When my husband and I got married a few years ago, my brother gifted us a mirrorless DSLR camera to document our life and travels in the years to come. I couldn’t wait to get it out of the box and start capturing moments. But there was one problem: I didn’t know how to use it. Intimidated by all of its buttons and settings, I signed up for a four-week course at the Atlanta School of Photography that would help me learn my way around our new Lumix.

On the first day of class, I was delighted by the mix of students around me. Among them were a real estate agent aiming to improve her photography skills to better market the homes she was hoping to sell; a retired wildlife buff preparing for a birding trip abroad; a mom who simply wanted to capture beautiful photos of her young kids; and a retired teacher who would soon be traveling to Africa to document a charity’s field work in photos. Being back in a classroom setting surrounded by people who shared similar interests and ambitions—yet who all had different motivations and objectives—was invigorating.

Inspired by how I felt those four weeks (five, if you count our final class, which was a fun, photographic field trip to Historic Oakland Cemetery), I wanted to devote an issue of 17th South to similar educational opportunities that go beyond the traditional university classroom setting. And what better month to do it than September, when so many students of all ages head back to school here in Atlanta? After all, we don’t all necessarily need a graduate degree to acquire certain skills needed to further our careers, beef up our resumes or entertain our personal interests. Writer Muriel Vega rounded up opportunities in fields ranging from film and design to entrepreneurship and marketing for our cover story, “Learning Power”. If you’ve been thinking about ways to increase your earning power or satisfy a creative urge, I hope you’ll find her story helpful and inspiring.

And, as always, we bring you ideas for ways to enjoy food, drink, shopping, design and culture, as well as a few fun places to explore outside the city, for those evenings and weekends when school (and work) is out. Enjoy!

Lindsay Lambert Day
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF