Fiery Passions

The next subject of our output was fire. It was actually too early (I learned much later). After reading that a good subject source is light-source, I thought that fire shots are good. Or so I thought. But some students managed to give me shots of burning things like this one (taken with a Canon Powershot A400 digital camera)


I did not know then that in taking pictures of fire, one needs to know things such as

• speed of shutter
• aperture settings (for SLR or DSLR cameras)
• lens
• ISO settings (or ASA for old ones)

Luckily, digital cameras and cellphones are automatic enough to adjust without the students having to juggle the menus of the camera settings. This is the only shot that passed my eyes and other faculty who thought that most pictures of fire shots were overexposed.

Threshold of Frustration

There is however a saving grace for me and that is, I have an Acer Aspire LAPTOP. So I lectured with it in front of them and read and made examples from books, tirelessly scanning them and posting them in Powerpoint presentations. The digital lectures that I made, plus some students wanting to prove something came up with some results. Some borrowed cameras, some cameras were lent to them. No one seems to bother our class. We move from one classroom to another, finding rooms available for us for TWO hours straight.

However, as the weeks go by, with me asking them to come up with four pictures of a certain subject or photography effects they think they can contribute, their pictures slowly tricked in. Some shots were really well, "ugly", but some gave good shots. In the 2nd grading of our class, still like refugees, we decided to just wait an hour everyday so we can have a 4:00 to 6:00 PM class daily. Our first shot was SUNSHOTS. any shot of the sun, preferably dusk or dawn or overcast with sun peeping in. In the process of several lectures, students learned about many things. Lenses, Cameras, Filters, Lighting, Openings and more.

I decided to use my only serviceable camera and that is, my laptop webcam. The laptop was so helpful that I couldn't have a lesson without it. But here are some pictures from my Sunshots.

 This one was taken nearby. Just outside of the school, near the beach by a student using a Kodak Easyshare Digicam



The Red sunset, taken October was the shot taken by my students when we noticed that while I was lecturing, the sky looked extra red. I dispatched them outside and take pictures. This is the best one taken using a Kodak Easyshare DigiCamera



This yellow beamed purple sky was taken by my student while they travelled to a nearby city very early in the morning. This was when they disembarked for a short rest. This was taken using a Pentax Optio Digicam



This yellow and gold sky was taken also near our school. The student liked the presence of a boat blurred by the golden rays of the sun. This was taken using Pentax Optio Digicam.


After seeing some of their efforts. I started feeling inspired because I couldn't do it myself. Not with a camera of my own. (TO BE CONTINUED...)