Upon reaching reaching retirement age, I decided to take up photography as a new hobby. After researching what was available I purchased a Panasonic FZ150 which seemed to be a mid-range camera and had the functions I thought I might need. I basically used the automatic mode and produced reasonable results. However, I felt that it had a lot more to offer than what I was using!
A chance meeting with a friend who told me they had seen a course advertised in the wildlife magazine wetted my appetite and I duly contacted Andy. We arranged to meet the following friday at Penclacwydd Wildfowl Centre, Llanelli. For the first hour or so, Andy went through my camera, adjusted the settings and explained the workings of the FZ150. We then went outside and he showed me simple things such as holding the camera correctly, I had never even thought about it before, I had just picked it up and pressed the shutter button!
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The composition of the picture, where the subject is within the frame etc is so important I soon started to look at things in a different way, trying different angles and settings etc. After about an hour and a half we went back to the centre and reviewed the pictures on the laptop, I started to understand what made a better picture and what should be deleted. Back out again after lunch for more of the same, the whole while Andy is giving instructions in a professional manner, I never felt rushed, he would explain more than once if necessary.
The day flew by for me, Andy`s instruction opened my eyes and his enthusiasm for taking pictures in wonderful places has encouraged me to explore further into photography. Two days later, filled with enthusiasm, I was on Caswell Beach on the Gower at 7.25am and one of the photos I have just had made into a canvas print which is now hanging on my wall.
I will look forward to joining Andy once again in one of his other venues for more tuition.
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