F/Stop - October, 2003

Fri, 2003-10-17 18:00 - IPS

Every aspect of the day was incredible! We awoke this morning to mixed emotions. The final exam loomed over our heads… but it was also our last day together.

Daniel, one of our instructors, led devotions. He challenged us to commit to following the Lord whole-heartedly, with our eyes fixed on eternity, and to rely on His strength to "finish strong."

With that awesome start to our day, we sat through our last two sessions, took our test (whew!), and then headed out to Old City Park for one of our last photo shoots.

The afternoon was packed with fun… as we shot our last pictures (mostly of each other!), and asked our last burning questions.

After dinner we had a quick session on twilight photography… and then a chance to practice it! We walked to the hill at the edge of the Training Center's property to experiment with the Dallas skyline at sunset. Good memories!

The rest of the evening was filled with an awesome slideshow of images and quotes from the week. Rowan left us with a charge and encouraging word in the area of photography, closing the week with a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for a great course!

It was absolutely outstanding! I learned a ton, and can't wait to get home and continue to put it all into practice.

"Every good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." (James 1:17)

—Prizewinning Photography Student Dana Wilson

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Thu, 2003-10-16 18:00 - IPS

Truly, prizewinning photography! We have two contests a day to reward those who have applied the previous day's instruction. (Today's: Best Self Portrait and Best Posed Group of 3 or more.) It has really been fun to see the quality of the images we have created advance as we progress through this week of photographic studies.

Today was a unique day in our schedule: We started off the morning by going to Starbucks, then the Dallas Arboretum for a photo shoot and three workshops on bridal, couples, and children's portraits. We had a 'bride' in her wedding gown, and a family from San Antonio for models today! Everyone appreciated their cheerful willingness to pose, and enduring smiles! (Try smiling nicely for two hours straight!!)

We left the arboretum in two 15 passenger vans, bound for The Color Place, one of the three largest color labs in the US, a very professional and high quality lab. It develops film for some very prestigious photographers… and this IPS course! It was a fascinating tour of a very modern photo lab, one that not only prints pictures, but also does full vehicle wraps and billboard-sized banners!

I think the one thing I appreciate most about this course is the instructors. The cumulative amount of understanding and experience that they bring to bear is formidable, but their whole goal is to gently educate us in a way that will help us become excellent photographers. They are always ready to sit down with us to help answer our questions, and give practical hands-on tips and demonstrations. The teaching styles are varied, teaching us new concepts in ways that the entire class can grasp.

I like that every day begins with a Wisdom Search led by one of the instructors that reminds us that there is more to life than making photographs, and that our true focus as photographers and Christians is to please and bring glory to God. It has been an enjoyable week of learning how to create… Prizewinning Photography.

—Prizewinning Photography Student Bryan Winchell

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Thu, 2003-10-16 18:00 - IPS

Picture of the Day

By Amy Miller

 

Posed Group Contest Winner

By Kayleen Personius

 

Self Portrait Contest Winner

by Dana Wilson

 

Hand in Water

By Hannah Chapman

 

Posed Portrait

By Suzanne Day

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Wed, 2003-10-15 18:00 - IPS

Wow! What an exciting day! After breakfast and Wisdom Search, we loaded up into the vans, off to our photo shoot of the day: The Farmer's Market.

The beautiful flowers, mouth-watering fruit, and fall pumpkins were all perfect for creating our images. Our assignments for the day were side-lighting, back-lighting, finding "C" curves, thirds, hands, children, complete tonal range, and high contrast. We had a chance to practice our new-found knowledge to create the perfect image.

After our photo shoot, we headed back to the DTC to lunch and our afternoon sessions. We learned from our fun-loving instructors about portraits and flash use.

The end of the day was spent in review of our pictures, learning how to improve them and discovering what we did right!

We finally headed to bed tired, but enthusiastic about the forthcoming day.

–Prizewinning Photography Student Hannah Wood

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Wed, 2003-10-15 18:00 - IPS

Picture of the Day

By Elisa Reyes

 

Children Contest Winner

By Stephen Kleuber

 

Hands Contest Winner

By Kelly Becker

 

Tomatoes

By Ashah Wood

 

Pots

By Dana Wilson

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Tue, 2003-10-14 18:00 - IPS

What a day full of learning new information! This morning we went out on the town in an attempt to shoot prizewinning photographs. Our assignments included taking a picture of stopped motion, and another picture that needed to appear blurred to give the look of moving.

Our first endeavor was to get some good shots at the cattle drive sculptures in downtown Dallas. Next we headed to Fountain Place to get some water images.

Then for our classroom time, we were taught lighting, composition, and black & white photography. I learned so much and am looking forward to shooting some more pictures tomorrow with the information I learned today!

—Prizewinning Photography Student Hannah Chapman

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Tue, 2003-10-14 14:45 - IPS

Picture of the Day

By Suzanne Day

 

Reflection Contest Winner

By Ashah Wood

 

Time Contest Winner

By Suzanne Day

 

Waterfall

By Bryan Winchel

 

Building

By Ashah Wood

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Mon, 2003-10-13 18:00 - IPS

IPS 10 Begins…

Our first day of classes was full of fun, challenge, fascination, and enlightenment.

The fun came with the assignment to experiment with our cameras, a roll of film, and two hours in the West End of Dallas.

The challenge was finding an unusual purple shot.

The fascination was seeing the creativity that sixteen students discovered looking through a lens.

The enlightenment was throughout our sessions and "on the field" as our instructors presented the principles of "Prizewinning Photography."

"Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).

—Prizewinning Photography Student Amy Miller

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Mon, 2003-10-13 18:00 - IPS

Picture of the Day

By Kathleen Personius

 

Car Contest Winner

By Bryan Winchell

 

Purple Contest Winner

By Amy Miller

 

Looking Up

By Rebekah Kleuber

 

Washing

By Stephen Kleuber

 

Scruffy

By Ashah Wood

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Sun, 2003-10-12 18:00 - IPS

Arriving at the Dallas Training Center was quite an experience. I walked in the front door and was instantly greeted by an elegant, slightly sophisticated environment. Large pillars and cozy couches give it a grand—yet homey—feel. I could hardly take everything in when, suddenly, IPS begins.

I started by entering a professional studio where Katie was busily arranging the backdrop and lights, readying the studio to take the students personal ID portraits. And then the classes began. Rowan led the group in a time of getting to know each other with thought-provoking questions such as, "Hamburger or Pizza?" and "Coke or Pepsi?" and "If you could create one image of any event in the past 100 years, what would it be?"

We finished the evening with a video about Pulitzer Prizewinning photographers and the stories behind their photographs. We learned that finding that one special image doesn't happen every day, but requires persistence, determination, and hard work.

Most of all, we learned to be flexible and to let God work through photography to allow us to be better witnesses for Him. Now I'm fired up and ready to start snapping!

—Prizewinning Photography Student Kelly Becker

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