A new look, a new job

For only being one week(ish) into the new year, I think I am doing a fantastic job on my resolutions. I still haven’t gotten a haircut (the weather in Bishkek is worse than frigid, I need my hair for warmth), but as you can tell, I’ve made significant progress on beautifying my blog. (shout-out to Farrell’s friend Travis for putting up with my tech-illiterate questions and panicky emails)

Farrell insisted that I put up some more attractive pictures asap so that my 2011 picture wouldn’t be the first one visitors see. Well, boo, here you go. Plus, with my new job starting next week, I needed to stretch my photography muscles.

If you follow me on twitter, you’ve probably read my random tweets during the holiday season about trying to figure out a photography curriculum or preparing for an interview. I’m happy to announce that I was hired to teach an introductory photography course for journalism majors at AUCA!

My qualifications? Well, I speak English and I have been taking pictures for a long time (and after the previous teacher suddenly quit, I’m available on very short notice). While I’m not a “professional” photographer (yet), I’m pretty confident in my ability to give my future students a basic idea of how to take a decent picture and recognize a good one from a not-so-good one.

But, I would love your help with my class. What is the best piece of photography advice you’ve ever read/heard/received?

The semester starts next week, so I thought I’d go back through my Chon-Kemin pictures and post my favorite animal photos, paying special attention to all the photography rules I know.