Monday, August 27, 2012

focused

This sharp young lady was a contestant in the local Bible Bee.  They stand before a panel of judges and recite memorized Bible verses.  The amount they memorize is something that I find absolutely staggering.  My memory is so blurry, I have to concentrate to remember my own phone number.  I have not practiced the discipline of Scripture memorization for a while, even though I used to do it on a regular basis.  Whether it is a lot or very little, the memorization of God's Word is never wasted.  There is still a benefit, even if you have trouble recalling what you used to know verbatim, so keep trying, and don't give up.

Speaking of sharp and blurry, I learned something new.  That judge and the rear wall are equidistant from our contestant.  If I want the painted wall and judge to have the same level of blur (bokeh), I would need to place our contestant closer to the judge.  So, a more balanced depth of field (if that's what I wanted) would split the front and back in quarters and place the focal point -not in the middle, but about a quarter away from the front.  Does that make sense?  I looked it up, and this is phenomenon is related to a technique called zone focusing.

Enough tech talk.  Don't you just love that healthy glow that speaks volumes of the wonderful care provided by her parents?

Oh, let me tell you about one other thing that amused me.  The older children (like this one) quoted their verses phrase by phrase, and with inflection, just like normal speech.  But the youngest contestants fired off a steady, rapid, monotone machine-gun that almost sounded like a different language.  It's as if the contest was to see who could say their verses the fastest.  I got a kick out of that.

10 comments:

lime said...

she's very cute and earnest looking. it is funny to listen tot he little kids rattle off things they've learned.

i appreciated the tech lesson...i might even remember it when i need it. lol

George said...

I'm very impressed with your zone focusing with this photo. You did a great job.

Pearl said...

Very nice. There IS good in the world, when you look for it...

Pearl

Craver Vii said...

About the tech lesson, Lime... I hope I remember, too. ;-)

Thank you George. I used a bigger lens and stood farther back, so that I could use the largest aperture for a narrow depth of field. You should see how this looks in black & white. I was thinking that I should have posted that picture instead.

It is encouraging to be reminded of that fact, Pearl. When I feel the pressure of trying to do something good in the midst of a troubling scenario, it also helps to remember what Viktor Frankl said (in Man's Search For Meaning), "What is to give light must endure burning." Then, I press on.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Craver: The memory only is going to get worse.

imac said...

My memory is bad, so I would be no good at it,
and as Tom(Fishing Guy ) says, it can only get worse.
Enjoy life when young.

Carletta said...

A Bible Bee - how wonderful!
I remember memorizing verses each summer at Vacation Bible School that and the one that hung on my Grandparent's wall. :)

Cool photo lesson.

Craver Vii said...

That's kind of scary to me Fishing Guy, because of family history plus I have the recall of a goldfish.

The beauty of memorizing Scripture is that we don't have to be good at it, Imac. Even if we can't recall it, there is value in the effort. God's word does not return void.

It's fun to teach the kids a memory verse, Carletta. The way I did it for Sunday School was to make sure they understood what it meant, and not just memorize for the sake of a prize.

EG CameraGirl said...

Very interesting about zone focusing. Hmmm.

I can't memorize the way I used to.

DeniseinVA said...

Marvelous photo of this sweet young lady and the composition. I was very interested in that technique you used. Cute story on the kids.