These emails come with the intent of helping you be a better photographer. 

And if you want more photography stuff to read, there's a place on the interwebs where past emails I wrote are stored. You'll find 'em in the "Newsletter Hub." 

Remember, I'd like to know what you want to know about photography. So, If you have any questions, ask by sending an email to me at sam@samdamico.com. And for what it's worth. When you send me an email, unless someone's lookin' over my shoulder, I'm the only one that sees it.

Hello ,

I agreed with a self-identified artist at a gallery show opening that creating most photography is easy, and most photographers create by pressing a button.

George Eastman said it best with his 1888 slogan advertising the Kodak camera; "You Press the Button, We Do the Rest."

https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/you-push-a-button-the-rest-is-history/

That slogan and the camera it was hawking made photography accessible to the masses and PO'd professional photographers who attacked the "button pressers."

https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/you-push-a-button-the-rest-is-history/

Over almost a century and a half later, that attitude towards photography as an art still exists.

And sadly, it exists among photographers, who make it about the camera.

The biggest snub comes from some DSLR users regarding photographers using the cameras on their phones.

Other photographers curiously ask if a camera on the phone is real and if photographers using the cameras on their phones are real photographers.

Beyond the type of camera used and its technical specifications, a picture is a picture, and a photographer is a photographer.

Enjoy the picture you see, and appreciate the photographer who made it.

And that applies to us, too.

We should enjoy seeing our work and appreciate the photographers we are. 

Is there room for improvement?

Always.

And where we need to improve is driven by where we are in our studies and practice.

If we're new to photography, the most helpful thing we can do is learn about camera operation.

And, whether we're using the camera on our phone or a more complex camera like a DSLR or mirrorless camera, we do the same camera operations but in different ways.

So press any button on any camera you want; once we understand camera operation, we can use any camera confidently and effectively to make the best pictures we can. 
 

The next series of the Introduction to Photography class starts in February.

And there are other scheduled group classes below. 

Smaller classes mean better learning, so no more than five participants and me are in each class. 

But smaller classes also mean spots fill up quicker. 

And remember, we learn and improve by doing, so practice making at least one picture daily. 

That's all for now; thanks for reading! 
Sam

I'll help you be a better photographer—study and practice photography with me. 

And what if the timing doesn't work for you in any of my scheduled group classes? If that's the case, let's schedule a one-time lesson or a series of in-person or online private instruction that covers the same things as my group classes. 

Ways to work with me are listed below.