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I will be traveling tomorrow to my next Nikon assignment, the PGA Championship golf tournament.
I will be posting from Johns Creek Country Club all week, since I will be driving at O:Dark thirty
in the morning, I thought I would post ahead today. Tim delivered another great sermon this morning and I would like to share so of it with you.

Ephesians 6: 10-18

The Whole Armor of God
 10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

For many Christians their God is too small. Jesus said, “I have come so that you might have life and have life abundantly.” He didn’t say, “I hate to tell you, but your life will be difficult and you will always be facing defeat, and you will loose, you have no hope…..”

God wants you to be a Mighty Warrior in this spiritual battle called life. The power of grace is not just to forgive us and assure us of heaven, it’s also to the grace to have the power to live victoriously. You have the Word of God as your sword to cut through any of the lies of Satan
and His Shield of Faith to stop the flaming arrows of the enemy.

You have a God of hope. Unshakeable and unconquerable hope. He has given us everything we need to be everything He has called us to be. His Word is the instruction manual, His Hope is
your promise of victory.

Glory be to God………..

1 John 2:8 New Living Translation (NLT)

8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
Be blessed,

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: D3 and the 24-70 f2.8 Nikkor zoom. ISO 1600. Laural Lake in fall, shot from
500 feet above the lake out of Cessna.

We often don’t have a lot of choice in the light we work in. We find a subject that we really want to photograph and we are stuck with the light the way it exists. Now we can always come back later in the day or early the next day, or if we are fortunate enough to live close to the subject, return time and time again until we get just the light we wanted for the scene. Sadly that is often not the case. If you are in Montana, on vacation, unless you’re alone traveling just to shoot, other peoples schedule or patience may dictate moving on. If it’s shoot it now, or get nothing, it’s good to know a little bit about what to expect with specular and diffused light.

Specular light is direct harsh light, in the natural world, that means direct sunlight that casts distinct
black shadows. Specular light has a magical quality all it’s own. The harshness brings out details because of the shadows. It’s great light to show texture, and shape. Angles take on a definite edge in specular light. Colors can be warmer or cooler depending on the time of the day and the angle of the sun. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times to get warm light. The atmosphere filters the light and the more particulate matter in the atmosphere the warmer the light will become. In the months following a volcanic eruption you will have some of the most spectacular sunrise and sunsets. Below are a few examples of how specular light early and late can give warm colors and distinct texture to your subjects.

Diffused light is the opposite of specular, no harsh shadows, softer textures, richer colors because of the lack of extreme contrast. Diffused lighting is perfect to show softer contrasts, for portraits of people, scenes and details. It is easier to expose because the tone range is condensed. I love diffused light for streams, forests, or any knock you downs rich color subjects. For images of streams with flowing water, use a small aperture setting, long shutter speeds of around 4 to 8 seconds and of course a tripod. A polarizer will take off the reflections on rocks. Here are some examples of good subjects for diffused light.

The good news is that any subject can work in any light if you know what the light will do and how to use it to your advantage. A couple of simple rules will always help, (1) Early and late are always better than mid day for specular light. (2) If you really want to make color rich wait for a
overcast day or use a diffuser. I hop that helps in your quest to be the best you can be.
Always remember do everything as if unto the Lord……..

Blessings and have a great weekend,

the pilgrim

Earlier in my career as a photographer I started a workshop company that spanned seventeen great years. I left the business nine years ago, and had been able to work side by side with some of the greatest nature and outdoor photographers of my day. John Shaw, David Muench, Art Wolfe, Galen Rowell, John Netherton, Jim Brandenburg, Cliff Zenor, Pat O’Hara, Jack Dykinga, Bryan Peterson, David Middleton, Rod Planck, and many, many more. I learned so much while becoming friends with these great shooters and every time I make an image, a part of them are with me.

Today I’ve surrounded myself with a new set of shooting friends and Christian brothers, they are none the less great shooters, but because of the changing landscape of photography their names may not be as familiar. Trust me they are exceedingly talented photographers. They too, have inspired me to want to improve my skills and vision just as that stellar group from years ago did.
When I look at a great image, no matter who took it, I’m inspired to see better, look deeper, and capture what appears in front of my eyes, better. I thank God for vision, for a love of photography, but most of all, for giving me such great men and women to call friends. Thank you for your inspiration and I hope those visiting here will be just as inspired by your work as I am.

Some of the new Greats………..

The key to shooting great images
is to see with fresh eyes. We
see the world through the eyes
of our experiences. When we
see the world as other see it,
we open up a new vision for
ourselves, uninhibited by our
own life’s filter. This is true vision,
the combination of our vision
and that of others melded into
a more complete way of seeing.

