Go ahead. Take the class. I dare you. Sometimes when we are stuck, we need to try something different. So, go ahead, try something out of your realm!

In my pursuit for more knowledge when using my camera, I checked for some local photography classes, and there were two at our local community college, which happens to have a fantastic community enrichment program. The first class I took was Cell Phone Photography, while not exactly what I was looking for, I did have a lot of fun learning how to use the camera in my cellphone more effectively to take pictures, because let’s face it, we don’t always have the “good camera” handy. But that second class… Nighttime Photography, wow. SO. MUCH. FUN. And so much information! Things started making sense on how to use my camera in Manual Mode and I started “getting it”. After going over some basics and the how and they why, we did several classes out of the classroom and the pictures I was able to capture are amazing in my eyes.

This is my second adventure (the instructor invites all who are interested in these events to come and have some fun and challenge themselves) in the steel wool photography. Cadillac Ranch is perfect, an open dirt field with old Cadillac’s buried partway in the ground and the public invited to plaster all the graffiti they would like on them, day or night. The way the sparks light up the cars or bounce off them and the dirt make for some interesting pictures. I will keep going back for these, there is always a different view or angle to try, and it just makes for some interesting art.

Sunsets are beautiful at Cadillac Ranch too. We did a few trial runs before the sun went down and it made a pretty backdrop for a few of the steel wool pictures.

Steel wool photography isn’t the only interesting thing to shoot in the golden hour before dark, you can capture amazing sunsets too.

The instructor mentioned that using a black light out there was fun too because a lot of people use fluorescent paint for their graffiti, except that it is hard to haul a big light and a way to power it all the way out there. Good thing I have a black light flashlight! I played around with it a little bit to see what would pop.

Sometimes we have to push ourselves to try something new, expand our knowledge, find our inspiration, have a little fun. I hope you enjoy these images as much as I do! I think I’m a little “unstuck” now.