The Teaching And Learning Of An Art
Deb DeJong discusses different aspects of photography with the members of her class.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Photography is one of those hobbies that quickly becomes a passion, and Deb DeJong has been sharing her passion for photography and love of God for the past year.
This coming January the club will, officially, be a year old, and according to DeJong it was her desire to connect with other people who share “a passion for photography.”
After some coaxing from friends, DeJong decided to teach a class on photography. So she thought about doing a club, “just so I could get in touch with other people who like to do that. It’s nice to take pictures with other people who do that.”
The club currently meets once at month at the Gateway Church of the Nazarene, but you don’t have to be a member of the church, nor a Christian to be a part of the club.
The group shares photos they have taken during the past month, where they learn from each other. DeJong says that you might see something that you want to try for yourself. “I want to do that myself, and then I will go home and try it.”
The group does an occasional outing together, once doing a scavenger hunt, another had them at Living History Farms Photographers Day back in September. “I learned a tremendous amount there,” DeJong says.
On occasion, a special speaker will come in and give information on a specific topic. A recent visitor shared tips on studio lighting and the group then had an opportunity to shoot photos under those conditions.
Deb will tell you she has zero in the way of professional training as a photographer, just a lifetime of love and experience in the art. To say she comes by it naturally would be an understatement. Her dad, Bob Barnes, can be found at nearly every William Penn function documenting those events for the university and where he also serves as the Photography Instructor there.
“I grew up around a camera, but I never really had a whole lot of desire to do it [photography]. I taught language arts at the middle school for 17 or 18 years and then the principle asked me to teach technology classes,” DeJong remembers. One of those technologies ended up being digital photography.
DeJong jokes that 2 or 3 months after starting to teach photography as part of her curriculum, “there was a commercial that came on with Ashton Kutcher, who was a Nikon spokesperson, and he was selling the D90. So I said to my husband, ‘I want that for Christmas’. I was referring to Ashton Kutcher. So he buys me the D90 and… Ashton didn’t come with it. But, I got the camera.””I’ve just been hooked ever since.”
As with most hobbies, the more DeJong got into it, the more she decided, “this is what I like to do. I didn’t have a hobby before, and now I do.”
Landscape photography is one of the favorite subjects for DeJong, and now she gets the opportunity to photograph many different types of landscapes during her travels to see her children. “But I’m now into macro and taking pictures of bugs and the closeups of flowers and things like that.”
The club meets the second Tuesday of each month at the Gateway Church of the Nazarene, starting at 7pm. They can be found not by entering the main entrance, but a south facing door that enters into a small cafe setting. There are no requirements to be a member of the club, you can bring your camera, any make or model and “your passion for photography,” DeJong says. “It’s just a great way to connect with other photographers.”
You can find the group on their website HERE and also on Facebook HERE for more information.