All of my photography friends,
past and present, have left a
little piece of their vision with me,
and I’m a better visual artist
for it. Even people that I do not
know, but are struck by their
treatment of the scene inspire
me. Below is an image from
Judith Sparhawk, simply stun-
ning, thank you Judith…..

A few more places you will find
stunning images to feast on.

http://www.christopherburkett.com/home.html

http://www.wowphotoshdr.com/

http://www.agpix.com/photographer/prime/A0216050.html

http://jameshaverstock.com/

http://dg.hollums.com/

http://500px.com/photo/1070940

http://twitter.com/#!/ramblingphotog

http://www.scottdiussa.com/Scott_Diussa/Scott_Diussas_Blog/Scott_Diussas_Blog.html

http://www.scottkelby.com/

http://www.imagema.com/

Enjoy, learn, and be blessed,

the pilgrim

Finishing with the work of my Nikon friends work that is pretty spectacular as well, and finally
the grand master himself, Richard Small!

* All images displayed are protected under the sole copyright of the photographers listed.

Jim Begley and I and a lot of our friends, love to photograph old rusted metal; trucks, trains, old machines, and on and on. The color and texture of rust is really exciting to us. As beautiful as it is, it’s still rust, and rust destroys. When things sit out in the field and stop working, they react to water and air and if they are metal they will rust, eventually they can rust completely away. As men and women of faith, we can rust to. We must remain active and moving for Him. If we love the Lord, but do not serve Him daily, we will rust, and trust me, rust on a Christian is not nearly as pretty as on an old antique truck.

One of my secret dreams for the Pilgrim’s Chronicles is that it would encourage others to blog and build websites that offer their faith to others. This has been a God produced project from day one, but along the way, I’ve seen how it ministers to people of like mind, (photographers). I’ve had a lot of emails from other photographers, that also happened to be committed Christians, who are serving God in a similar way. Some say they got the idea here, some say they discovered the Chronicles after they started down this path. It doesn’t matter how the Chronicles helps others as long as it helps. We don’t want to have any rusting going on around here. The way to witness is to take a page out of the book on Jesus, the Bible. If you read and studied the New Testament thoroughly, you would discover that Jesus never debated, argued or ordered anyone to accept Him, He simply loved everyone that came in contact with Him with such a love that they could not resist wanting to follow Him and His ways. His love was so much deeper and real to people than anything they had ever experienced that they wanted to know this Man.

We are called to do the same thing. Everyday, everywhere you go, spread His love to others. Be kind to someone in need, speak warmly to those in society that go unnoticed. Offer help to someone to old to do something by themselves. Offer someone to go ahead of you in traffic.
Reach high to get a grocery item off the shelf for an elderly person, open the door for someone on crutches or in a wheel chair. After a good meal, thank the server for doing such a great job. Encourage a friend that is discouraged, hug a child, hug your wife. Listen when someone needs to share something and concentrate on them. Pray for those that you know are in need or are lost.

I had an interesting thing happen in New York. I was attending a meeting for Nikon and I was traveling to and from our hotel to the convention center by cab. Outside our hotel a bellman
assisted you with hailing a cab. I stood one morning and had a conversation with bellman, small talk, where was he from, did he have a family?, that kind of stuff. When we got into the cab, about four of us, one of my New York friends asked me a strange question. “I’ve noticed you are friendly to everyone, you even strike up conversations with people you don’t even know. Why?” My answer was simple, “Why not?” I went on to explain that in the city, where everyone is in a hurry, they seldom take the time to visit with a stranger, or they may feel that some people, because of their station in life, are beneath them. I do not feel that way. The waitress, the bellman, the day laborer, the policeman, they all are God’s children just like me. If Jesus died on the cross for each of them, just as He did for me, they are my brothers and sisters, if they have accepted Him. If they haven’t, what part can I play in encouraging them to know Him.

Encourage others to want to be a Christian by being someone they want to be like. When they ask why you are, the way you are, you can share Christ with them. It’s not much more difficult than that.

I got an email from brother in California sharing his blog that he does for his church. They have a photography ministry, wow, would I like to go to that church! They wrote about my blog in the most resent post, thought you might like it. I’m also posting another couple of websites or blogs
that are very meaningful to me, check them out and be blessed by some of the others out there walking the same path that we are.

Get going for Christ, PREVENT RUST………

http://bridgewayphotoministry.wordpress.com/

http://www.seeingcreation.com/

http://dg.hollums.com/

When I start the new website and move this blog later this year, I plan to post many great places to get spiritual encouragement and enrichment. Till then, keep your faith, and share it with others…..

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: All images Nikon D7000, 24-120 AF-S VR lens.