Marissa Dickey and Jamie Gessner are ABWE Career Missionaries in Colombia, South America.

When Jeff Raymond and I went on our scouting trip to Lima in October, we talked with Evelyn Stone, the founder of the prenatal center and ABWE missionary. She mentioned that Maricielo had just had her baby a few days before we arrived.

We knew right away that this was a powerful story. In Peru, abortions are illegal. However, according to Evelyn Stone, the director of the prenatal center, 80% of all women have had an abortion.

The purpose of telling Maricielo’s story was to show how many women came to the prenatal center for counseling and help.

Listen to Maricielo and her family tell their story.

Both Marissa and Jamie are fluent in Spanish and English. This made it much easier for them to do the story because they didn’t need translators. Can you imagine everything someone says has to be translated, and then everything you say is translated? That takes a lot longer to have a normal conversation.

Marissa and Jamie asked every instructor for input on the story. Then, they sat together and tried to take all that input and craft a stronger story. The hardest part for them was cutting pieces out.

They realized that while some great quotes were powerful, they were often repetitive.

When you heard them talking on the last day of editing, they were trying their best to keep you, the audience, engaged and hoping that by telling Maricielo’s story, you would consider getting involved with the prenatal center.

If you want to learn how to do storytelling as Marissa and Jamie did, consider joining us this June in Romania with Storytellers Abroad.

So I was working on my resume, which some clients wanted, when a friend asked me about my blog. I had not put this into my resume.

He pointed out that I had a pretty broad reach. So I started to dig into Google Analytics. My Analytics includes my website & blog. Most of the traffic goes to the blog since that is new content.

The map above shows the past couple of years of the countries that have visited my blog. The reach is more significant if I go back to when I started in 2006, but I changed from Blogger to WordPress and lost some of those stats.

I have visited the blog over the last two years in one hundred ninety-two countries.

I had over 81,000 new users. WOW! I was shocked. On average, when they visited, they went to about four different pages.

They were translating my page into 151 different languages.

My top ten posts are where people look for camera settings or technical blogs. Users were spending about 5:44 on “Nikon D5 Sports Settings”. I can understand why. That camera has a menu that resembles the cockpit of a jetliner.

Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.

John Wooden

How do you toot your own horn without coming off as cocky? You want to showcase your best accomplishments on your resume so that they are right there in black and white. If you do this right, they will pop out and help separate you from the pack. This isn’t bragging but instead helping to show that you indeed are the right candidate for the job.

In polishing my resume, I discovered to find someone who really knows you to review it. It helps if they are good at communication.

I am discovering that I have been hurting myself because I took some of my most significant accomplishments for granted.

Another huge thing I learned is I was overthinking the details and not enough about broad brush strokes of what my skills were beyond just photography.

After much self-examination this week, I recommend you do the same. Revising your resume is an excellent exercise to help you know what value to bring to the table. It is a good thing to do to start the year. It helps you celebrate your accomplishments and evaluate your weaknesses that you might want to work on this year.

This was a whole week for the team in Lima, Peru. We were getting up around 7 am and going to bed around midnight or later every day.

We had a big group of 18 people. Jeff Raymond organized all of us. We had three instructors, four administrative staff [one of those a translator], and ten workshop participants working on nine stories. Two of the team worked together on one story.

Eight of the nine stories were done in Spanish with subtitles in English. 

One of the first things that the first-timers noticed was how long it took to do an interview when you must work with a translator. 

We taught what a storyline includes and how to do a better job interviewing people to improve the quality of that story.

Every story we did was about a person impacted by a ministry.

Life Before & After

What was the difference this ministry made in your life? Due to the ministry, what is it now that is different than before?

The Inciting Moment

What was the moment you realized you needed some help, and how did you find this ministry to help you?

Call to Action

Unlike going to a movie where the film’s primary purpose is only to entertain, all of our stories had a call to action. After hearing this story, would you like to support this ministry somehow? 

B-roll

There are two parts to the finished projects. There is the interview, and then there is all the B-roll shown while they are talking that compliments what they are saying.

The students learned how to shoot a series of photos from a scene and then would put these to help move the story along visually. 

Josh Hart shot many videos of the subjects getting in and out of a cab, walking to the church, opening the door, and walking in. He shot this from their front, their back, and from the side. That was just one scene. He had scenes of the pastor walking from the back of the church to the pulpit and then another series of him preaching.

