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Events Sub-Categories

Valley Revolution 2009

3 galleries with 599 photos.

Updated: May 29, 2009 4:25am PST

Events Galleries

PRC Hope is Born Evening :

PRC Hope is Born Evening

Updated: Dec 11, 2009 1:47am PST

Transformed Conference :

Transformed Conference

Updated: Nov 19, 2009 12:07am PST

Shepherding The Nations Banquet and Auction :

Shepherding The Nations Banquet and Auction

Updated: Oct 24, 2009 5:17am PST

PRC Walk for Life 2009 :

PRC Walk for Life 2009

Updated: Oct 17, 2009 2:46pm PST

TBBF Church Picnic :

TBBF Church Picnic

Updated: Oct 04, 2009 1:47am PST

PRCSFV Banquet : The Pregnancy Resource Center of the San Fernando Valley's annual fundraising banquet held at The Church at Rocky Peak on Feb. 20, 2009, with Janet Folger as the keynote speaker. The PRC helps women facing pregnancy under difficult circumstances by providing ultrasound, counseling, support, and options other than abortion.

PRCSFV Banquet

The Pregnancy Resource Center of the San Fernando Valley's annual fund ...

Updated: Feb 24, 2009 12:43am PST

TBBF Youth Hoedown :

TBBF Youth Hoedown

Updated: Feb 12, 2009 2:15am PST

Youth Group Flag Football and other Fun :

Youth Group Flag Football and other Fun

Updated: Feb 02, 2009 12:56am PST

Community Christmas Pow Wow : At the suggestion of a Navajo artist I met in October, I went to this Pow Wow to see if I could photograph the dancers. I arrived mid-afternoon, apparently during a break in the events of the day. I wandered in and looked around, and wasn't quite sure what to do. I had never been to one of these before. This was in the rec hall of a Methodist church. Not what I was expecting. I was thinking this would be outdoors. Don't know why I thought that, but I just did. I guess it might have been because most of my experiences with American Native people in my early years were mostly either outdoors or in more "rustic" surroundings, like inside a hogan. But those times were on the reservations, in Arizona and New Mexico, where those people have lived for centuries. This was indoors, under artificial light, with not the most interesting of backgrounds. 

Anyway, I half-thought about chickening out and getting back in my car and driving home, but a voice in my head said "no, stay and pursue this." I had listened to half of the book of Revelation on CD on the way down, and I had been praying that God would show me what to do. So I walked over to the stage, where there was a middle-aged guy who looked like he was in charge. He was sitting talking to another, younger, guy, who was dressed very impressively in full leather, beads and feathers. I introduced myself to the middle-aged guy, and he introduced himself as Benjamin, the emcee of the day's events. We began to talk, and I found that we had a few important things in common. Benjamin told me of some of the Native American symbolism and how it points to Jesus as the Christ, the one who died as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. The eagle with its wings spread in flight has the shape of a cross, and the 12 tail feathers represent the 12 apostles. We talked for almost half an hour about really cool things like how the Native People had the culture, and the stories, and the symbolism that point to Jesus, but were waiting for the Bible to come to tell them about Him. 

I asked Benjamin if I could be permitted to take pictures, and he told me this wasn't necessarily the best time to do it, as they were about to start the gourd dancing, which is sometimes not permitted to be photographed. I couldn't stay until the main ceremony and intertribal dances, as my kids were going to be singing at the church that night and I had to be back for that. So he said he would ask the head dancer if photography would be permitted for the gourd dances. 

I waited a bit, and the word came back "yes." So I went back out to the car, fed the meter some more quarters, and grabbed my camera bag and came back in ready to start shooting. 

These shots are not what I would call great pictures at all. But I didn't want to intrude into the space of the dancers, drummers and singers any more than I already had been allowed, so I kept my distance. Maybe at the next pow wow I'll be a little more bold and ask for permission to do portrait sittings, or maybe the setting will be more according to my "vision." I was picturing an outdoor setting with the sunset in the background, and being able to crosslight against the sunset. Portrait sittings would be especially nice, if I can find willing subjects. 

