Another of my resolutions this year is to be more involved in things that involve people. I do a lot here at my little computer - most of my hobbies are rather solo endeavors - and I want to reconnect. Well, I did until I saw Up in the Air but that's another story for another page. I figured one way to meet people that I have something in common with is to take classes.

So I signed up at Los Angeles Valley College for a photography class. I bought myself that nice Canon last December, I might as well learn how to use it properly. So Tuesday nights I have this class for 2 1/2 hours and it was pretty cool the first week. Clarified a bunch of vocabulary for me, reminded me of how the tools I used to know about and taught me what some of these new-fangled digital buttons are for on this new generation of DSLR cameras.

And we got our first assignment. I wanted to be all artistic, but the ass at the Griffith Park Carousel blocked me from taking pictures. "No tripods," he said, by way of introduction. It seems tripods are "professional" and one needs a permit from the Parks and Recreation Department to do professional photography. Had I started out with a handheld camera, I supposed there'd have been no issue. They certainly weren't stopping the moms from shooting pictures of the kiddies on the merry-go-round, were they?

Anyway, to see my assignment - all the splendor and glory that it involves - click the pics and take a peek. It's lame, truly. Not artistic at all. But it gets the job done.