Photography Walking Tour

I have been wanting to take a photography class for some time now. However,  the idea of taking a semester long class at a CC gives me hives, and shelling out mondo bucks for a month long session isn't a realistic option either. So when a LivingSocial deal popped up offering a 3-hour photography walking tour/class in Old Sacramento for $40 I took the opportunity to persuade my friend to do it with me and call it our birthday presents to one another (we both have July birthdays). I knew it would be something we'd enjoy together as both of us in the past year have been having fun using our new and nifty Canon DSLRs.

The day came, and my goodness gracious, it was HOT. 102 degrees!  I couldn't even really imagine having all that much fun on this walking tour. My idea of fun does not involve sweat in weird places in front of total strangers. The pressure of maintaining a moisture-free appearance and grasping new photography terms and concepts at the same time is a lot to ask, is it not?! The only thing that kept me sane was knowing I would not be alone (thank you, Ali!) and that we had dinner and drinks to follow. 

The class essentially was an hour-long presentation followed by a "practice session" with the instructors guidance. We then set out for the "streets of Old Sacramento". In their effort to find shade for us, the instructors led us in a circle, strolling past the number of souvenir shops, candy shops and restaurants of Old Sacramento. I would have preferred spending my time down by the waterfront  but that wasn't on the agenda for the day. It is safe to say that Ali and I were feeling less than enthused by our surroundings. I got a few shots, but felt a little out of sorts and wished we had more time to practice with our cameras before we had set out for our "walking tour".

The instructors were very nice and, if I had the nerve, I could have asked them for help, but alas, I'm shy and decided I'd wait it out and hope for the best when I returned home and had the opportunity to peruse the handouts they provided for us. They had us shooting in  M (Manual Exposure) mode: setting the f-number, shutter speed, and ISO ourselves. I was thoroughly confused by the end of their spiel.

The tour ended a little short due to the extreme heat and so we decided to scratch the "free time" allotted at the end of the workshop. Happy Hour at Bombay Bar and Grill was looking just tooooo good to us by then.

Funny thing: I was having a difficult time taking photos. Too many were coming out blurry and I just couldn't understand what was going on. I got home and realized my camera was on 'MF' (manual focus) instead of 'AF' (automatic focus). (Sad face.) 

Anyway, here are the few shots I did take in "M mode", that day. I played around with them once I returned home.

Alley

Aspiring Photographer

Taffy

Brick Building

String O' Candy

Lollipop

Candy Sticks

Good to know.