I am once again asking you to fill out a form.

Hi Focal Point friends! I had a team of Instructional Design graduate students working with us this semester. They're focusing on one of the upcoming side courses. In order to create the best course they can, they'd like to gain some insight as to who is all here in the community.

As such, they've created a brief survey. It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes of your time, but will make a tremendous difference to the work they're doing behind the scenes. This is where I say please? for me?

Here's the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTbv_uHfME5F3q-wV0Cp6GM0kdNoKaOYiHENfai7GrqFazBA/viewform

kthanx!

Good news, everybody!

We have a student gallery on the photoclass page now! Right now, it just has a test photo of mine, which is where you come in.

Have a photo you're proud of that you made for one of the assignments? Share it in the student gallery!

When you upload you also have the option of sharing the location, your name, and your social media/portfolio link!

Let's fill this baby up!

https://thefocalpointhub.com/photoclass-2026/

Unit 3 is now live! If you're just finding us now, you're welcome to join in, but start at the beginning: https://thefocalpointhub.com/photoclass-2026/getting-started/

Just a reminder that the course that is open on the site currently is not the same as what you’ll be going through in the next cohort. That includes the Getting Started unit. Please hold off on reading these lessons until the new cohort goes live on July 1st.

Welcome to those just finding us!

I'm genuinely stoked you're here and excited to see what you create.

A quick heads-up on where we are in the year: we're currently nearing the end of Cohort 1 of 2026. This cohort wraps in mid-May, after which the full course stays open through June 30th. On July 1st, Cohort 2 begins fresh -- aka the lessons refresh and lock back up.

If you're just starting out now, you'd be racing through content that's designed to be taken slowly, which is really not a great experience. Rushing increases the risk of burnout and means the lessons and assignments don't get the time they need to actually stick. The course has been written and timed out very intentionally, and you'd be shortchanging yourself.

My recommendation: wait for Cohort 2, which kicks off July 1st. In the meantime, jump into the 52 Weeks project and get involved in the conversation in the Discord, it's a great way to stay engaged with your photography before the next cohort begins.