Jana Life-Ozanich photographs H2O Fall Retreats better than anyone else I’ve ever seen. Even the static stuff, like the large-group portrait that we try to capture every year: it just looks better through the lens of Jana’s photography.

I know from my own experience (and also from times that other professional photographers have filled in) that it’s hard to be in the right place at the right time. It’s hard to get the exposure right (especially with so many different lighting conditions throughout the course of an event like the Fall Retreat). It’s hard to release the shutter at just the right moment. But Jana makes it seem effortless.

The best photographers figure out a way to capture personalities and emotions: both in candid shots and in posed portraits. And it seems to me that it’s not just a technical skill. It’s a social savviness. Maybe even a spiritual gift.

I thought I’d share ten of my favorite photographs from Jana’s collection, featuring a variety of different moments from last weekend’s Fall Retreat.

I think I am finally turning the corner from a week of fighting off a sinus infection that followed two weeks of fighting off a virus, all of which was likely compounded by the poor diet and sleep patterns at Fall Retreat. A weekend like that is not without its cost.

But after a week of rest and recovery, I am also seeing that a weekend like that is also not without its benefits.

Now that we’re all back in Kent, we’re settling into our regular rhythms for the school year, and I’m thankful for that.

I’m particularly excited to keep coaching the student-leaders and “shepherding the flock” from North Campus, going forward.

We’re settling into the “North Campus” label almost a year after our shift from the residence halls to academic spaces, and it’s kind of fun to have “North Campus” T-shirts and a silly moose motif and our own group portraits now, to solidify our distinct community identity.