The August Masterpiece Mission made me laugh. The fear of asking people if we could photograph them just sounds so scary. Jim obviously endured some arm twisting before he offered the second option allowing us to photograph family members. Most of my family members are so tired of me with a camera in hand that there’s teeth gnashing and eye rolling, and unless I can figure out a trick, my grandgirls are hopeless and all I can get are smirks and fake smiles. I LOVE taking shots of strangers. Well, I "like" doing it, thanks to the courage I got from both Jim and Ibarionex in approaching strangers. After all, "No" doesn’t last very long. I don’t "ask" people any more if they’ll let me photograph them. Rather, I say that I would "like" to photograph them. That way, it’s harder for them to say no.

Truth is, I do like taking portraits, not the studio type shots, but environmental ones. I have a studio in my basement equipped with Alien Bees, which I use but only occasionally. I love taking shots of kids. Of course, since I’m a teacher, I have a ready group of subjects.

Five years ago, I joined BetterPhoto and took a class with Brenda Tharp. She was so wonderful that it led to an exposure class, and then Jim’s One Year Class. The rest is history. I’ve been hooked by BP! My days aren’t normal if I don’t read comments in Masterpiece or enter something in the contest. I think I’ve taken at least 25 classes, and am about to sign up for another!