PrairieView Class of 2013

An interview with a PrairieView student! Me! How many pictures have you taken so far this school year? (It's only been a month) I've already taken 1892 photos for the first month of the year. Is it true that your tripod is your best friend? Yes! Like any relationship, the first move is the hardest. Once you hang out with it more and more you learn to be comfortable around it. Then, when you least expect it, you're in love! Everything is so clear and sharp! You wonder why you left the house without it! Then you go out everywhere together and people start to notice how much happier you are with it. What did you learn on your first field trip? (Fort Whyte Live) Be prepared! Luckily I came with rubber boots, splash pants and our very handy... garbage bags! That day it was raining a lot, so you learnt quickly to cover up your gear. Pointing your lens up wasn't an option, because your lens would get drops on it right away. Over all great learning experience! Make sure to bring extra garbage bags, elastics, change of socks and maybe extra change of clothes. We learnt to use your time wisely and research your subject before hand. Think ahead on what your really want to capture and make sure you know how much time you have at each "station". Have your gear ready the night before and look up the weather the night before so you know what your in for. Next time, I'll bring extra lens cloths and research my subject before hand to maximize my time. What are you most excited to learn to learn about this school year? I'm excited to learn how to take pictures in a studio. How to play around with all the lights and backdrops. To be creative with the lighting and positioning your subject and changing the backgrounds to show your creative side. Can't wait to take my first studio picture! Just like the big leagues! How is the atmosphere at PrairieView? The atmosphere is great! People are friendly and polite, already found a carpool buddy. Group A is already joking and helping each other out . The teachers are very helpful and if you have a question their just an email away. Paolo is always jolly and always ready to help. The pictures around the building are super inspiring and you can't help but to get great ideas from past and present students images. Lauralee is just a door bell away (just joking) ... she'll help you the best she can and do it with a smile! Because there is less then 40 students in the diploma program it's a very tight knit group. Were all going through the same thing so if we can help each other out, we will, cause next week, you'll probably be the one wanting help.

How have you been looking at images differently since attending PrairieView? I have definitely been noticing "rule of thirds" a lot more in images. I look at the shadows to see what time of day they took the picture and to see how much light they would have been working with. I've been now noticing the obvious pictures that must have been taken on a tripod. In the back of my mind i'll notice if that picture had to have been taken with a tripod, because the shutter must have been open for a long time. Knowing how someone took that really cool night shot is pretty cool! Cable release and tripod are your best friend for those shots!

Over all we've been learning lots, meeting new people and having a great first month at PrairieView. Christine Morin PV Diploma Student 2011-12