10 Points if you can name the book that the title of this entry is from.

Thanks to those that asked questions on the last post. I’m answering them in reverse order.

The most recent question was a call-in question. My dad asked on the telephone: When are you going to answer those questions on your blog?

Answer: Okay, I’ll stop editing photos and do it right now. And besides, you shouldn’t even complain since you didn’t ask a real question. :)

Cynthia asked: How did you first become interested in photography and how did you decide on the camera that you use now?

Answer: That’s a good question. I’m not sure what first interested me in photography. Maybe I was influenced by my family - they’re big on photo albums and taking pictures. I think a large part is documenting - I love to look at old photos and remember the events in my life around that time.

In high school, I took a course in black & white photography. I started learning about composition and perspective, in addition to developing. In college, I joined the Photography Club (haha, I actually designed their website when I was a student there - and they still use it). Toward the end of college, I got a digital camera and took it everywhere. Soon, I was posting my pictures on my website, and it kept growing from there.

In 2003, Thomas influenced me to get a SLR-like camera (Canon G3, just like his) that could use a couple different lenses. That’s when I really started getting interested in macro and nature photography. It had a swivel screen that would let me get down at bug level (that photo is from the day I got the camera).

When I was finally ready to switch to a real SLR camera, last Thanksgiving, it made sense to go with a Nikon, since that would allow us to share lenses. He has a Nikon D70. I went with the D50 model because it’s a little smaller, and it was the cheapest of the digital SLRs. I’m pretty happy with it.

Jane asked: What did you want to be when you grow up when you were a little girl?

Answer: The profession dream I remember having the longest was to be an astronaut - from 1st to 5th grade…even after seeing the Challenger blow up. I remember swinging on the swings and pretending that I was launching into space. The most creative job idea I ever had was to be a French science textbook illustrator. I was trying to incorporate all my interests into one. I went to college thinking I wanted to be a documentary filmmaker, but then I phased into other interests.

MJD asked: What did you study at IU?

Answer: At IU, I got my masters in Instructional Systems Technology. Most people give me a weird look and ask what that is when I mention it. It’s in the School of Education, and I studied theories and principles of adult learning and how to design courses. My studies put emphasis on how to organize content, how to test that it was learned, how to make it engaging, etc. Here’s how the school describes it.

Back to photo editing…