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The results of the workshop just keeps paying dividends. Driving back form Nashville this morning I was overcome with a desire to burn even brighter for Him. I was listening to one of my favorite worship songs by Phil Driscoll and Debby Boone, this song will set you on fire. Thanks to my brothers and sisters, friends and pals for this past weekend, I’m still way to high to set up for a landing…….

Keep The Flame Burning

Lord, i find myself needing you like i have never before,
in all of the darkness around me,
everyday my hunger’s growing more.
Iit’s clear to me now, You are my only refuge,
my port in a troubled sea, help me to give my life
completely to You and make me only
what you want me to be,

Lord just keep the flame burning in my heart,
light my way with the fire of Your Spirit,
keep the flame burning in my heart and let it
spread to whoever comes near it
Lord, just keep the flame burning in my heart

Children, He knows what you are going through,
He suffered more than you’ll ever know,
He is drawing us closer and closer to him,
He’ll be back soon, woh, woh, you got to get ready to go


well, there is no time for complacency,
there is no room for compromise,
just walk straight and strong cause it won’t be
long till we see Him split the eastern skies

Lord just keep the flame burning in our hearts,
light our way with the fire of Your spirit,
keep the flame burning in our hearts and let it
spread to whoever comes near it
Lord, just keep the flame burning in our hearts

Lord just keep the flame burning in my heart,
light my way with the fire of Your Spirit,
keep the flame burning in my heart and let it
spread to whoever comes near it
Lord, just keep the flame burning in my heart.

Father, please keep my heart close to you, keep my heart on fire for you, give me the special love you have for all your children, and guard my heart and life for you. Thank you Father…. Amen

the pilgrim

* Photo Note: Igniting match, D7000, 200mm Micro-Nikkor lens, ISO 800, SB-900 fired wirelessly
by the Commander Mode in the camera. F22 @ 1/650th of second FP flash synch.

* Song available on iTunes under Debby Boone.

Sorry for the late post today, back in the office after the workshop and it was putting fires out all day long. Tomorrow I will be on the road all day so next post will be Friday. I’ve had time to reflect on the workshop and I’ve got something important to share. Life would be much less fulfilling without friends. I had such a great time with this group and they have quickly become some of my favorite photographers to hang out with. Not only are they exceedingly talented as shooters, but to a person they are just fun to be with. I was so proud to share their work in yesterdays blog and the more I look at their work the more pride I feel. It is certainly not because of me and Jim, these are just really gifted folks!

I thank God everyday for the people he has placed in my life, my wife and children and grandchildren. My associates and friends at Nikon, my church family, and these great photography friends. I often feel that I’m getting far more than my share of God goodness.
So I will just thank Him for His generous spirit and continue to feel blessed. To bless you I will share some more of their work…..

Blessings,

the pilgrim

It is appropriate that the first image in this bog be from Larry Williams. Larry told me this weekend that he loved the story my wife tells about how much I love looking at other peoples pictures, so much so, that if I were a burglar I would be be caught and arrested on my first job sitting in someone’s bedroom floor pouring over their shoe box full of pictures. I do love looking at the work of other photographers, because it gives me a window into the way they see the world, which helps me refine my vision as well. One of the real joys of teaching photography workshops is the opportunity to see the work of other talented shooters. At the Shaker workshop, this past weekend, I had the chance to see a lot of stunning work from the attendees. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of it, as well, so what will follow is a gallery of some of my favorites from the weekend.

The Best of
the Shaker Village Workshop

Through a technical mistake, I’ve not been able to find the images from John Randall, I’ve requested them and will publish one in a future column. So there you have it, some wonderful work, from wonderful shooters. It’s amazing how much you can learn from the vision of others!

Blessings,

the pilgrim

*Note: I have not published my images, as they have appeared the last few days, and Tim Isaacson’s who was a faculty member as well.

Last night after returning from the incredible workshop at Shaker Village, Sherelene and I had dinner with our children and grandchildren, our Easter dinner, since everyone will be on the run Easter weekend. After dinner we stopped by the funeral home for the visitation for the mother of
one our dear friends. The crowd at the funeral home was one of the largest I’ve ever seen, and as Sherelene and I stood in line for a half hour to make our way up to the family I heard a lot of wonderful things about the lady who had just gone on to the Lord. I knew her only as one of the elderly members of our church, I knew she was a sweet lady, always with a smile and kind word, I also knew she seldom ever missed the chance to help prepare a meal at the church, and her dishes were always worth seeking out, she was a wonderful cook. As I listened to people talk about her I learned a great deal more. She was a very deeply loved, mother, grandmother, and friend. She has lived to 92 and was healthy almost her entire life until the very end. She had obviously made a real impact on many peoples lives. They stood in line to show it.

It reminded me of the poem called the dash, http://www.thedashmovie.com/
This poem, which has become very popular, drives home a very good lesson about the value of our lives. Jesus said to love one another, and treat everyone as you would like to be treated.

The photo above is not of the lady that has gone on, this is a person I met on Sunday at Shaker Village as the workshop was drawing to a close. Vivian Yeast is 82 years young. She was kind enough to open up a building for us to have our morning devotion and then walked a long way to open another building so Carl Turner and I could photograph some yarn she spins as part of her reenactment at the village. I only spent a few moments with Vivian but I know a few things about her. She is still active and wants to contribute even at 82. Her husband has passed on and she is anxious to join him again in heaven. For now she has family that has moved back to be close to her and she loves people, her work and being of service. I suspect, that some day, there will be a long line of people that want to pay their respect to her.

What will the response be when you leave this earth? Will people come to the funeral home to tell your family how much you will be missed, and how much you were loved? What use have you made of the dash between the beginning and ending dates of your physical life? In a song I love of Ricky Skaggs’ their is aline that says;

As long as you have air to breath
Then you have all the time you need
To give your love for all its worth
And make amends to those you’ve hurt
This is your life for Heaven’s sake
Redeem yourself and thank God for grace

Thank God today that you still have time to define your dash……..

the pilgrim

Photo Notes: All images shot with D7000 and 24-120 AFS VR and 12-24 AFS lenses. Vivian’s portrait and the last two images filtered with Nik Color Efex 3.0 Glamour Glow filter. Very last image, Capture NX2, bottle color intensity, Glamour Glow, and then Topaz Adjust Spicey added as well.