After teaching myself basic camera functions and black & white darkroom skills, I attended a two year photography school and added lighting, color processing and printing as well as large format photography to my self taught skills.
I worked as a photojournalist in the military for over 30 years shooting stories, processing and printing from film (and eventually post processing digital images) and performing the layout and design of magazine pages.
In more recent years, I taught newer journalists to use their digital cameras more effectively, how to control exposure, effects of different focal length lenses and good download and storage processes.
I also taught use of Photoshop, InDesign, Lightroom and RAW file processing as well as Photoshop Elements.
I believe a photographer must learn to see their surroundings before they can properly photograph their surroundings and they must know their equipment and how to properly use it so they are setting the functions and not letting them be randomly selected.
Practice makes perfect only if you are practicing the proper technique. It is my goal to help others acquire the proper techniques that will help them grow as a photographer and an artist.