> shahjen@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes: > it'd be nice to be able to point those interested in photography to a > reliable online course. Seems as though not wanting to pay is almost as big a > priority for many as not wanting to do their own research :/ <MichaelHughes7A@xxxxxxx> writes: > In my opinion asking for the benefit of the experience of other people is > research, and a sign of humility and wisdom too! of course it is. What I was referring to in part was those have not even read their camera instruction manual - a good source of getting started information on basics like dof, effects of shutter speeds and apertures, exposure, white balance, histograms etc.. the same people who probably would not open a browser window any type in 'online photography course' or 'basic photography' and hit enter. those online pages are there by the grace and experience of many good people! it still requires humility tho. I guess my comment was based on the last fortnights experience with 2 people wanting to know where they could learn photography. Nice people, genuinely interested, both left with 4 pages of notes on basic camera settings and operation from me, but neither had read their manuals or taken out a book on photography from the local library. I contrast this with past students I've taught. Some began courses having already read a swath of books, moved into MF and were doing their own b&w processing at home. Others knew little before they began but read everything recommended, shot all the examples suggested and made critical evaluations of the outcomes, they were in a feeding frenzy :) others would not read recommended texts, would not even bring a pen or a calculator to class, and wanted to cherry pick the bits that they thought were important and felt that having paid for the course, they should expect a pass at the end. Neither of the two good people I recently spoke to were anything near that bad, but they'd made no effort to get going by themselves. But then, that's just my opinion - maybe libraries were outside the realms of their experience, maybe they'd been taught that you have to be taught things .. that you can't learn on your own.. what do I know, maybe asking me was their beginning.. Whatever. they both ended up with heavily bookmarked books and lots of notes. > However the question might be re-phrased - Do those on the forum concerned > with the education of photographers believe that distance learning programmes > can be used effectively in teaching the art and craft of photography? I believe they could be useful. I certainly would like to be able to refer people straight to a web page to get them going. k
