bought a old 100-300 mm L lens off e-bay for $225.00. I have bought 4 more. The most I paid for one was a prime, 300 mm f/4 L . I paid 550 for for that one. all the rest were 400, gotta love craigs list and e-ba

I have learned to move my focus points.
Along with changing f/stops. How to create bokeh, when I want it and when I don't

I have learned, that, The more I learn, the less I know.
When I first picked up a dlsr camera, I had no idea what a f/stop was. I read and then I read some more. The internet has a wealth of information.

Like I write earlier. Please feel free to add to this.
What have you learned?

I began my journey into photography, a mere, year and 8 months ago.
Here is the"sob" story, everyone has one, here is mine.
I had a tumor the size of my fist in my right kidney. I have big hands. It was discovered, just as my kidney was about to explode. Which would have prevented me from writing this, due to the fact that would have killed me graveyard dead.
So to make a long story, longer, I just sat down and felt sorry for myself for about a year . I knew I needed to find something to do, a hobby. Anything to get me up and moving again. Wood working is out of the question, I cannot nail two pieces of wood together, I can weld the crack of dawn, but I can mess wood up faster than God can grow it. Knitting, nah still on the couch. I ran through a multitude of hobbies in my head, until I thought of buying a camera.
Bingo
I love it. I am cancer free. Both my physical and mental health have improved.

Here are a few of the things I have learned in a short time.
Please feel free to add to add the things you have learned as well.

I have learned ,photography ain't cheap.
I have learned that I can buy used, for a fraction of new.

I have learned to slow down.
I check my settings, I make sure my exposure is right. I have begun to think before I press the shutter

I have learned to shoot in manual mode.
For me this is part of slowing down. Relying more on myself than the camera. What f /stop, what's my light. I am not claiming to be smarter than my camera, and sometimes the results prove just that. But I like taking control over a shot.

I have learned, I hate tripods.
I know that they are a invaluable tool. I have been pinched, I have missed shots, and generally look like a monkey F@!$ING a football setting one up. I have a gimbal head on a tripod and a ball head on a monopole, hate em both.

I have learned, lenses make a difference.
When I first started taking pictures, I thought a lens was a lens. Then, I bought a old 100-300 mm L lens off e-bay for $225.00. I have bought 4 more. The most I paid for one was a prime, 300 mm f/4 L . I paid 550 for for that one. all the rest were 400, gotta love craigs list and e-ba

I have learned to move my focus points.
Along with changing f/stops. How to create bokeh, when I want it and when I don't

I have learned, that, The more I learn, the less I know.
When I first picked up a dlsr camera, I had no idea what a f/stop was. I read and then I read some more. The internet has a wealth of information.

Like I write earlier. Please feel free to add to this.
What have you learned?

I began my journey into photography, a mere, year and 8 months ago.
Here is the"sob" story, everyone has one, here is mine.
I had a tumor the size of my fist in my right kidney. I have big hands. It was discovered, just as my kidney was about to explode. Which would have prevented me from writing this, due to the fact that would have killed me graveyard dead.
So to make a long story, longer, I just sat down and felt sorry for myself for about a year . I knew I needed to find something to do, a hobby. Anything to get me up and moving again. Wood working is out of the question, I cannot nail two pieces of wood together, I can weld the crack of dawn, but I can mess wood up faster than God can grow it. Knitting, nah still on the couch. I ran through a multitude of hobbies in my head, until I thought of buying a camera.
Bingo
I love it. I am cancer free. Both my physical and mental health have improved.

Here are a few of the things I have learned in a short time.
Please feel free to add to add the things you have learned as well.

I have learned ,photography ain't cheap.
I have learned that I can buy used, for a fraction of new.

I have learned to slow down.
I check my settings, I make sure my exposure is right. I have begun to think before I press the shutter

I have learned to shoot in manual mode.
For me this is part of slowing down. Relying more on myself than the camera. What f /stop, what's my light. I am not claiming to be smarter than my camera, and sometimes the results prove just that. But I like taking control over a shot.

