methodist musings

it’s amazing what you find when reading people’s postings…

Mom: Well Ty, I was thinking and if you want to take some of your graduation money and have your big drinking party I guess that’s ok.
Son: What?
Mom: Well you told me that you didn’t want to have your graduation party at the church becasuse you wanted kegs.
Son: Mom, I was kidding
Mom: Well, I thought you were serious about getting “clown faced”, or haetver you call it. I tell you what, I need to get “clown faced” after raising you.

i found this on a friend’s facebook wall today, and i just had to share it with my readers

He’s Just Being Miley

where does an 8 year old get this much talent??

summarized statements from the pew research foundation’s report on teens and writing/electronic communication.

1. even though teens are heavily embedded in a tech-rich world, they do not believe that communication over the internet or text messaging is writing.
2. the impact of technology on writing is hardly a frivolous issue because most believe that good writing is important to teens’ future success.
3. teens are motivated ti write by relevant topics, high expectations, an interested audience and opportunities to write creatively.
4. writing for school is a nearly every-day activity for teens, btu most assignments are short.
5. teens believe that the writing instruction they receive in school could be improved.
6. non-school writing, while less common than school writing, is still widespread among teens.
7. multi-channel teens and gadget owners do not write any more - or less - than their counterparts, but bloggers are more prolific.
8. teens more often write by hand for both out-of-school writing and school work.
9. as tech-savvy as they are, teens do not believe that writing with computers makes a big difference in the quality of their writing.
10. parents are generally more positive than their teen children about the effect of computers and text-based communication tools on their child’s writing.
11. teens enjoy non-school writing, and to a lesser extent, the writing they do for school.

whether you like him or not, whether you care for his stance on issues or not, there’s no denying that barack obama has the gift of public speaking that draw people to him. received this video in my inbox today, and it gives some inspiration, hope, and even the chills.

75,000 Strong

Barack Obama. Portland, Oregon

some people keep things for a little bit, the government requires us to keep taxes for 7 years…but this is crazy. one of the girls from my old youth group put this on facebook.

the caption reads “every single paper i’ve saved from 7th grade till senior year. ya know, just in case anything came in handy.”

I’ve noticed a trend over the past few years in wedding photography. There has been a shift in the type of photographs that families want taken, and I attribute some of that to the digital camera.

It used to be that a photographer showed up, set up his or her equipment and did primarily “traditional”, posed photos the the wedding party. Most it those photos were done in front of the altar. The shift has slid in the direction of photojournalism, in that rather than the posed images in front of the altar, the bride and groom want snapshots of life throughout the day. In other words, they don’t want to be told where and how to stand to have their pictures taken. They prefer, instead, to have a photographer that can capture the day as they live it. To catch them in moments throughout the day.

That shift has been possible due to the digital camera and changes in supplementary equipment such as remote flash triggers, on-camera strobes, etc. The question that comes into play is how to please two audiences…

While younger generations (usually the bride and groom) want photojournalistic weddings, parents and grandparents prefer the more traditional posed work. I foresee another shift in the works: as time passes and fewer photographers do any amount of posed shots, couples will begin to miss some of that formality and will begin to prefer it again, although less than their parents and grandparents.

So, the question, is:
1. if you’re married, what type of photography did you have done?
2. When you get married what type do you prefer and why? Or, if you are already married, are you happy with the style you got? Why or why not?

