He came that you may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance–to the full, till it overflows–

John 10:10 (AMP)

Be still, and know that I am God.  Psalm

I had an humbling experience this weekend that reminded me how fragile life is– and how people that need what you have to offer can actually be gifts from God.

It all started several weeks ago at my local chamber of commerce where I was the featured speaker. My goal is to make every presentation that I do to be uplifting and make people glad they took the time to listen to what I have to say. This time I gave suggestions on ways people can make special keepsakes from pictures  they’ve taken, and they could  give these keepsakes  as gifts. I  announced I would be having a workshop where participants could make their own little personal keepsake albums which I call Joy Books. I actually got the name for the album from my niece, whose name is Joy.  Joy keeps special pictures and mementos in a folder which she calls her Joy book. These are things that make her happy when she looks at them. And the name fits  the purpose of the album–to bring joy when its viewed.  I had sign-ups, that day at the chamber, that reached my capacity, but left an opening for one more person.

As time got closer, several people had things come up where they couldn’t come on the scheduled date, so they had to cancel. That didn’t bother me as I’m not a person moved by the numbers. Usually the workshops I host are either at or over capacity, so if I happen to have ones where I have fewer people, I’m not concerned as more attention can be given to the few.

A friend from the chamber called the day before the workshop to ask if she could bring someone new as a last minute add-on. I had space so I said sure.

She showed up at noon Saturday and I was surprised to see a young girl with her–13- year- old Sarah, who was clutching a Walgreen’s photo envelope of pictures. Sarah, my friend explained, had suddenly and unexpectedly lost her mother just a few days before.  And Sarah wanted to make a keepsake album honoring special times shared with her mother and other family members, and have that album with her for her mom’s service (which was today).
I was stunned. This child had just lost her mother? Took me a second to grasp the reality of that. Oh my God!  Losing my own mother as an adult was difficult, but here’s a mere child –now without her mother? That tore my heart.

I worked with Sarah and  friend for the next 3 hours, creating their memory albums. Oddly, or rather not, they were the only two that came to the workshop. I got to know a little more about  Sarah as we worked on her keepsake–That she and her  brother would now be living with grandparents.  That she loved photography, wanted to learn more about it,  and that she liked creating inspirational type pictures.

At the completion of class, she had a beautiful book of memories. And we had exchanged information so that I could keep in contact with her, and also so that she could participate in future photography workshops.

I am humbled that God knew He could trust me with providing a bit of light to this hurting child at such a difficult time. I was humbled that my friend would bring her to me, and humbled that Sarah would agree to come– to some lady’s house that she didn’t even know.

The first part of this year, I hosted a workshop  series for a group of delightful young ladies ages 13-15 years. Their picture-taking experiences consisted mostly of taking candid photos of themselves and others with their cell phones. They even  showed me the best way to do a self-portrait of myself with my cell phone. Lol.  A couple of the girls developed a genuine interest in photography so I eventually  put them in my continuing education program. One young lady–I’ll call her Lisa–was a very good student throughout the series, and she really had a flair for design as her vision board and photo journal were done so creatively. She liked taking pictures but didn’t appear to have the interest in photography as some of the other girls.

Imagine my surprise when I found out  that over the summer, Lisa had entered some photographs in the LA County Fair and had won ribbons on all of her prints! She’s now pursuing doing something with photography and is saving up her money to purchase her own DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex).

Just goes to show you that  most of the time we probably don’t know the full extent of our impact on the lives of others. Keep doing, saying, and showing positive things towards others. You’ll be planting seeds that will someday come to fruition.

Death.

I’ve been thinking about it lately. Not in the sense of myself, particularly. Just death in general. How it doesn’t discriminate. At all. Doesn’t matter your age, your occupation or lack of one; your importance, how many gifts and talents you have to contribute to the world; or even how much you have already contributed. Doesn’t care what future plans you have or dreams there are within you. Doesn’t know the meaning of ‘waiting until it’s convenient’.
Death is an equal opportunity event.  We are all mortal…and we all  eventually die. And for the most part,  we’re not privy to know when it will be.

One thing that  contributed to this recent pondering  was the passing of Steve Jobs and what he said in a commencement address at Stanford in 2005

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart

If you knew you were going to die in the next few years, are there things you would be doing differently now to bring unfulfilled dreams within you to pass?

