[slideshow] My next mission is to grow as a photographer using Picture Perfect Practice by Roberto Valenzuela. (You can get your copy through Amazon here Picture Perfect Practice)

While at Skip's Summer School a few months back (wow time flies) I spent a whole day with Roberto introducing to his technique for photographic growth. To make it simple to understand put this picture in your mind...take a classical guitarist and put a camera in his hands. Now you have Roberto.

Perfection in music requires a combination of precision movement of your muscles, a metronome of a mind, technical competence with music theory, and enough comfort in your capabilities to let your soul's unique sound emerge through the music. This process to make a top level classical guitarist takes years, and the same can be said of photographers. Luckily for most of us, the age of digital photography made the growth process faster since we can advance and study our frames not only faster, but in far greater detail than during the age of film.

By the time I entered Roberto's class I was running on fumes. A 12 hour car ride, 13-14 hour workshops two days prior...and then Roberto hits me with a tidal wave of his own making. Luckily he has a book out and I will revisit his lesson through it. If I am lucky in two years I'll have a mastery of this photography thing...

Until then I offer a few photos I took with his lessons in mind. Unfortunately I have only two in here I attempted to pose, the rest were all opportunity shots during the wedding (basically street photography!). I am now looking at them know how far I have to go to be great, and it seems a long long distance from here!

Fortunately I can begin my journey with but a single frame and single lesson at a time from Roberto (and some other notables along the way)!

(I already did rectangles...now I'm working circles...) -ehw