With all of the electronic technology built into cameras today, photographers can quite often become overwhelmed. We might suspect that the camera is doing our thinking for us, leading us to wonder where we end and technology begins. Did that favorite picture just "happen"? Can we create it again? How do we take advantage of our camera’s many features?

Over a four-day period, we slow down the process and take time to explore the creative use of basic camera controls. We address subjects like color balance (what does it do?), f-stops (how does they affect the picture?), and prime lenses (what are they and what makes them different from other lenses?). We discover how selective focus can be used to isolate the subject in a photograph and how to make effective decisions about shutter speed. Daily photo assignments on location give us the opportunity to work with—and learn how to use—these creative photographic tools.

Each day, Carlan leads a review of the images from the previous day's assignment. Each assignment builds on the last, taking what we have learned and adding to it. Invariably, our new lesson for the day is found in the most recent photographs we made.

We break rules. We take chances. We discover new ways to make photographs.