Former CCS teacher to teach MPCC photography class

Mid-Plains Community College (MPCC) Imperial campus will be offering a fundamental class on operating a digital camera Saturday, April 10.
The class is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Getting to Know Your Camera” will be taught by Dik (Richard) Haneline, art instructor at MPCC in North Platte.
Haneline will explain camera basics and the modes associated with modern digital platforms.
The exposure triangle and dials on the camera will also be discussed.
Registration for this class can be done online at bceregis ter.edu, email IMPstaff@mpcc.edu or call 308-882-5972.
There is a fee to take the class.
Haneline background
Haneline taught at Chase County Schools (CCS) from 1989-1997.
After leaving Imperial, he moved to Sidney for two years, then on to Rock Hill, South Carolina where he attended Winthrop University receiving a Masters of Fine Arts degree and taught there for six  years.
He returned to North Platte in 2007 where he currently resides and took a position as art instructor at MPCC.
“I got my first camera for Christmas in 1983. I used it to take reference photos for paintings and drawings,” said Haneline.
Up until 1995, he said he used a film camera at which time digital cameras were becoming known and film developing became unaffordable.
“I did not touch a camera again until 2001 when I had to document my paintings for my book,” he said.
He said he purchased his first point and shoot digital platform and hated it.
Fast forward to 2013. He said a student at MPCC asked him to help him with a graphic design project. He needed a portrait of himself for a magazine cover.
The student met with Haneline, bringing his DSLR (digital single-lens reflex camera) to accomplish the task.
“I took the first shot and caught a glimpse of the image on the LCD review screen, and I was sold,” Haneline said.
Digital had finally reached the image quality he was comfortable with using.
“Two weeks later, my first DSLR arrived,” he added.
Since then, Haneline has been documenting his travels to the desert southwest, the Badlands and critters small and large across the plains.
“One of my favorite subject matter choices is the Milky Way,” Haneline said.
He said he will be teaching a second class June 12 on documenting the Milky Way.
“I exhibit my images when possible. I am not a fan of computers, so my approach to photography is ‘take the best possible image in camera’,” said Haneline.
For those with software skills, a great photo will advance their image-making and take them to their goals, he added.
“I think even the most skilled photographers can learn from each other. Sometimes, it might just be one little thing that changes your image-making for the best,” he said.