yippy i-o keeyay!

Man, thanks so much to all you die-hards who showed up despite the rain on Saturday night! Thanks also for putting up with me as I scratched my head and wondered what on earth to do next. Lesson Learned: having a Plan B is a wonderful thing. I'll try to always have a Photoshop lesson prepared in case we need to take it inside due to weather again. If anybody else has an idea for an alternate Plan B (say, somewhere to shoot indoors) gimme a holler.

Even though it didn't go according to plan, I'm still amazed at some of the pictures you all came away with! Angela, Amber, and Stuart took a couple photos that serve as terrific examples of the kind of effects you can produce with slow speed (i.e. night) photography. They might have been "mistakes" for all I know, but with some channeled creativity you can achieve some trippy effects (yes, I just said trippy.)

We will definitely do another night shoot together since Saturday fell apart. For now, let's tentatively plan on doing our night shoot on Friday, July 7th. Details to follow.

As for this Saturday (*Stephen checks the weather...) we will be doing our first Black and White shoot. Among the many things Rodney taught us a few weeks ago is the difference between shooting for B&W and shooting for color. Shape, texture, form, and contrast play a much bigger role in B&W photography. Learning to think in black and white plays a big part in taking good black and white photos. We'll talk about all this before we head out to shoot.

We're gonna be on the south/west side of the river this time and meet at the Clarendon metro stop. I'm guessing there is only one exit, so let's meet at the top of the escalators at 11:00. I would assume there is a coffee shop or something right around there where we talk for an hour-ish. (worst-case scenario we can meet at Starbucks a few blocks away.) Stuart is the star this week! He's gonna tell us a thing or two about his photography and maybe he will even tell us how to take amazing pictures from inside a Learjet 35s. We'll likely grab some lunch around noon before we head out to take pictures. As usual, feel free to come and go as you need. If you're comin' late, call me (703.303.3131) to figure out where we are.

And now let me proceed with the usual announcements. (That's your queue to skim the rest of this unless you see something in bold that grabs your attention. I know how it is.)

Someone mentioned going to a Nats game. I'm told they're playing the Cubs soon, and I'm told we should go to that game. If someone wants to organize it, that would be pretty kosher.

I stopped calling them "weekly" exercises a while ago, but we've got a new one this week! The exercises are optional (homework isn't too popular around these parts) but I strongly suggest them because they are (hopefully) helpful in stretching your creativity. Let's give it a shot this week and upload some pictures from your room by next Wednesday. ...I just realized how creepy that might sound; "Take a bunch of pictures in your bedroom." Whatever; I'm thinking more like pencil sharpeners and flip flops. =)

Leadership 101 is coming up on Saturday, July 8th at 2 o'clock (Ebenezers). They will be giving out free digital SLR's to the first 30 people to sign up. Okay not really, but hopefully that got your attention. =) If you have a desire to lead a group or simply learn more about how "discipleship" happens at NCC, I would encourage you to go. Attending does not automatically make you a small group leader, so there's no pressure to commit to anything at this point. It's a great way to get a handle on how things are run at NCC.

That is all. ...and now I go. Superman just called; said he's in a bit of trouble and needs my help.