In the photography-based personal development workshops that I teach, the photograph of the cemetery is one used  in the lesson encouraging participants to search for and discover their God-given dreams and talents…and then identify and implement steps they can take now  to move towards that dream.
The caption on the photo says “The largest reservoir of Unfulfilled Destiny. Unrealized dreams.

So many leave this world with the gifts and offerings that will benefit themselves and others…still in them.  I don’t want to be one of them, and I’m reviewing my life and aspirations and asking God and myself…Am I doing the best I can to fulfill what I’ve been put on this earth for?

What about you? Are there unrealized dreams within that you’ve yet to take steps to fulfill?

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil

Front Lighting

Front lighting

Are you familiar with the well-worn adage that the designated picture-taker has to stand with his/her back to the sun, so the sun would come over their shoulders to brightly light the subject(s) being photographed? This is an acceptable rule of thumb to make sure all subjects in the photo are evenly lit, and this type of lighting is easiest for your camera to meter correctly. However, this is front lighting, which is two-dimensional and flat, providing little depth to the image. This is the same lighting that your on-camera flash produces. Our crumpled paper in the first illustration is front lit and it’s pleasing enough. We can see its form, and the folds and creases.

Side Lighting

Side lighting

Side-lighting gives a three-dimensional effect to your subject, with the combination of light and shadow revealing more depth and texture. The piece of paper has taken on a new look, revealing details that aren’t present in the first illustration. Side-lighting at a 45-degree angle is the lighting of choice for most portraits. A 90-degree angle, commonly referred to as “split” lighting is used for highly dramatic portraits as the face appears to be evenly halved with light and shadow.  Additionally, this is the lighting to show texture in fabric, or bring out the coarseness of a weathered fence post.

The objects in the room of this 19th-century pioneer home are illuminated with side lighting that is coming through the window, giving depth to the room, and form to the objects in it.

Back Lighting

Back lighting

Back-lighting is when your light source is illuminating your subject from its rear, with the light source facing your camera. A common situation — you’re inside the house, photographing someone who is sitting in front of a brightly lit window. Your subject will be outlined or “rimmed” in light, but they will be under-exposed. With back-lit subjects, your camera meter on automatic will expose for the light source (such as window mentioned above) and your subject will be in shadow. Setting your camera to compensate for back-lit subjects will then render the back-ground over-exposed. Back lighting is good for dramatic effects such as when you want to render your subject as a silhouette.

Doing this paper experiment yourself can be very useful in helping you to see the difference the various angles of light produces. You can use a stationary light source (as the sun, or a brightly lit window) and move your piece of paper to the various angles; or you can use a movable light source (lamp, floodlight) and move it around the stationary piece of paper (as I did). You can substitute the paper for other objects such as an orange or a book (or whatever you want to use).
In the next several posts, I’ll  cover each  lighting technique in more detail using subjects with more personality than a piece of paper. 

Cover

Photo book opened

This mini photo album is a cute, clever and compact way to take and share favorite images. It’s generally called a “squash book” because of its accordion style where it expands to reveal images and then is “squashed” back to a compact book.  It’s wonderful for photos from baby showers, holiday events, field trips,  and great to show off grandchildren, pets hobbies, collections and more

Though it’s not difficult to make, folding it to its compact size can be a little tricky, but after a couple of time it’s easy to get the hang of it. The materials to make it are simple: 4 sheets of card stock, some printed scrapbook paper, scissors, double-stick tape/glue, and a ruler.

Section close-up

As the technique is understood better through demonstration, I found a  5-min  YouTube video that shows how a squash book is put together. The decorating of the book is left to your imagination.

This one  is a Christmas gift for my 12-year old niece She came to visit for  few days this past summer and I did a photo session of her at that time, so this includes images from that session.
I also created this book to be something that will be a source of encouragement and affirmation for her (something adolescent girls desperately need in today‘s culture), so I have spaces for little hearts and tags where I will write  notes of love and encouragement.

Is there a girl in your sphere of influence that you could encourage with a book like this?

Section close-up

I do have a kit with  the papers, tags  and embellishments that make this book, and also one with the book partially assembled already. If you’re interested in either of those, please let me know.

Book before pictures and embellishments added