I was in Cincinnati, Ohio last weekend to shoot the All About Deaf Kids Fair for the Deaf Institute, which took place on the campus of Cincinnati Christian University.  I see the directors of the Institute, Bryan and Pam Eubanks, each year when I shoot for the Eastern Christian Convention in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and they do all the interpreting for the convention.  Pam and I go a long way back:  she was my first piano teacher, way back when I was in first grade.

The All About Deaf Kids festival is one of the high points of their calendar, with participants coming in from all around the Midwest.  It’s designed to not only be an event that creates a fun atmosphere for deaf kids, but also includes their hearing siblings.  For instance, during the storytimes, the actors on stage (some of whom were deaf, like Pam’s son, Nathaniel) would tell the story in sign language, but at the same time, an interpreter in the audience would narrate the action and dialogue by voice.  There were also games, crafts, hearing screenings, and booths that told the kids about life in other countries.  I saw tons of smiles, laughing kids, and happy parents.  I kept thinking that my oldest daughter, Caroline, who’s very interested in sign language, would have had a great time… hope I can bring her next year!

One of my recent gigs was covering the launch weekend of a new church in the Providence, Rhode Island area.

I had been contacted by Dan Clymer of Restoration House Ministries, a church planting organization that launches new churches throughout New England.  During my one year at Lincoln Christian College, Dan was one of my very best professors, and I’ve always held it as one of the great privileges in my life that I was able to listen to Dan explore the life of Christ for four hours a week every week for an entire semester.  When he asked me about covering the opening weekend, I was thrilled to be able to commit to it.

Northpointe Christian Church meets at Cinemaworld in Lincoln, Rhode Island.  Yeah, the church meets in a movie theater.  It takes a little getting used to, but the location is ideal– you have a room with clear sightlines, an area for using as a stage in front, a second theater is used for one part of the kids programs, the kids’ party room is used for one class space, and their offices in the mall, just outside the theater entrance, encompass the infant/toddler area.

I covered a launch party the night before the first service at the theater, as well as the first day’s program.   I ended up delivering about twice the amount of images in the slideshow, with an eye towards showing them in action, while getting them group and family unit portraits that could be used for newsletters, fundraising brochures, etc.  I’m told that Restoration House is using the images to put together a 10 minute video that explains their role in bringing a project like this to fruition.

In a lot of ways, my photojournalistic style that I use for weddings was a perfect fit for giving them an inside view of the day, without interfering with the experience for newcomers.