Clara(posted 8076 days ago)I am all for safety and all of that good stuff, but you have to learn to trust people sometime in your life. Therefore, my best answer to this question is that you say what state your in and quite possibly somebody that reads this forum can get together with you for a few sessions and show you what to do using their equipment. Classes are great, but its an hour here and an hour there. And books are great as well ( I recommend Zone VI workshop by Picker and Ansel's books as well). But there just is no substitution for riding around with someone "cruising fer pics" and watching how its done. You could learn it in a couple of days. Per has some free workshops going later on this year. Maybe if you are in California you could attend one of them. Good Luck. I hope that your interest turns into a lifelong passion for seeing the light. Kevin