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# Back to School
- URL: https://www.cjchilvers.com/blog/back-to-school/
- Published: 2016-08-18T17:26:03.000Z
- Updated: 2016-08-18T17:26:03.000Z
- Author: CJ Chilvers
- Tags: gear, photography, cameras

My wife got a new job at a college. I'm taking advantage of the situation to go back and re-take several photography classes with a discount. It's been 20 years since I've taken a college-level photography course.

I'm excited by the prospect of having a beginner's mind again. Maybe I'll argue a bit with the professor, but I did that the first time around as well. Right, [Monte](http://news.sxu.edu/2015/10/sxu-honors-the-legacy-of-monte-gerlach-and-40-years-of-mentoring-photography-students/?ref=cjchilvers.com)?

The point is, we all could benefit from a beginner's mindset. I may have devoted most of my life to writing and photography, but what could be possible if I walk into a classroom dropping all my assumptions? Could I be the student with the most to learn?

I think it's a worthwhile experiment.

If I walked around life in general with that attitude, I'd bet I get more out of every experience.

As an aside, the only thing that has lessened my enthusiasm for this experiment is the equipment required for the classes: an SLR and a tripod. I sold all of that stuff around 2009\. As my recent writing has shown, I hold no grudges against such gear, just the lack of creativity they tend to foster in me. Everyone has a different constraint-happiness level. Mine is somewhere between the iPhone and rangefinder fixed-lens film cameras.

So, I picked up an entry-level SLR and tripod to meet the minimum requirements. I'm really trying to like the experience. I'm practicing. But everything I've produced so far has only confirmed what's already [in the book](https://craftandvision.com/products/a-lesser-photographer?ref=cjchilvers.com). Constraints work.