After doing many more scenes, he had enough b-roll to help compliment the interview so that you felt like you saw and heard the story.

If you are interested and want to learn more, then go here and learn more at StorytellersAbroad.com.

In data-driven decision-making, data is at the center of the decision-making. It’s the primary (and sometimes, the only) input. You rely on data alone to decide the best path forward. Data is a crucial input among many other variables in informed decision-making. You use the data to build a deeper understanding of what value you are providing to your users.

I have sat in many meetings hearing about analytics. When I first learned about analytics, I was thrilled. One of the very frustrating things is how the content you create is seen, but no one clicks the LIKE button.

However, analytics doesn’t rely on the audience to “LIKE” your content to know if they have been to it or even shared it. It can record if someone came to the page and how long they were on it, as well as many other tidbits.

Are you aware of “Blind Spots” in your analytics, such as images?

Images are increasingly taking over social media and becoming a significant way of engaging and talking about your brand. Prints are generally more memorable and shareable than text.

There are over  300 million active daily users on Instagram alone; it’s clear images are a vast social commodity. But why is the intent behind sharing images such a big deal? For starters, not all images are accompanied by text. Sometimes the whole point is that words can’t adequately convey the emotion or event, so it’s shared in image form. If your social media listening is all about text, these posts and users aren’t accounted for in your analytics. This is your “Blind Spot.”

This means there is no way to get accurate analytics about photos unless you could employ eye-tracking technology. Most people will not allow the cameras on their phones and computers to be turned on to watch how they behave while looking at your content.

Why are clickbaity headlines working? Content that piques users’ curiosity does well. Instead of writing clickbaity headlines, can we integrate this insight into our content strategy? Write about topics people are curious about but may not know enough.

I think Henry Ford once said, ‘If I‘d asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, “A faster horse!”’ People don’t know what they want until you show it to them. That’s why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things not yet on the page.”

Steve Jobs

Editorial judgment is still needed alongside analysis of quantitative data. Each newspaper and station adopts its news values. Good “news judgment” means understanding your audience and your organization’s principles and values.

Being a good storyteller/journalist is akin to being a good parent/teacher. You rely on data to help you know what is working while simultaneously looking out for them and distilling information into a digestible form.

Photo Above Data [NIKON Z 6, Sigma 24.0-105.0 mm f/4.0 ART, ISO 16000, ƒ/6.3, 1/200, Focal Length = 95]

I have owned the Fuji X-E series cameras for a few years. I love them. Then I bought the Nikon Z6 to be able to shoot mirrorless with some of my Nikon glass.

I think the Fuji X-E3 compares pretty well to the Nikon Z6. I like that the Fuji X-E3, when you are close to someone will find their face and eyes. 

The Nikon Z6 camera automatically detects the subject and selects the focus area. At default settings, the camera gives priority to portrait subjects; if a portrait subject is detected, the selected subject will be indicated by a yellow border (if multiple faces are detected, you can choose your subject using the multi-selector). 

To get some photos from the service, I left the 55-200mm on the Fuji X-E3 and the 24-105mm on the Nikon Z6.

No question that the larger full-frame sensor on the Nikon Z6 had less noise. However, I was also pretty happy with the noise on the Fuji X-E3.

I think that the dynamic range is better with the Nikon Z6. You can see some of that comparison here.

I love the smaller size and weight of the Fuji system. I think the quality is excellent.

I think that the image quality and higher ISO are definitely in favor of the Nikon Z6.

Top photo specs [NIKON D5, 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8, ISO 20000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000, Focal Length = 17]

I was able to do some testing of the Nikon Z6 at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl game of Florida vs. Michigan. The final for those interested in the score was Florida 41 and Michigan 15.

I can say that the Nikon Z6 sensor gives you great dynamic range and very little noise at high ISO numbers.

The mirrorless Nikon Z6 used an electronic shutter at 1/4000, which gave some lines if the LED signage was in the photo at those shutter speeds. At the slower speed of 1/100, the jumbotron came out just fine.

Regarding the fast action on the field, my Nikon D5 did a superior job of focusing. I do not think the Nikon Z6 is in the same league for sports as the Nikon Flagship D5.

Due to the performance not being equal to the Nikon D5, I put the Nikon 28-300mm on the Nikon Z6 and shot some with it in the Red Zone.

