As the holiday season approaches churches, schools and service groups spring into action with a flurry of themed events and activities. We look forward to hearing about your events and activities, and sharing your stories with our readers. As you partake of your Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s events here’s a few things to keep in mind.

The December issue of the GLEANER went to press the first week of November, and the January 2010 issue of the GLEANER is already in production. That means the soonest your stories can appear in the print GLEANER is February 2010. The deadline for that issue is Jan. 4, 2010. In order for your holiday stories to appear within two months of when they happened the must be in by this deadline.

Christmas stories will still be considered for the March 2010 issue of the GLEANER. The deadline for that issue is Jan. 28, 2010. No Christmas stories will appear in print beyond the March issue. Keep in mind, we are always working about two-months in advance at the GLEANER. Timely submission of stories is critical.

Remember, your story can also run on the GLEANER Web site (which can be updated as often as new stories are submitted) and in the weekly GLEANR E-Newsletter.

During the summer my camera all but lives around my neck. I wouldn’t be surprised if I have a tan line from the neck strap. It seems like there’s no end of things going on that you can photograph. But one challenge I find myself struggling with is filling my memory card with shots that all look pretty much the same.

If you share my struggle you might enjoy this video from Mark Thiessen, National Geographic photographer. Armed with a trusty point and shoot ditigal camera, he demonstrates a couple great ways to enhance up your vacation/tourist photography. As you watch, be on the look for these themes:

1. Change your perspective.One thing I notice about almost all my “boring” shots is they were taken from approximately 6 feet off the ground (my height). Think high and low to give a fresh look to your shot.
2. Get close.  Your eyes tend to see a lot more than the camera can see, and with greater detail. A scene that looks amazing to you at life-size may look only so-so as an 8×10 and even worse as a 4×6. Look at how Thiessen captures isolated details from a scene that result in memorable photographs.
3. Repeating Patterns.A tree-lined road, a picket fence or even a brick wall can provide an excellent chance to capture repeating patterns. But pay close attention to how Thiessen captures the repeating pillars in the video. Note what he does notdo. He does not simply back up and shoot them straight on. A row of pillars from one side of the frame to the other would have much less impact than his dramatic shot with curves and diagonal lines. This rule also applies to groups of people. Whenever possibe, try to avoid putting everyone shoulder to shoulder and backing up. Your subjects don’t want to look like they are in a police lineup!

Who are you?

It may be obvious to you, or you may still be trying to figure it out. But it’s a question that must be answered if you are mentioned in the GLEANER. For our purposes it’s important to know your first and last name and how you are connected to the story you are mentioned in. Easy enough, right? Well there’s a little more to it.

Attribution:

When someone is mentioned by name for the first time in a GLEANER article (first reference) they should be identified by:  Name, Organization, Position within the organization.

 Examples:

·         John Smith, Sunnytown Church member

·         Jeff Jeffries, mission trip participant

·         Barack Obama, United States president

We think it’s wonderful if you have an additional title such as Sister/Brother, Elder, Esq., World’s Greatest Dad… but you need not include them in your attribution as we will simply delete them from the article before it is printed in the GLEANER.

If you are blessed to have a suffix, such as Max Torkelsen II, NPUC president, it is appropriate to include the suffix, followed by a comma, the first time your name is mentioned. GLEANER style does not include commas on both sides of the suffix (Max Torkelsen, II,).

Even if the only time your name is mentioned is in a photo caption we still need to know your first/last name and how you are connected to the story.

Second Reference:

Once you have established who someone is in an article we don’t need that explanation every time their name is mentioned. A last name reference will do. “Smith worked on the project for six months.”

Authors:

Our readers also want to know who is writing stories they see in the GLEANER. If you write a story we need similar attribution to the people mentioned in the story: Name, Church or Organization, Connection to the group or story.

When I write an article for the GLEANER, I am “CJ Anderson, GLEANER intern.” When I write an article for my home church I am “CJ Anderson, Cedar Creek Church member.”  If you are a church communication director or secretary that’s an appropriate title to include.

Have a style question for the GLEANER editorial staff? Add it as a comment and we’ll provide an answer in a future post.

Where are you?

Hopefully you know the answer to that question, but our readers may not. Sure, many readers know exactly where Treasure Valley, Ravensdale or Whitefish are. Most of us probably have a pretty good idea where North Pole might be located. But what about Springfield? While every U.S. state does not have a city named Springfield (contrary to popular rumors), 35 states do. The point is, when you are writing for a five-state audience it becomes important to put yourself, and your story, on the map.

Even if you live in a big city like Seattle or Portland (ah… what if we happened to get a story from Portland, Maine?) it’s important to include the state in which the city you mention is located. The GLEANER style for listing states is to use the Associated Press abbreviations for states. This is almost always different than your two-letter postal abbreviation. For quick reference here are the AP abbreviations for Northwest states:

• Alaska - Ala.
• Idaho - Idaho (no abbreviation, just include the full name)
• Montana - Mont.
• Oregon - Ore.
• Washington - Wash.

If you want the full list of AP state abbreviations you can find it here. This list also include the Chicago Manual of Style and postal abbreviations for each state.

If you happen to attend a church that does not share its name with the city in which it resides, we’ll need the city/state reference so our reader know where to find you when they want to shower your congregation with praise. Put the city/state reference of your church in parentheses following the first mention of your church’s name.

Example: Love of Life Fellowship (Federal Way, Wash.).

Have a style question for the GLEANER editorial staff? Add it as a comment and we’ll provide an answer in a future post.