Finally made it out of my office for a bit today. Had a guest in my class – Stanley Leary – met him for lunch first. We got to talk and walk a bit, so I made a few frames.

The talking was about getting back to photography, about making frames for the love of the frame, not the need of the client. Which was different from what he spoke about in my class, which was all about the business side of photography.

I bring speakers in to supplement what I say and to show there are lots of approaches to what we do. This was the second time I had Mr. Leary in – and it will not be the last. His presentations have been excellent, he engages the students and gets them to think.

That he reinforces a lot of what I have told them is an added bonus. Though, to be honest, I came out of the class with as many notes as my kids … some of them having to do with business, some of them having to do with building relationships and a great new way of explaining why visual hierarchy in a frame is so critical. I’m mulling over my notes still, trying to find a way to blend what happened in class with what I do every day.

Today, today my kids got their money’s worth, I think.

Canon G10, 25.0 mm, ISO 80, 1/640, f/4.5

I posted a few days ago four images, shot with two different cameras, of essentially the same subject. Had another pair (below), which had me a little worried – was I really only seeing the exact same things every day? Is that why I did this, as well?

When I was shooting, I tried to take a different route to work every day. When I was going someplace I had been before, unless I was pressed for time (not like that ever happens at a newspaper) I tried to find a different path. It was my way of seeing more of my community and, uh, maybe padding the mileage a little.

But, really, it was to help me see. I’d occasionally find something along the new route that would lead me to a story or photo that we wouldn’t have gotten if I hadn’t gone the long way.

I need to get back to that.

Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Tamron 28-75 mm f/2.8, ISO 400, 1/200, f/4.5

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi, Tamron 28-75 mm f/2.8, ISO 400, 1/250, f/5.6

Maybe it’s the size of the dew drops, but I think the older camera made a nicer file here.