Great Courses

Or at least pretty good courses.  When I set up my dozen semi-annual initiatives each June and December, I include a category for something I might like to purchase.  I don't really need or even want an RV or a condo in a sunny state to escape the mid-Atlantic winter.  I needed a new mattress a few cycles ago and got one. And expensive travel has to wait until the pandemic no longer jeopardizes the life spans of travelers and those who serve them.  Instead, I set my sights on the more modest, acquiring two Great Courses when they went on sale.

Both sets of DVDs arrived in a corrugated box, each separately shrink wrapped to preserve their authenticity.  I selected two, one on how to become a more capable photographer, the other on a description of the basic components of modern electronics. Photography being more generally applicable, I opened that one first, inserted the first of four discs into Drive E:// and listened to an expert professional photographer who travels worldwide for National Geographic explain the basics of lighting, main subjects and other objects of mixed desirability that get captured in each frame.  I have no intention of investing in equipment beyond what I currently own, unlike the rather intricate professional expensive accoutrements to his cameras, but I can pay more attention to light and the totality of the picture before I snap the shutter.  Or I could do what he seems to do and snap the shutter a lot for each picture, then look at the results and select the one that comes out best.  This is something I can do easily and inexpensively.  Shouldn't take more than a month to complete the course.