Teaching a photography class in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne is my favourite way to start the weekend! What a beautiful day it was today!
About a year ago I remember a young student coming into my class with a Pentax film camera. I was so chuffed because it was the same model as the one I learned on 28 years ago! A Pentax MX
It was such a pleasure to see that just like vinyl, film is making a comeback! My student very cautiously chose what she wanted to photograph and had to use the light metre in the viewfinder of her camera to ensure her photos were correctly exposed. Just the way I learned on black and white film. If you over exposed it would end up white, and there was nothing you could get out of the shot. If you underexposed it was black and although you could get a little, it was very challenging to make the image work.
Learning on film taught me so much about light and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity! If you are a student of photography whether it’s professional or recreational, I highly recommend if you get an opportunity to shoot on film you will understand your camera on a whole new level!
Today’s class was centred on nature photography and we enjoyed the amazing bamboo forest (if you’ve ever been there, it’s quite dark even on a sunny day). I often use this location as a great way to demonstrate when to use high ISO.
What I noticed in todays class with Melbourne photography group was that students so often get preoccupied with ISO/Aperture/Shutter speed that they forget to check the light metre.
Those little lines on the bottom or side of the camera will always tell you if your shot will be correctly exposed. The cameras are getting incredibly clever these days using so many great tools to create amazing art but sometimes it’s the simple things that make all the difference!