I have learned, I hate tripods.
I know that they are a invaluable tool. I have been pinched, I have missed shots, and generally look like a monkey F@!$ING a football setting one up. I have a gimbal head on a tripod and a ball head on a monopole, hate em both.

I have learned, lenses make a difference.
When I first started taking pictures, I thought a lens was a lens. Then, I bought a old 100-300 mm L lens off e-bay for $225.00. I have bought 4 more. The most I paid for one was a prime, 300 mm f/4 L . I paid 550 for for that one. all the rest were 400, gotta love craigs list and e-ba

I have learned to move my focus points.
Along with changing f/stops. How to create bokeh, when I want it and when I don't

I have learned, that, The more I learn, the less I know.
When I first picked up a dlsr camera, I had no idea what a f/stop was. I read and then I read some more. The internet has a wealth of information.

Like I write earlier. Please feel free to add to this.
What have you learned?

I began my journey into photography, a mere, year and 8 months ago.
Here is the"sob" story, everyone has one, here is mine.
I had a tumor the size of my fist in my right kidney. I have big hands. It was discovered, just as my kidney was about to explode. Which would have prevented me from writing this, due to the fact that would have killed me graveyard dead.
So to make a long story, longer, I just sat down and felt sorry for myself for about a year . I knew I needed to find something to do, a hobby. Anything to get me up and moving again. Wood working is out of the question, I cannot nail two pieces of wood together, I can weld the crack of dawn, but I can mess wood up faster than God can grow it. Knitting, nah still on the couch. I ran through a multitude of hobbies in my head, until I thought of buying a camera.
Bingo
I love it. I am cancer free. Both my physical and mental health have improved.

Here are a few of the things I have learned in a short time.
Please feel free to add to add the things you have learned as well.

I have learned ,photography ain't cheap.
I have learned that I can buy used, for a fraction of new.

I have learned to slow down.
I check my settings, I make sure my exposure is right. I have begun to think before I press the shutter

I have learned to shoot in manual mode.
For me this is part of slowing down. Relying more on myself than the camera. What f /stop, what's my light. I am not claiming to be smarter than my camera, and sometimes the results prove just that. But I like taking control over a shot.

I have learned, I hate tripods.
I know that they are a invaluable tool. I have been pinched, I have missed shots, and generally look like a monkey F@!$ING a football setting one up. I have a gimbal head on a tripod and a ball head on a monopole, hate em both.

I have learned, lenses make a difference.
When I first started taking pictures, I thought a lens was a lens. Then, I bought a old 100-300 mm L lens off e-bay for $225.00. I have bought 4 more. The most I paid for one was a prime, 300 mm f/4 L . I paid 550 for for that one. all the rest were 400, gotta love craigs list and e-ba

I have learned to move my focus points.
Along with changing f/stops. How to create bokeh, when I want it and when I don't

I have learned, that, The more I learn, the less I know.
When I first picked up a dlsr camera, I had no idea what a f/stop was. I read and then I read some more. The internet has a wealth of information.

Like I write earlier. Please feel free to add to this.
What have you learned?

My parents gave me my first camera, a Kodak box camera, 61 years ago when I was 8 years old. Over and over again I have learned, for a season, the same lesson - take the picture today, because it may not be here tomorrow. I even claim my motto to be "Life means growth; death means decay; nothing stays the same", but sometimes I still forget to photograph today before it becomes tomorrow, and my world is different.

In recent years, my mother has lived in the Independent Living part of a retirement community. Over the past months, I have gone over there at 4pm to walk her to dinner, because otherwise she would forget to go. Over the past weeks, she has complained about the length of the walk. Two weeks ago, each day I thought "I should bring a camera and record the four long hallways we walk through". Last week, while my wife and I were on vacation, my mother was admitted to the hospital; when we met with the doctor on Monday, he said that her 92-year-old body may never regain the strength it had two weeks ago. Most likely she will go to Assisted Living when she goes back home; most likely she and I will never make that walk together again. I could make the walk with my camera now, but it wouldn't be the same. My world has changed again while I was watching, and I neglected to preserve what was.