Today was the opening orientation at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography. For the Summer Intensive (SI) portion of the program, there are 101 students, 61 female and 40 male. The age range goes from 18 years to 69 years old. I wouldn’t say there’s really any age group that really dominates. There seems to be a pretty even mix. They told us that in past years there were far more of the younger crowd and less of the older students. Also, in previous years the female to male ratio used to be closer to 80/20. So it seems their demographic is shifting.
They broke us up into six groups for the summer. Each group has around 16-17 students. Each group attends the various lectures and labs at different times. Although, they do double up the groups for many of the lectures. Some days, we’ll be in lectures and labs all day. Other days, we might only have a couple hours worth. It varies quite a bit. I imagine the days without lectures, we’ll be out shooting on our own for assignments. Most lectures/labs are held from 9am-1pm, 2pm-6pm, and 7pm-9pm. Some days I’ll only be there for one (or only part of) a section. Other days, I may have to be there for all three (so 9am-9pm, yikes!!!). There’s a couple of labs on the schedule that go to 11pm as well, so there could be some very long days in my future.
We didn’t have any lectures today. It was all about getting to know the staff and teachers and getting to know your fellow classmates. It was interesting to see where everyone came from and what career paths they left behind to come here. We have classmates from several countries including Canada, UK, Finland, Denmark, and Australia so my two day drive doesn’t seem so bad anymore. Some people had been planning this for years. Others found out last week that they were coming (they were on a waiting list).
Everyone seemed really friendly, excited, and a little scared/nervous. I think everyone is wondering how they compare skill-wise to everyone else. I know I am. But, I don’t think it will matter much once we get going. I’m pretty excited to begin. But, I’m also a little nervous about the intensity of it all. We’ll be covering a lot in the twelve weeks. But, I remember always feeling the same way at the beginning of each semester in college when we’d were given the class syllabus. It always seemed like there was no way I’d be able to get it all done. And then at the end of the semester, I’d look back and realize it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I keep telling myself this will be the same. I’ve almost got myself convinced. 
Unfortunately, there seems to be a vast majority of Mac users in my group. I’m heavily outnumbered. I’d guess at least 90% of the group said they used Macs. In case you aren’t aware, I’m not much of an Apple fan in general. But, I will not be converted! On the plus side, it seemed like their were more Canon shooters in my group than Nikon shooters so I won’t be a total outcast.
We finished the day with a discussion on where to shoot around Montana. I heard about some really great day trips around the area, so if you are ever planning making a trip out here someday, I can give you some tips. They covered the Missoula area as well as Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. I can’t wait to visit some of the spots.
On to SI Day 2!
