I Love the Crescent Moon, Shining in the Sky

That's a really pretty crescent moon hanging over sunset's final exhalation last night.

Were I a better photographer, you could probably even see it...

I added a cropped version, for better viewing. But then you lose the scope of the sunset.

I looked into photography classes this weekend. I figured, hey, I'm in the (relatively) big city now, there must be lots of photography-type workshops for me to take. And there are. I even got excited about this one taught by an Outside Magazine photographer and spent time debating whether I could brazen my way through as an "advanced amateur." Turns out they had definitions, and advanced amateur requires the ability to understand the manual settings on your digital SLR camera. Since I'd have to Google "SLR" to discover what it stands for, I figure that's not me. And who knew there were manual settings? Isn't that why we all ditched those huge film cameras for our sleek little point-and-shoots with the nifty wizards?

I know, I know -- my ignorance in this area knows no bounds.

So I determine that I fall into the lowest bracket: Enthusiast. Which I think means I have more enthusiasm than sense. Which actually sounds about right. It's a nice way of patting me on the head and saying, "but at least you try, dear." Besides, nifty workshop with Outside Magazine photographer? $1800 for the WEEK.

Yeah, I know.

Cheapest class I've found so far is $450, and that's the "commuter rate" for another week-long deal.

Suddenly I'm a townie.

Apparently being in the Land of Art means that everyone thinks you're wanting to shell out to be the next Stieglitz. Where is my Saturday afternoon $75 class for enthusiasts who don't know their digital cameras have manual settings?

I might have to resort to a book. Self-study.

Hmmm...maybe I'll even read the camera manual!