My day today can be summed up with a few numbers: 1 - the number of me's 9 - the number of students in my class 6 - the number of hours we spent together talking (mostly by me) about macro photography 100s - the number of photos I am guessing they took today 1 - The number of photos I took today (it was taken while I was walking on my way to teach the class) Anyway, something has to be important if it keeps me from taking photographs. I taught my first floral macro class today. Heck, it was sort of my first class overall. I mean, I have given plenty of lectures to the photography classes at the local community college. And I taught a two week course on pinhole photography last your to a pair of classes at a high school in Vancouver. But here I was flying solo, and being paid to do it. It is a harrowing experience, and I was pretty worn out by the time that 6 pm rolled around. Not so much physically, as mentally and a bit emotionally. In other words, it was sort of how I feel after shooting a wedding. I figure if I am not exhausted by the time I am finished, I wasn't working hard enough. But this is different. With a wedding I am trying to take photos that will make someone else happy (sure they are once-in-a-lifetime photos) but with a class like this I am trying to inspire someone else to take photos that will make them happy. Inspiration is quite a grand concept. It is quite an amazing thing to think of lighting that spark in someone, to see it light up in their eyes, to watch them hunker down over a bed of flowers and realize a whole new world is opening up to them. It is a very rewarding experience. But that which makes it so rewarding is also what makes it so challenging. Because you can light a spark of inspiration in someone, but they have to fan and feed those flames. So sometimes lighting the spark alone isn't sufficient. I could have spent a couple of hours showing them my work and lighting a number of sparks, that promptly would have sputtered and died not long after they left, not for lack of trying on their part, but rather not having the tools to keep that inspiration going. And that is what I hope I accomplished today. Not just showing people what they could do, but more importantly, how they could do it themselves. And without breaking their budgets doing it. That was one of the points I was trying to get across today, inexpensive alternatives to expensive macro lenses. And I would like to think I succeeded. Well ok, on a number of counts I am pretty sure we did, and not just because nobody fell asleep or "went to the bathroom and never returned". We had a pretty good time today, and I look forward to seeing the images they got. I saw a few here and there on the backs of cameras (admittedly one of the best qualities of shooting digital), but that was just a small portion of all the shooting that was going on. So our follow-up critique class should be fun. I really do enjoy doing this, the teaching that is. Before I got bit by photography, I received my BA in History. Specifically Ancient Studies (Greek, Roman, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, the like). I loved history, and still do. And it seemed like a perfect fit, as there are not many things to do with a history degree other than write or teach. And I was on the verge of applying for grad school when photography dropped into my life. Not a complete derailment, but rather just a minor one, as I knew this was a direction I wanted to head. And now I am getting there. It is exciting. But even more so, it is quite fulfilling. That and I think photography in many ways makes the world a better place, so the more people I can help along that path, the better. PS This shot really surprised me. I have no memory of ever seeing prints of this image. And I took it within the past year. In fact I scanned three images off this page of negatives that I really really liked, and I have no memory of any of them. I am sure they got printed, I am also certain I saw the prints. But for whatever reason I completely forgot them. I would say, such a shame, but I found them again. Just goes back to what I said a couple of posts ago about browsing back through old images. You never know quite what you may find!

It is me Mohammad Salim khan.I was born in a beautiful village known as Dherai located on the bank of River swat pakistan on 1968.I got my primary education from Govt primary school kanju.I passed my matriculation from Govt. High school Dherai and was declared first in my school in 1986.I went to karachi for higher education in 1989.I got my FSC and BSC degree from Govt.degree science and commerce college karachi pakistan.After getting his degree,I got admission in general Nursing in Liaquat national hospital karachi and got my Diploma in 1994.I also got my homoepathic degree from central homoepathic collge karachi pakistan.In 1995 I came to my native town and joined saidu group of teaching hospital swat as a senior staff nurse.I got my BSC nursing degree from peshawar university in fist Division.I went to UK for my adaptation programme in 2003.I have been there for two years. Now a days I am working in saidu group of teaching hospital swat pakistan in Medical unit as a senior staff nurse. I am also running my private clinic in my native town Dherai.