As the young man stood staring into the dreary little room, illuminated by very low wattage bulb in the back corner and the ambient light from the Old Webmaster’s laptop computer monitor, he realized that this fellow might understand more about web design than he had originally assumed. The lodge’s Master, with whom the young man shared the space in the doorway, had a slight smile on his face.
The young man spoke into the shadows that shielded the Old Webmaster. “I did find the Lodge website interesting. It had lots of pictures about what the lodge was doing. It showed when it was last updated too. Looks like you add something to it every few days.”
The Master coughed. Looking at him, the young man realized that it wasn’t really a cough…. “Our Webmaster has convinced a couple of our members to get him pictures of EVERYTHING we do. And I mean EVERYTHING! For heaven’s sake, we’ve even got pictures of guys doing the dishes after the supper we held a couple of weeks ago up there on the website.”
“Yeah, but I thought that was good.” said the young man. ” I saw the pictures of you shaking hands with other guys in the lodge and that was ok, but looking at the members collecting bottles to donate to the recycling campaign and washing cars to raise money for some charity made me know that I could be part of this even though I don’t really know much about Masonry.”
The chair squeaked. This was, surely, a signal the Old Webmaster was about to speak….
“Despite the amazing availability of digital cameras with their ability to take unlimited pictures at no cost, it’s still a struggle. A lot of the fellows just never took pictures, even of their families. If they did, it was a big production. Everybody wants to buy a digital camera but they’re bewildered by the many choices.” came the voice from the darkened room.
“Me too!” the young man replied. “I’ve got my eye on a 10 megapixel….”
The Master shook his head from side to side and then tipped it in the direction of the room and the Old Webmaster who continued….
“Don’t worry about that at all. Anything you buy will have enough for our website or newsletter. What you want is a camera with anti-shake technology so that even if Larry is splashing water at Bill – as they sometimes do when we leave them alone with a pile of dishes after a great supper - you’ll get a great picture regardless. It’ll also be good for a growing family with kids who move about quickly. Make sure too that you get something that they’ll describe as a ‘museum’ setting which is made for large, indoor spaces that might not be well lit. That’s much better for lodge room shots. The ‘point and shoot’ cameras have pretty tiny flashes so you’ll need a camera that will allow the shutter to stay open a bit longer. After you use that for a couple of years, you’ll move up and get one with a professional-level flash but for now, $300-$400 will get you a camera that will be just right. Besides that, you’ll become another contributor to our efforts to let folks know what we Masons do. And most of all, everyone in the lodge will get to meet you right away. Being one of our photographers doesn’t pay much at all but it’s a great way to be a part of the lodge.”
“You’re definitely going to have to help me pick out the right one.” the young man said. The old fellow seemed to know more about the practicality of things than did most of his friends. Then he realized what the Webmaster had said. “… be a part of the lodge.”
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