Note: A lot has happened in the last couple weeks…

“Truly excellent job on this assignment Maya! You not only identified the elements and principles very well, but your photographs are really well done! you have a good sense of composition and awareness of how to work with subject matter in a frame! The image of the bird on the wire is darker because the reflective light meter in the camera gets "fooled" by backlighting. In order to brighten it and see the colors, just over-expose (+1-1 2/3 stops) above what the light meter says. 

If you're interested in taking your photography to the next level, consider taking my online Digital Photography I class in the fall. Let me know if you have questions about it, and if interested, the class is here:”

~ Professor Belt. 

I stared at the feedback from my most recent Art Appreciation project (which was a photography project), not quite sure what to do with the information. Of course, I was flattered by my professor’s feedback, but I was actually more uncomfortable than anything. And, not in a good way.

To me, it didn’t feel like my professor was talking to me about my assignment, if that makes sense. I felt like I was reading feedback given to someone else; someone who didn’t half-ass their photography project as I did. 

After all, I didn’t go out with my DSLR with my photography project in mind. I figured I’d take pictures as usual, then pick ten that best fit each category my professor wanted me to fulfill (stuff about the Principals of Design and Elements of Art), writing two sentences for each picture to justify why it fit in each category. 

For my “half-assed” work, I got a solid A and advice to “take my photography to the next level” by taking a college course on it in the fall. But instead of being elated and inspired by the feedback, I got scared; I tucked my tail and arched my back like the scraggly coyote I encountered at God’s Ass awhile back. 

Before I could descend into a full-on existential crisis, my phone buzzed. 

“You about ready to go?” my dad texted, “I’ll be at your house in 10 minutes.”

“Yup.” I texted back, “See ya soon.”