Beginner looking for advice

[sidewalk]

I am a complete beginner when it comes to photography, but have always felt attracted to it. I am planning on enrolling in some beginner classes at some schools here in NYC and was looking for some advice on which to choose.
The International Center of Photgraphy offers a B&W + Darkroom class, a Color + Darkroom class and a B&W + Color class (no darkroom). I just wanted to get some thoughts from anyone on here about the benefits and/or disadvantages to learning darkroom techniques and also whether or not it makes a significant difference in learning just B&W or just Color.
Also considering classes at NYU continuing ed., School of Visual Arts and New School. Anyone familiar with these?
Also looking for some advice on a manual camera. Have looked into the Nikon FM-10 and the Pentax ZX-M. Any other models that would work well for a complete beginner?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, and I'm looking forward to becoming part of the community and eventually helping out another beginner (ahhh, the circle of life).

 

[Digital Matt]

Learn everything you can. I've been shooting digital for 5 years and I'm getting a degree in photography now. Every class I'm taking is solely film based. There's nothing like tangible contact with your film and prints to make you slow down and take your time composing and shooting. Take B&W and Color. Take as many classes as you can. The more hands on experience you get with photography, and really, the more photos you take and develop, and print, the better off you'll be.

As for cameras, any film camera that allows for manual focus and manual exposure will do. If you plan to continue on with photography, you'll need to keep with the system of lenses that go with whatever camera you've bought because switching systems can get expensive.

If you really get into it, you may wind up ditching 35mm and moving to MF or even LF. Right now, just get a camera and a 50mm lens and start exposing film.

 

[ksmattfish]

Also looking for some advice on a manual camera. Have looked into the Nikon FM-10 and the Pentax ZX-M. Any other models that would work well for a complete beginner?

The Pentax ZX-M is a pretty decent, no-frills, manual focus SLR. A modern version of the K-1000.

I am not a fan of the Nikon FM-10. Nikon doesn't make it. You can get versions of it that are different only cosmetically (and the lens mount) in other brands such as Olympus, Vivitar, Cosina, etc... Except all of those cost less than the Nikon version. If you want to go with Nikon, you can probably find a used Nikon FM, FM2, or FM2n for the same or less than a new FM-10. Much nicer cameras, although still fairly no-frills, manual focus, manual exposure, etc...

 

[rmh159]

I'd also recommend going to the library and checking out as many books as they have. To DigitalMatt's point the more you completely soak yourself in anything photography related the quicker you'll learn.

There's a TON of resources available... really the only limitation is how much you want to invest into it (time and $$$).