A little confirmation goes a long way! This week I had a chance to see confirmation first hand. Let me back up a bit. In September we opened the doors of our photography studio. The darkroom was all set, our staff member Dustin was ready to teach, cameras were ready to be used. We just lacked youth from La Capri coming to learn. A month later the darkroom was still ready, Dustin was even more prepared, and the cameras were gathering dust. We (mainly Dustin) continued to advertise and to find ways to make connections with youth to invite them to come. Then one day Dustin arrived at the studio and kids showed up wanting to learn.
So after a week of teaching the basics of how to operate a SLR camera, and about things like focus, aperture, and film speed the day finally arrived to take pictures. So on Tuesday I was privileged to spend the afternoon with Dustin and the kids he had been teaching, walking around La Capri taking pictures. It was amazing to see Dustin interact with these kids, who are on average 11 or 12 years old, teaching them how to take pictures. In a short time this little band of kids and Dustin have developed an obvious mutual admiration for each other and genuinely enjoyed being and learning together.
Each week Dustin will teach different techniques and they will have a different subject matter that they will shoot and discuss. The topic for this week "Trash in our community." The idea is to take pictures that tell a story and communicate something to the viewer. The idea is to not only teach these kids how to take and develop pictures, but also to teach them to think critically and to use their creativity, and ultimately to introduce them to their creator God. So on Tuesday I saw first hand a little confirmation that God is on the move in La Capri.
Here are a few pictures of Dustin and the kids taking the first pictures:
P.S.
If you happen to have a SLR camera in your closet collecting dust and taking up space that you would like to donate let us know as we could use a couple more cameras.