Viewfinder Project- What Is Ugly?

The first real lesson of the Viewfinder Project poses an interesting question to our photography students....What is ugly?  The student quickly agreed that it can be pretty easy to find the ugly things in our neighborhood and the world in general.  The challenge of the day was to try and see the ugly in a different way.  The ugly can always be redeemed and can serve a purpose.  The kids then went out to walk the streets and find the messy, run down, neglected, rusty, unloved things, and then turn it into art -through the viewfinder of a camera.  The devotion for the day spoke of what is ugly in all of us: sin.  The students were able to see how selfishness is really the root of all sin against God and others.  We each become trapped by our own self interest until we are literally 'slaves to sin;' love cannot get in or out.  But true love, the love of God, brings freedom from self and sin.  Beauty defeats the ugly when we open ourselves up to God's love and love others before ourselves.

"I decided to take this picture because there is trash everywhere and the place is abandoned; and it looks ugly.  I like this picture because it looks like the bottle is close up and the door is far away."   

Katie (age 11)

 

"I decide to take this picture because it looked like the trash was made into art.  Also we needed to take pictures of ugly and littering is ugly.  I like this picture because...it looks awesome!"

Emma (age 11)

 

The Viewfinder Project- Intro.

Day one of The Viewfinder Project helped to teach students new to photography about the basics of taking a good photograph.  They learned about the importance of things like taking multiple pictures of the same object at different angles, applying the rule of thirds, filling the frame with the subject, and drawing the eye to certain points in the picture.  It did not take long for these photography proteges to catch on to these principles and come up with some truly creative images while touring the neighborhood.
Here are a couple of the students' favorites from the day.

 "This is one of my favorite pictures that I took; because it's close up and far behind it the blue background looks really good with the silver and gold can."  Katie (age 11)

"I like the swing photo because you can see the swings through the first swing hole.  You can also see the poles; the big ones are blue and when they get smaller they're yellow."  Emma (age 11)

Kid's Kitchen Cakes!

Yesterday was the second day of Kids Kitchen, where twelve kids gathered at the LYN House to create their own 8in. mini cakes.  Mrs. Carol, who has been making cakes for years, was our guest ‘chef.’  The kids had a terrific time preparing and mixing their own cake ingredients, making decorative cake plates, and preparing colorful butter cream icing.  While the cakes were baking and cooling, the children learned about the value of patience in the daily devotion.  We all knew good things would come out of us patiently waiting for our cakes to bake; in the same way good things come out of our being patient in all areas of life.  Being patient with other shows true love.  Patiently waiting on God shows trust in his perfect timing and gives us strength.  In addition, journal entries were made by each child on the steps to make a cake.  After the cakes had cooled, the students enjoyed decorating their vanilla and chocolate cakes with colorful icing and various cake decorations that Mrs. Carol had brought for them to use.  The kids couldn’t wait to get home and show their families their beautiful, sweet creations!....And of course, eat them!

TVFP 2- Indianapolis Zoo

Yesterday, we enjoyed the hot weather by taking a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo! Students took their cameras and walked around snapping pictures of animals, plants, and anything that caught their eye. Together we pet sharks, watched the dolphin show, explored the colorful bird exhibit, and watched talented dogs perform some silly tricks. The challenge of the day was capturing a subject in motion. The students learned to be patient, take shots from different angles, and to take multiple pictures of the same subject. Although the day was extremely hot, the students still managed to capture some awesome photos of the animals and plant life at our Indianapolis Zoo.

Amir, age 15

Alisha, age 14

Ryan, age 15

Nick, age 12

Game On!...Or Not.

TVFP 2- Picture Story

Photography challenge of the day- producing a picture story! Students joined together to create their very own story; however, this story has no words but only pictures. Before they took any pictures they brainstormed to create their original story. Next we headed to our location- the park. The students brought their story to life by staging different action sequences, and taking pictures from numerous angles. When they were content with the shots they took we headed back to the LYN House to edit. Photos were cropped and some distorted for the “dream” sequence. The photos were then put in order and the picture story was completed!

Students enjoyed this creative challenge, and learned that in order to get their story across to viewers the students needed to collaborate with one another.

