I never took a picture in my life until I was in my early 60’s, and I am entirely self-taught. My new Leica camera, which I paid for with my firstborn, brought me to a teacher.

Sawyer and I had a one-hour Zoom instruction, and he had images and examples that made what he was saying easier to follow.

I appreciated the break from shoveling snow.

I learned how to navigate the settings. It isn’t a complicated camera in most ways, but it does a lot of new things for me, and I am a slow learner.

The Leica can do many things I’ve never done before. It’s a wonderful piece of technology and creativity.

It’s interesting having a roughly half-century teacher younger than I am, and it worked out beautifully. Sawyer also has dyslexia and is a dog lover. We hit it off right away.

I always had struggles learning in school for all kinds of reasons. The camera is too special a tool not to be understood.

Sawyer is an instructor at the Leica Academy in Boston, and I’m already grateful for him. I have to drop the pose of knowing little, I’m going to learn a lot.

Sawyer walked me through the mind of this remarkable monochrome camera, which does more creative things than I knew possible. He is very easy to work with, a natural teacher. And he knows everything about how this camera works.

We went through some of his photos as he showed me his settings and focal points.

It was very helpful, and a lot of fun.

It is a pleasure for me to work with the young; I get along with them more quickly than many older people. I think they are less jaded and beat up than many older people.

Sawyer has patience, empathy, and understanding, these are beautiful qualities in a teacher.

I understand better how the camera thinks and how to use the settings for even better clarity, detail, and field depth.

I have another lesson scheduled for the 18th.

After the class, I spent half an hour taking photos of Maria and the dogs to test what I had learned. I’m excited. I even have homework; I have to take five pictures of one thing, each with a different setting.

Today’s lesson focused on metering and exposure and how the camera has a mind of its own.

I even took notes. Maybe there is a student buried inside of me yet; it took the camera to bring it out.

This was my first ever formal instruction in photography. I never liked school, but I am loving learning things these days. Maybe I just had to get older to be smarter.

Wow. Just think, said Sawyer, what you might be able to do when you learn a few simple things. I’m drooling.

I learned a lot and need to know still more to do what I want to do with the camera. I hope it shows up in my work soon; Sawyer has a good grasp of how I learn and think, which is a great miracle on its own.

Photography has become an essential part of my life, and the

Leica is an integral part of my photography. I’ll share the trip, as always.