Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 3600, ƒ/8, 1/100

Our Storytellers Abroad workshop was feeling worn out and stressed yesterday. Everyone, including the instructors, was learning new things and dealing with the difficulties of living in the 3rd World Country of Togo, West Africa.

We could not just jump in a car and type in the address we wanted to go to in our GPS as we would back in the USA.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 2800, ƒ/4, 1/100

Pat Davison was added to our team when James Dockery could not come on this trip. Pat has shown us a few tricks that have made my life easier and helped to improve my workflow with Adobe Premier. Pat also taught us many other ways to help tell a story using visuals than I have been using.

We knew from the students’ projects that we wanted to raise the bar a little higher. So, during this trip, we all worked harder to use new techniques in teaching the content to get the students to get better quality b-roll better.

We taught the many different ways they could use their tripods to steady their cameras. As a result, the b-roll got much better.

Since more students were shooting more videos than in the past, the time to do this versus still photos takes more time. More time when you are already in a 3rd World Country and dealing with the frustrations of everything taking longer put all of us into a stress overload.

Michael Cheatham, chief surgeon at Orlando health and who coordinated the Orlando shooting medical response, is here with us in Togo working at the Hospital Bible Baptist. He led our devotional yesterday, and his words for us were just what we needed.

He shared how his pastor friend sent him the morning of the shooting this bible verse:

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.

1 Chronicles 28:20

Hearing how his team needed encouragement and God was with you was so comforting. So today, we will share the storied with the community we have been working on since Sunday. We are still feeling the stress and hope by our time tonight that, most of the students will feel a sense of peace with their projects.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 800, ƒ/9, 1/200

We are looking forward to sharing the stories today. Now wherever the project is tonight, we will show it, so it is a work in progress. Next week the students will add a few finishing touches, and then we will share them with the world. Stay tuned.