Anyway, the idea here, if you're one of the subjects of the photographs, is that if you like what you see you can order some prints. And maybe I'll get some better pictures next time.

I've always had a respect for Native Americans, since spending a little time on the reservations of the Navajo and Hopi as a child. They have been marginalized too much, and suffered so much. They are a beautiful people and I hope to be able to capture some of their beauty. This first attempt falls short of the idea I have in my head, but I'll keep trying.

Community Christmas Pow Wow

At the suggestion of a Navajo artist I met in October, I went to this ...

Updated: Dec 22, 2008 1:20am PST

Hope is Born Christmas Concert :

Hope is Born Christmas Concert

Updated: Dec 02, 2008 5:49pm PST

TBBF Choir Nov 23 2008 :

TBBF Choir Nov 23 2008

Updated: Nov 24, 2008 3:31am PST

TBBF 2008 Men's Conference :

TBBF 2008 Men's Conference

Updated: Nov 17, 2008 1:34am PST

Harvest Treats for the Hallowed King :

Harvest Treats for the Hallowed King

Updated: Oct 29, 2008 2:05am PST

Shepherding the Nations Banquet 2008 :

Shepherding the Nations Banquet 2008

Updated: Oct 23, 2008 1:10am PST

Shepherding the Nations 2007 Banquet :

Shepherding the Nations 2007 Banquet

Updated: Sep 03, 2008 6:28pm PST

Baptism in the Ocean : Youth Group from The Bridge Bible Fellowship August 13, 2008. 9 kids got dunked in the Pacific for Jesus. 

I used the “strobe on a stick” technique, also known as “strobe on a rope.” I took a lightstand, stuck the strobe on the end of it, used a Nikon SC-29 iTTL cable tethered to my camera, and held the strobe out on the lightstand (legs folded) like a stick, pointing the light in the direction of the subject, or feathering the light by aiming it away somewhat so that it would brush across the subject. I estimate the strobe was about 4-6 feet away from the camera.

I underexposed the background for more color saturation – in some frames, as much as 3 stops under. I also used flash exposure compensation, between 1/3 to 1 stop under, so the light wasn’t too bright, and had a ¼ CTO (light orange) gel on the flash head. I even waded into the ocean with this setup towards the end of the shoot. I was shooting with a 12-24mm lens at f/4, ISO 400, Program mode on the camera, iTTL flash mode, and was continually adjusting the exposure and flash compensation to get the desired effect in the continually changing lighting conditions – obviously some are better than others.

This lens was perfect for the effect I was trying to get, because it has a huge angle of view, taking in a lot of that spectacular sunset.

Baptism in the Ocean

Youth Group from The Bridge Bible Fellowship August 13, 2008. 9 kids g ...

Updated: Aug 14, 2008 3:37am PST

SETT Pool Party : You can either download (float your mouse over the picture you want and choose a size, then right-click to download), or purchase a print directly online using the shopping cart to the upper right of the page.

SETT Pool Party

You can either download (float your mouse over the picture you want an ...

Updated: Jul 19, 2008 1:32pm PST

4th of July Fireworks : Fireworks show at Shepherd of the Hills Church, Porter Ranch, California

4th of July Fireworks

Fireworks show at Shepherd of the Hills Church, Porter Ranch, Californ ...

Updated: Jul 07, 2008 11:45pm PST

Jeffrey Vandenburg :

Jeffrey Vandenburg

Updated: Nov 16, 2007 1:33am PST

Todd & Kelly's Party :

Todd & Kelly's Party

Updated: Oct 28, 2007 11:06pm PST

PRC Walk for Life : See http://www.prcsfv.org for more information. Pregnancy Resource Center of San Fernando Valley's annual Walk for Life Fundraiser in support of pregnant women needing assistance.

PRC Walk for Life

See http://www.prcsfv.org for more information. Pregnancy Resource Cen ...

Updated: Oct 13, 2007 11:48pm PST

Fireworks : July 4, 2007 Fireworks display at Shepherd of the Hills, Porter Ranch, CA

Fireworks

July 4, 2007 Fireworks display at Shepherd of the Hills, Porter Ranch, ...

Updated: Jul 12, 2007 9:28am PST