F/Stop - April, 2003

We started the day with Mr. Chandler reminding us that our resources belong to the Lord and should always be used for His glory. He is then free to bless the work of our hand however He chooses. He also encouraged us to always be listening and learning from those around us because no matter how good we become, or how much we know, we'll never know it all.

Then we headed out for the activities of the day. First stop, STARBUCKS! The Arboretum didn't open until 10 AM, so we had to go somewhere…

Armed with a roll of black & white film, plus the leftover color from last nights' "night shoot" of the city, we entered the arboretum. When we walked in we were surrounded by so much natural beauty. I was reminded of Job 37:14, "Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God." His uniqueness was visible everywhere in the variety of colors, flowers, and foliage. How awesome our God is!

We attended three workshops teaching different aspects of portraits. They included working with children, bridal, and couples portraits. I never realized how different each groups needs were to work with, or how fun.

Now we are free to use our film to try some of the fun things we learned about portraits and to try to capture some of the beauty of our surroundings on our own. We tried broad-lighting, profiles and 3/4 profiles, but the self-portrait seemed to be the most difficult thing to accomplish. There was a lot of laughter heard at both the attempts and viewing of these.

We toured The Color Place and saw many of their works in progress. We learned about digital recreation and printing of banners and vinyl signs for advertisers, and the changes that have occurred in film developing. Then we heard from a Canon representative who showed many different pieces of equipment that are available today and what you can do with each one.

The instructors have done a wonderful job of keeping things both informative and enjoyable–the best possible combination. I have been so encouraged by their servants' hearts that so quickly and willingly drop whatever they are working on to answer our questions, be our models, or help us understand the "whys" of the "hows". Thanks, guys.

This has been an incredible week of learning to see light in action as it bounces off our lives and reflects to the world what we really are, for "we are the light of the world". I pray our reflections glorify Him in our work here this week, and in the future work we do in our lives.

–IPS Student Kelly Miller

Today was a good day! We started the morning by hearing Cassidy exhort us to be usable, as Timothy was.

Our photo shoot took us to the Farmer's Market. There we saw some of the most beautiful colors in God's creation. One thing that I appreciate about photography is the ability to "freeze" a moment of God's design.

This has proved to be an excellent course for beginning photographers, as well as those more advanced. The instructors are very professional, yet have the patience to deal with the individual needs of the students. It's a great course.

—IPS Student Weston Brock

"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness…" This verse came up during one of our sessions today and stuck with me throughout the rest of the afternoon. It seemed so appropriate and fit perfectly in summing up these past days thus far.

We have been enjoying ourselves greatly. What a blessing this course is turning out to be!

Peter started our day off on the right track by sharing a good devotional with our group. Afterwards we went off into the city to get shots at a cattle drive and also went to a beautiful fountain spot in downtown Dallas. Our assignment was to get photos of six different categories, each of which required patience, creativity, and even imagination. We arrived back at the DTC just in time for lunch. The kitchen and hospitality staff have been doing a wonderful job of taking good care of us and meeting our needs.

This afternoon's sessions were my favorites! Katie started the afternoon off with sharing about light and its many inolvements. She was very professional and thorough in her teaching. Next we heard all about composition with Peter. He highly encouraged us to think differently, to look from another perspective than what we are used to. Since I myself am not a particularly creative person, this session helped me greatly. Cassidy ended the afternoon with a session on black and white photography. It was highly informative.

In the evening sessions we have been reviewing and critiquing our pictures as a group. In doing so we learn from one another by seeing different weaknesses and strengths. I am looking forward to what the rest of this week has in store.

Thank you, IPS staff, for all you have done and continue to do to make this week fun and successful!

–IPS Student Genevieve Evangelista

Fascinating? Enlightening? Whatever the word, it was one super day at IPS. After breakfast and wisdom search we plunged into learning about the basics of how a camera functions and how to clean them.

Armed with our cameras, 36 exposures of film, two hours of time, and lots of excitement we headed to downtown Dallas. Everyone was searching for the best shot of something patriotic and something associated with a newspaper to be a part of the two contests of the day.

Arriving back at the Training Center we entered our more technical session of the day learning about aperture, shutter speed, exposure, and film. One of our instructors, Mr. Chandler, taught that the key to photography is to be able to "see light." Another instructor long ago taught the same principle when He said, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12b) Christ is our light and we want to always be "seeing" him so we won't be wandering in the darkness.

After supper came my most exciting part of the day as we got to view, and hear critiques, on the pictures we had taken that morning. That was fun! We finished around 9 PM and headed for our beds with a greater understanding of photography and God's creativity.

–IPS Student Lydia Heagy