April 25, 2016

Self-Development: Photography Class

Hey there!

How are ya and how was your weekend? I had a fun one - I flew my nephew's kite! If you follow me on Snapchat and Instagram (@BerryDakara), you know how that went :p I also went to my cousin's house for a birthday party and danced to some old jams. Did I ever tell you guys that people used to call my girls and I The Party Queens? The minute we got anywhere, the dancing started and we usually would be the last to leave because we were having too much fun.

Oh, and my niece started walking on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woot woot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank God, because we were hoping she'd walk before her first birthday next month.


Anyways, while thinking about my word/theme for the year, another phrase kept flying around my head - SELF DEVELOPMENT.

When you Google the phrase, it's defined as,
"The process by which a person's character or abilities are gradually developed."
I also like this definition below:
Source
Self-development covers all facets of life, and you can choose to learn something new at any time or point in life. From learning crafts to gaining new skills or taking classes, there's so much you can do. I'm sure you've noticed that I enjoy photography and I was pleasantly surprised when I won a voucher for a free online course on Photography via The Alaroro. The class was offered on Shaw Academy. It all fell into place and I started the class the day after I got to Atlanta. There were 3 classes a week, for an hour at a time and the course, Foundation in Photography, lasted through the month of March.

I learned some valuable lessons in photography and I've been practicing quite a bit. I'm definitely not on a professional level, but I prefer shooting on Manual mode now, with fewer edits than before. I hope you like some of the photos I've shared below. FYI, they're mostly nature shots - I went walking around my sister's subdivision (estate) and my parents' as well.

There's this lovely, serene pond that's a few minutes away from the house. I'm sure I'll do a style post there at some point.



I like taking photos of plants and flowers.





On my sister's patio, where my brother shot this Style post, I took advantage of a piece of furniture.



There's this little gazebo close to the house that's cute and pretty...


And here's the ceiling from inside...


On one of my walks, I looked down and thought the cracks in the road were pretty cool. Yes yes, I know, I'm a nerd.


During the class on Composition, one of the ways to compose photos is via shapes. The roofs of some houses around were triangular and I wanted to practice, so...



I'd like to take more classes, in this and other areas. I've posted this link on my Lovely Links before, but here it is again if you're looking for places where you can take free online courses.

My birthday is coming soon, and there's lots of travel in May - UK and Scotland readers, I need sightseeing suggestions! I'm already really excited!

So, have you been doing any self-developing lately? Tell me all about it.

35 comments:

  1. Yessooooo I have! Alot! Been reading lots and lots of blogs and watching webinars when I can.
    Unfortunately my network didn't load the picture and so I can't comment on that

    www.cassiedaves.com

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    1. Awww you didn't see any of the photos? That sucks. I try to make the photo sizes small so they load quickly. Ah well.

      Yup reading and watching webinars are good ways of learning too.

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  2. The photos are amazing. You're going to be an amazing photographer!

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  3. Beautiful pics.
    I especially like the third one. Looks so postcard(ish). The mirror effect is awesome. Plus the duck or whatever in front. Awesome.
    You are right. The cracks on the road are weirdly beautifully arranged. If you didn't say it was a road, I would think that it was deliberately arranged that way.
    Then the last picture too I like.

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    1. Thank you lady. I took those photos when I had just done 3 or 4 lectures so hopefully I get even better at composition.

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  4. I wanted to fly that Kite with you. It's the little things that make life interesting. Your photography is so on point!! After publishing my last blog post on our Barbados trip, I really wished I had better pictures. What Camera do you use? Self -development: Does blogging count? Driving lessons?

    www.KacheeTee.com

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    1. Haha Kachi, the kite was so much for! Cakes and my brother-in-law are so good at it.

      Thanks re: the photos. I use a Canon 70d abi 700d.

      Blogging helps I think

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  5. Great progress you're making without your goals! I'm still writings mine, let alone star to fulfill them. Lol.

