BigStuf 2009 - Camp 9

This was my sixth year going to the BigStuf summer camps down in Panama City, Fl. Every year, it is a good camp and this year was no exception. I think that this year might have been my favorite however because of my photography. I did take some pictures last year, and I actually have a few of those in my portfolio, but I feel like this year I knew more about what I was doing (obviously as I have a year's worth of experience behind me now) and I had a lot more fun taking the pictures.

There really isn't that much to say about the camp as I am kinda taking a break this summer with the philosophical posts, so here are the pictures ;) (with a little commentary)

(For those of you who do read this blog for the writing as well as the photography I have a nice surprise for y'all this fall, but you will have to wait until then.)

Here are the photos,

One of the advantages of having a wide-angle lens is that you can get a lot in frame (especially on a full-frame camera) and that means that you can get some cool shots, especially in the concert type settings like BigStuf.

I really like this photo of the worship leader praying because of the lighting on him.

Again with the wide-angle (my favorite camera combo lately is the 16-35 on my 5D) I think that here having the speaker in the middle with a really open frame gives the picture a feel of a big stage. But at the same time I think that there is a good balance between feeling lost in the picture and giving enough impression of "big-ness."

I did take my 70-200 with me of course, and it saw use too.

But I found myself going back to the wide-angle to give the impression of a big concert feeling.

Though as every good photog knows, for emotion usually the best bet is to crop tight (except for in those rare occasions)

The lighting was pretty interesting for the most part; there was a lot of blue and a lot of purple in most of the sets, but I think that the pictures still turned out good.

Hope y'all enjoyed, cause I know I had a good week :)

-joshua

Hawai'i

So, Hawai'i really is amazingly beautiful. I can't really say much other than that. I got to spend one of the few weeks that I am not at some type of camp this summer on the island of Kaua'i, Hawai'i - you guessed it - taking pictures. You would think that I am sick of pictures by this point in my life, but I am not, not really lol.

For this post I am going to let the pictures do the talking, cause they are going to be the only thing I have that will come close to giving the trip the justice it deserves. Enjoy, cause I know I did :)

I hope that I get some awesome pictures this coming up week too, but it will be a totally different ball park since it will be like a concert/spiritual setting. Anyway, hope that y'all enjoyed the Hawai'i photos, cause I sure did enjoy taking them ;)

-joshua

Salkehatchie Summer Service Week 2

Well, two weeks of Salkehatchie almost killed me, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

It was really fun, and I had a great time getting to know 80 brand new people the second week at a new camp. I did more working at the Greenwood camp than I did down in Summerville, but I did end up getting two more good pictures.

I am about to leave on a trip to Hawaii for a week, so I don't really have much to say except I am glad that I will finally have some down time to rest. But I know that I will still be taking a ton of pictures, and I am ok with that haha.

I will be sure to share my trip with y'all when I get back, or, if I find a way to while I am there, then I will put out some updates there.

So, until next week,

-joshua