Picture story to come!

Amir taking a shot of the girls!

TVFP 2- Collages

Today marks the first day of The ViewFinder Project 2. This week is for students who have previously taken photography classes at the LYN House. Each day the kids will be given a new challenge where they will have to put their skills to use. Today was all about collages. Before the kids set out on the photography adventure we had a refresher on how to take good pictures. The kids were reminded to get creative, take multiple shots of the same subject, and to even take pictures on their bellies.  

Below are each of the student’s collages, and also a description of where they took the pictures, why they chose the location, why it is important to the community, and what they like about their creation.    

"I chose Pogue's Run because of its unique colors. It is important to the neighborhood because it is an organic food source for the community. The thing I like most about my collage are the vibrant colors." Ryan, age 15

"I chose The Little Green Bean Boutique because the name was interesting and I wanted to see the inside of it. The Little Green Bean is important to our community because it has clothes for babies, and it is nice to see small businesses in our community. I like my collage because it shows various aspects of The Little Green Bean Boutique. It also has very bright colors that pop right out of the collage." Amir, age 15

"We chose the church (First Free Methodist) because it is an important figure in our community. People come to church for peace and comfort and it means a lot to our community. The church is a safe place for our community where we know no one will judge us on our mistakes and our pasts. The church welcomes everyone with open arms. Our collage captures every essence of our church- the music, the scripture, the representation of God shining through our church, and the sense of community our church gives." Alisha, age 14 and Nick, age 12

Kid's Kitchen Pizza!

Monday, June 25 was our first day of Kids Kitchen. Every Monday for the next five weeks kids in the community will get the chance to cook yummy dishes as well as read the word of God. The first Kids Kitchen was a pizza cook off. We started the day in our community garden where the kids got to taste oregano, spinach, and observed the growing vegetables. While in the garden we read 1 Corinthians 12 and discussed the different parts of a pizza. We learned that each part is important and has something to contribute just like each of us in the body of Christ. We then headed to the kitchen to finally start cooking. Some kids cut the toppings while others prepared the dough and made the sauce. Next we gathered to taste test the toppings. Each kid bravely tried a black olive, green pepper, pineapple, mushroom, ham, and pepperoni. To see which toppings were liked the best, we created a chart to track everyone’s favorites. Kids then broke into pairs and created their very own pizza. The pizzas would be judged on appearance and taste. While the pizzas baked the kids wrote in their journals about how they made their pizza and who they thought would win the contest. Next was the best part… tasting the pizza!!! Kids rated each pizza on a scale from 1 to 5 for both looks and taste. After tasting all of the delicious pizzas we compared our scores and picked a winner. We had a blast trying new foods, baking, writing about our experience, and of course eating pizza with friends!   

  

KidsGames 2012

This summer First Free Methodist Church and the LYN House hosted KidsGames 2012 (VBS). Each day the children were taught how to become a complete player for Jesus. The four themes of the week were learning to be a significant, coachable, persevering, and victorious player. The children were able to learn these characteristics by hearing Bible stories, playing games, creating a craft, and memorizing Bible verses. Some highlights of the week were playing kickball, creating pots to plant seeds, popping balloons to help memorize verses, and performing original skits at the end of the week. We ended KidsGames 2012 with closing ceremonies at Tabernacle Presbyterian Church. There the children participated in various sports and fun water activities. By the end of the week the children had learned a lot about making a difference to others, paying attention to the leaders in their lives, never giving up, and being victorious for Jesus.          

KidsGames Opening Ceremonies

To open the week of KidsGames 2012, we took 13 children to the Indiana Fever game. Churches from all over Indianapolis participated in opening ceremonies. Before the game children were able to play basketball in the practice gym, get their faces painted, and get their picture drawn by a caricaturist. A former Colts player spoke to the children about the theme for the upcoming VBS. He taught the importance of being a significant, coachable, and persevering player for Jesus Christ. Each child had the opportunity to either high-five a Fever player during the run outs, pass a ball with a player during warm-ups, or participate in the half time show. We all enjoyed a free hotdog during the game, cheering at the top of our lungs, dancing in the stands, and making new friends! KidsGames 2012 was off to a great start!