–originally posted on my facebook group for Still Life Photography

that’s what jeff elven said anyway…and i found it pretty clever, the fan of puns that i am.

i had gotten to the softball fields last night to umpire a game (summer softball for the asa via the bloomington-normal girl’s softball association), put on my plate gear, and had run the official coaches meeting. we saw some lightning and had called time. by asa rules at each sight of lightning the game must be held for 30 minutes with the field cleared.

we’d sent the teams to the dugouts when the head guy called the softball complex staff. he cleared the park by sending all teams, coaches, and parents to their cars. we, as umpires, are stuck on the field or in the dugouts waiting to hear any official word on the storm or resuming play. my partner and i had just walked into the dugout when mother nature released her fury. for 10 minutes we couldn’t see the school that sits just 150 yards beyond the outfield fence. the rain came down hard…not only fast, but hard, and just as an added element the hail started. dime to nickel-sized hail was all over the place; it probably fell for about 6 of those 10 minutes. it bounced off the fields a good 3 feet in the air before falling again. one piece even bounced high enough to hit me in the face.

needless to say the games were cancelled, i walked back to the car in the hail storm and all those poor teams had to walk back to the dugouts to pick up their equipment they had left. what a night…another first for me: hail on the diamond.

that was the message header in an email i sent to tic long, president of events for youth specialties, mark oestricher, president of youth specialties, and michelle fockler, vp of events at ys…

i was working on keywording some images in a photo management program i use when a thought struck me. i figured i’ll never know the answer if i don’t ask, so off went the email. feel free to read the message below:

Hi Tic-

I have been a youth worker for the past four years, serving in a local church before taking a position at the conference level within the United Methodist Church. I love youth and I love teaching, but there’s another fire that burns inside me…a fire for creativity and art.

I have apprenticed with a 35 year veteran of photography for the past 4.5 years and just two years ago opened my own photography company called Still Life Photography. My website (http://www.StillLife-Photo.com) tells my philosophy behind photography; that it’s an art form designed to show heart and soul of a person…to catch the passion with which they live their lives, even in the smallest details. I’ve developed a small curriculum that I’ve used locally with churches called “The World Through God’s Eyes” which asks individuals to consider the world from God’s perspective, and through a camera lens. I’ve also developed a couple sermons using my philosophy of looking into the soul of people rather than the shell.

All this to say, I’ve been struggling lately with how my three passions fit together…photography, youth, and ministry. I’ve been to the NYWC the past three years and brought my wife for the first time last year. We’ve already booked our hotels for Nashville this year although we don’t know if the church will have enough to send us.

I’ve looked at some volunteer opportunities the past couple years to bring down the cost for my attendance, and as I sat here sorting through some images I took last night an idea struck me. Is there a way that I can serve YS and my youth ministry peers (and perhaps earn a discount for registration) by offering to photograph the conference? Bands, speakers, general sessions, set-up, comedians, breakout sessions, candids of folks having fun? All 3 events, just the event I was planning on attending (Nashville)?

I’m hoping you or Marko may have some insights, ideas, and interest in my thoughts. I look forward to hearing your input.

think i’ll hear anything back??

i spent the day in champaign-urbana at the university of illinois photographing a graduation and getting equipment ready for the 4 (or 5) that we’re doing tomorrow. i came home, kicked back for awhile and went to start some laundry. got downstairs got everything sorted, started the washing machine, put in the clothes, set the alarm on my phone, and came upstairs to watch tv.

the phone alarm went off, i went downstairs and noticed i hadn’t ever closed the lid to the washer, so the clothes were just sitting in dirty water. i closed the lid, called myself an idiot, and went back to the tv. the alarm went off a second time, i went downstairs, emptied the washer, put the clothes in the dryer and started it. turned around and restarted the washing machine put in another load of laundry, and went to get the laundry detergent, poured it into the washing machine…and then, only then, did i realize i hadn’t ever put soap in the first load.

so………..they’ve been pseudo-washed, partially dried, and are sitting waiting to trade places with the clothes that really were washed…long days result in dirty clothes.

hey hey! the new info is up! check outthe website to get schedule, dates, hotels, and travel information.

fyi…the renaissance hotel (if you’re going to the nashville nywc) is attached to the conference center and the hilton downtown is just across the street.

i got this email today from one of my printing houses for photography called candid color systems

the subject line read”We are under a tornado warning and taking cover-Will be back on the phones shortly”

only a truly dedicated company would take the time to send an email to say they won’t be able to answer the phones while a tornado passes through