Squinting through the glass eye

Shaver, a welder before enlisting in the Army, gets to know her camera.

The great thing about studying photo/video is there's lots of hands-on.  I can only learn so much by listening.  Like many in the class, I have to do...and do...and do again til I get good at it.

There's a lot of get-to-know-you going on between human and camera.  Some pairs are like long lost friends.  Others are more like mortal enemies.

My Nalgene bottle has been to the ends of the Earth with me.  I sure love that little guy. 
 

For the students with no video experience, every day brings a new challenge.  I think the biggest one is operating everything on manual.  Manual focus, manual exposure, manual zoom. The instructors want us to know how the camera works from the ground up.  Knowing this doesn't make trying to focus manually any less painful.

Sergeant First Class Medina, our lead instructor, checks a student's camera for malfunctions.

The instructors go through a brief demonstration and then set us loose to practice.  There's a lot of trial and error going on in the DINFOS hallways these days.

Every new shot must be slated with project information such as date, location, and camera operator.

Everyone's working together well, and the Soldiers and Marines only make fun of each other 3-5 times a day.