Over the weekend, Daughter and I had a weekend away at a photography workshop.

It was held just up the way from our little town at the Go Create! in New England studio in Kentucky.

Our lecturer, Michael, was wonderfully patient with our group – patiently explaining ISO, aperture and shutter speed – as we visited various parts of the farm at various times of day, to practice what we had learned in the previous session.

Apart from the fact that I got to spend a creative weekend with my Beautiful Girl, Michael – as a landscape photographer – really pushed me outside my comfort zone with photography.

He challenged me to shoot at 400 ISO (instead of the 200 ISO that I’ve become accustomed to) and to use an f/stop other than my preferred 5.6.  Working in AV and TV mode was tough, as I’ve become accustomed to working in full Manual mode, but it was nice to let the camera do some of the thinking for me.

The biggest a-ha moment for me over the weekend was learning that I can push my camera even further in low light conditions (the pine forest photo above was taken a 5:32 p.m. – twilight).  Prior to this weekend, I thought that once the sun went down, unless you had a decent flash, photographing in the dark was next to impossible. Apparently not!

If you’re in the New South Wales New England area, be sure and check out what workshops are coming up at Go Create!  The Taylor family are welcoming and easy-going, which only adds to the weekend fun.

There’s another photography workshop coming up in late June, so if you’re looking to start out in digital photography (or learn more about your camera and it’s – and your! – capabilities) then I recommend Michael’s workshop.  Don’t be afraid to ask a million questions, because he’s more than happy to answer them – and challenge you along the way.