This is Allison Tyler Jones and I'm going to be teaching Art That Happens to be Your Life for the 2009 season.

I'm so excited to be able to teach this class again because I feel like I learned a lot the last time that we did it. I'm excited to share with you the things that I've known for awhile and some of the new things that I've learned. We will spend time in this class learning to create imagery, photographs of the people that you love and those around you, and photographs that convey emotion and meaning, not just a "good photograph".

Really, with digital technology everybody can get a pretty decent photograph now. It's not so much about getting a properly exposed photograph, it really is about getting a photo that has some meaning or says something to you. You might be an advanced amateur to where you know how to use your camera pretty well, but you are finding that your images lack meaning or you just can't get the expressions that you want from the subjects you are trying to capture. Maybe you know a little bit about exposure, but you'd like to know more about lighting or composition or how to make your images more creative.

I hope to be able to inspire you and encourage you along the way through online critiques of your images as you do the assignments and post those images. We will have honest critiques and encouragement to help you to do better. We will also spend time looking at the inspiration of photographers who have gone before us, great and amazing photographers. I think that you will really enjoy this class. It will allow you to expand your horizons, inspire you to greater things and help you to find more meaning in the work that you are doing rather than just taking cute pictures.

It's really important that you know that this class is really not for everybody. If you are hoping to download a few handouts and put them in a notebook and think that that is going to make you a better photographer, this is really not the class for you. If you are up for a challenge and you are willing to really put the time in and do the assignments, then I can guarantee that you will take better pictures than you have ever taken in your life, but it will require the effort on your part to do the assignments and really put yourself out there for a critique. It's never fun to be critiqued, and I try to be kind, but I will be honest. I will also encourage you along the way as well.

So look at the questionnaire at the beginning of the class and think carefully about whether this is something that you want to invest in and that you are willing to commit to. It's not just investment of money, it's an investment of time, an investment of your heart and of your mental energy. So think carefully about whether you want to do that. If you are on board for it, then I am thrilled to have you and thrilled to go on the ride with you, because I learn just as much or more from my students you than you learn from me.

So here's to 2009! I'm excited to get started and we will see you in class!