    You've done beautiful framing in those photos up there... And yes, manual mode is it! I self taught myself photography and would love to take a proper clas one day.

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    1. I think that having them in the back of your mind helps a little bit too. But from what I keep reading and learning, it's better to write them down.

      Thank you! I actually started shooting on manual mode before taking the class but afterwards learned a lot more tips and photography tricks.

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  6. Really nice, Berry! I especially love the picture of the gazebo ceiling, and the house roofs! The picture of the cracks could easily be one of those Microsoft screen savers. You are actually getting better at taking photos, very well done! I'll be following your example as soon as I get my gear! :)

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    1. Thank you. And I can't lie, I was thinking 'screensaver' when I took the shots.

      I hope you get yours soon!

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  7. Girl you need to teach me how to take pics like these! So stunning

    Love,

    RASHEEDA |THE D'JOURNAE BLOG MAGAZINE

    XOXO

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  8. You,lady,are one hell of an inspiration.I love d one with the roofs and that 1st photo is amazing. Currently running an M.Sc programme.

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    1. Awww, thank you very much. Yay to your M.Sc! One day I want a PhD. One day.

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  9. So many stunning images Berry. I love all of them the gazebo & its ceiling, the cracks in the road and the pond with the duck.

    www.wurassecrethair.blogspot.com

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  10. Girl.there is nothing wrong with self development, live to your full potential

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  11. Wow the photos look great!! I've been wanting to take a photography class and you just made me want to do it even more!!
    www.helloyvonne.com

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  12. Berry, you're such an encouragement. I had never heard about the shaw academy until now. Needless to say, i already registered for a class.
    Question: what's your review of the class? i know it was helpful, but were there things they didn't do or did not do well?

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    1. Yaaaaaaaaaaay! You'll learn a lot I'm sure.

      My review: I think it was very well done. My only gripe would be that the classes usually ran over time. They were supposed to be 1 hour long, but the Q&A session would make it run about an hour and 20 minutes on average. I usually just switched off. I like that there were tests after each class, and a final exam. We also had "mentors or teaching assistants" who would call you to see how you're doing with the class. Unfortunately, I registered with my Nigerian number and by the time I got my US number back, it was waaaaay into the course schedule so I never got to speak with mine. I got emails though.

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  13. I would recommend the Yorkshire dales or Lake District if you are able to travel up North of England when you visit. I am from Yorkshire and this time of the year tourist flock the region to take photos of the beautiful scenery,if you are into nature thats your place to be. Good job with the photography and sky is the limit, so keep at it. x

    www.stephylately.com

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    1. Oooh, that sounds lovely. We have about a week in England, and 3 days for each of us to do our own thing, so I just might take your suggestion.

      Thanks Stephy!

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  14. Love the photos! You have such a great eye and I am all for any kind of self developmentt.

    http://foodfashionandflow.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thanks so much LV! Self-development is very necessary to our growth as people.

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  15. Your pictures look so great, Berry, especially the first 2... so spring-y. I'm also looking to take photography lessons and I think self-development is everything. Thank God for sites like coursera.

    You should totally go to the Lake District in NW England. Beautiful lakes and mountains. Kayaking, mountain climbing (there are big ones and small ones but the view from the top is AMAZING!), swimming in the lakes, it's all really beautiful. You can get a cottage close to the beach or on a farm and it's not too expensive if you look hard enough. I've been there twice and I know for a fact it's 10 times better than staying in a big city like London or Birmingham.

    For Scotland, Isle of Arran is great. I went there in the winter, big mistake (weather was too darn cold) but I hear it's beautiful in the spring and summer.

    http://tobiadegbemi.com/

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  16. Wow, Berry, you took these photos as a beginner? Stunning!

    And thanks for the inspiring reminder, "Self-development covers all facets of life, and you can choose to learn something new at any time or point in life."

    Really enjoyed this post.

    Nnaya
    maneattractionglobal.com

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I'd love to hear from you about this post! Let's all learn and share our worlds.