The weekend, succinctly

It was a relaxing weekend, the last before the Thanksgiving madness. In between a birthday party at a cozy dive bar with twinkling Christmas lights (complete with a moose head on the wall, covered by bras a la Coyote Ugly style), and pre-Thanksgiving menu planning and grocery shopping, I started to work on #8 of my 30 for 30 list by taking a Digital Photography Bootcamp on Saturday. It was months of knowledge crammed into 7 hours. 

The biggest thing I took away from the class was gaining familiarity with the new Nikon D3100, and learning about how to achieve a good exposure, the "perfect storm" which consists of three key factors: ISO sensitivity, shutter speed, and aperture. I don't know if this is a bad thing that that's all I can remember from a 7-hour intensive class without looking back at my notes, but there really is a lot involved as far as technique and general understanding of how to create the appropriate trifecta. Sadly, I can't post any of the shots that I took during the class because, as it turns out, I need some way to process and convert .NEF RAW files to be readable. Argh– that's next on my list to figure out.

I also watched a little bit of Chris Campbell's "Fannie's Last Supper", a PBS special on the culinary icon from Victorian times in Boston's heydey. It was fascinating and inspired me to prepare a simple Boston Bibb lettuce salad with tomatoes, cucumber and dressed with a champagne cider with garlic and three cheeses. I'm getting excited for the short work week and hosting my first Thanksgiving!