How do I know what photo to take and how to take it?
My only formal training, if I can call it that, was my one and only art class "back in the day" - Art 115 with Toni L. Martin during my Junior year at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I thought taking the basic art class would be an easy "A". Ms. Martin was a tough teacher who demanded perfection in her students. It was definitely not an easy "A".
How to place and view an object in thirds, balance to the horizon, look beyond your subject, the background is as important as the subject, tonal colors, contrast, shades, grays, binded our own art book, created a museum art piece, etc. Who knew so many years later it will apply to my photography.
A good teacher makes all the difference in the world!
My cousin helped me with the technical aspects of a dSLR. The amount of information in my camera was just over-whelming! But, I trudged through it and somehow manage to take the photos I've posted on this blog.
"In a nutshell", that is how I take my photographs.
My dad once told me, "...if you want to learn, teach yourself. I'm not going to help you and no one else is going to help you so you might as well do it yourself." It was one of the toughest life lesson I ever had, but a very valuable one that I've applied to everything I know.
When Disney's The Little Mermaid was released in the theaters, I thought I could try shade drawing (I never finished it):
So with all my interests, my one art class, searching on the internet and reading books, it all comes down to my current interest: photography.