When you compare the image quality, the Nikon Z6 is fantastic. Good dynamic range.

The big difference was that whenever the LED boards were in the photos, the Z6 gave those lines, and the D5 didn’t look at the 1/4000 shutter speed.

I am still very pleased with the Nikon D5 for sports. However, I do love seeing what you will get with the EVF of the Nikon Z6.

So for sports, I will continue to rely on the Nikon D6, but I think the Nikon Z6 is much more fun to shoot for almost everything else.

I love walking around with the Nikon Z6. It is a lot lighter than the Nikon D5.

Another thing that the Nikon Z6 is great about, but not a factor at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, is how quiet the camera is when clicking the shutter.

Many think I should lower the ISO and shoot at a slower shutter speed of 1/1000. I can tell you that the sharpness goes up with the higher shutter speed.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the results from the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. In summary, buy the Nikon D5 for shooting sports, and for most everything else, the Nikon Z6 is just perfect.

The main reason I bought the Nikon Z6 over the Z7 was to have the extra stop for higher ISO and lower noise at higher ISO.

On Christmas Eve, I photographed our church’s service. I was shooting at ISO 51200 at times.

The Nikon Z6 has “Single-AF” as well as “Point-AF,” and this week, I discovered it is best not to use the “Point-AF” when trying to lock on people.

While shooting in the studio, I quickly got 20% out-of-focus photos using the “Point-AF.” By switching the “Single-AF,” I improved the number of in-focus images.

I prefer the “Single-AF” over the group setting for accurate focusing.

For every camera I have owned, there is a learning curve. You need to learn all the menu settings and find what works best for your way of shooting.

Hopefully, these photos will give you a peek at my learning of the Nikon Z6.

When shooting wide open aperture and getting as close as a lens will let you get to the subject, you will get the shallowest depth-of-field possible with that lens.

Look at the photo above shot at ƒ/4, which is the same photo zoomed in closer.

Now the only way to see what I am talking about is to shoot the same photo with different apertures.

Now here is a closeup of that ƒ/16 photo.

Now I shot this at a variety of apertures. Here it is at ƒ/8.

Here is a closeup of that photo.

I have discovered with all my lenses that the depth-of-field at the widest aperture and focusing as close as the lens can produce what looks to be an out-of-focus photo, but what is happening is the depth-of-field is so shallow that it looks soft.

When getting this close to a subject, I recommend starting with an aperture of ƒ/11.

Here I shot this at ƒ/11. I also changed my ISO from 100 to Auto ISO, which gave me ISO 51200 because I have the shutter speed set to 1/100. As you might notice, the shutter dropped to 1/50. That is because I had capped at ISO 51200.

Here is a closeup of that photo, in which you will notice some noise.

When it comes to still-life photos like the ones here, there is no reason not to experiment. Shoot on a tripod, as I have done here, at different apertures. Shoot at ISO 100, ƒ/16, and for 20 seconds. Then shoot as many apertures as you can to the widest aperture. 

When you have the photos on your computer, zoom in and find the picture that works the best to make your object appear sharp and in focus, as well as the soft BOKEH. 

Hopefully, you also see that there is such a thing as TOO MUCH BOKEH.

Sarah Clements, one of my daughter’s good friends from the church youth choir, asked me to help her with some headshots. She is a soprano majoring in voice.

She is in her junior year of college and getting closer to graduation. She is thinking of now having to promote herself for jobs. Headshots are needed since casting often involves getting someone to look the part.

We took a lot of photos together. I enjoyed using my new Nikon Z6 camera and the Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G lens, which produces incredible quality.

The photo above is a closeup showing just the eye of the previous image. The detail is beyond remarkable.

I always want to get the best possible photos during a photo shoot. 

I started with almost 300 images, and after editing for slightly missing the focus due to such a shallow depth-of-field and occasional blinks, I could give her over 200+ images.

What I love about photographing artists is they understand nuance. As a professional musician, Sarah has to know more than the mechanics of music theory. She knows the difference between being slightly out of tune and in tune—between each note blending properly in a choral group.

We can work on tweaking facial expressions and lighting to achieve the perfect combination that captures the person’s personality in the best possible light.

I love the finished images I am getting with the Nikon Z6. 

By the way, today, everyone needs a headshot. Do you have one?