Lesson 2- Exposure

I must admit that I had never given much thought to the meter on my camera. I typically use semi-automatic modes in which the camera adjusts itself to the f-stop or shutter speed I have chosen. Okay let me be completely honest. I have never really taken any pictures in manual and I never knew what the meter was. I had noticed it but I had never actually used it before or knew what it was for. I think this might be a flaw with the advancement of digital cameras. They can figure this stuff out themselves and so the photographer can get away with lacking in certain areas. Normally, when I take a picture I have an idea of what I want and I research on how to shoot an image to get the results I want. Most times googling "photographing fireworks" on my smart phone, I can find different settings to experiment with and decide what results I prefer.

I am ashamed to admit my poor abuse and neglect of the meter on my camera. After reading through lesson 2 a few times, I went outside to play and do the exercises.

Here I have taken a photo of my lovely yellow iris with an aperature of f16, a shutter speed of 1//125 and an ISO of 100.

Below is another picture taken at f/11, 1/250 and ISO 100. I noted when taking the picture that the sun had went behind a cloud and it darkened the image and the meter showed that I should adjust.... but for learning purposes I took the image anyways to be able to see the results. 

I am really glad that this lesson dealt with lighting. While I have a good grasp of f-stops and shutter speeds and how to adjust them to effect the depth of field or add motion blur, I really never grasped lighting and metering in any sort of practical way. While I would not consider myself anywhere above a beginner, I think I now am starting to develop a foundation that I can strengthen through practice and experimentation.