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For some time now, when I’m in my home office, I start my morning my sitting quietly in my office and listening to contemporary Christian music as I prepare for the day, and to write the blog. The first song on my iTunes play list is Worthy Is The Lamb. This song focuses my mind on the fact that my Saviour Jesus Christ is worthy of all praise. It allows me to think about how I am to live for Him, and love others with His love. It helps me to find the power to overcome the self I could not defeat without Him. Consider the lyrics;

Thank you for the cross, Lord.
Thank you for the price you paid.
Bearing all my sin and shame, in love you came
And gave Amazing Grace.
Thank you for this love, Lord.
Thank you for the nail-pierced hands.
Wash me in Your cleansing flow, now all I know…
Your forgiveness and embrace.

Worthy is the Lamb
seated on the throne.
We crown You now with many crowns
You reign victorious!
High and lifted up
Jesus, Son of God.
The darling of Heaven, crucified…
Worthy is the Lamb

This song says it all. As we approach Easter, we remember the great sacrifice our Lord made for us when He willingly went to the cross to die for our sins. He could have stopped the whole thing, He could have refused to suffer for us, but He didn’t.

Why do I care? Because He first cared for me…………….

the pilgrim

O.K. I don’t believe in channeling, bet you knew that, but I sure wish I could with Tony’s talent. Tony Sweet and I met many years ago when he was on his way up the ladder of success. I admire people with vision. Tony sure has it. I would never copy the work of another artist, but I sure can admire how they see, and how they translate the world they see. We learn by studying the masters in every art form. We see how they translate their vision and learn how to see better ourselves.

God knew we needed a lot of help in how to live this life He wanted for us. So He did two things, He sent the Master for us to emulate, and then when His Son went home He sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us moment to moment.

I want to be a much better photographer so I study the masters of the craft, and I want to live in a way that pleases my Heavenly Father, so I study His Son the Master. If I watch how great photographers see and capture the world they see, it helps me see the world more clearly myself.

If I study His Word I see how He lived, how much He loved others, How much He gave of Himself,
and the pattern He set for all of us to try and honor and follow.

So when you can study the Masters………

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: D7000, 24-120 AFS VR f4.

After endless hours of watching the devastation from the earthquake in Japan, I’ve had a moment of clarity. First I feel so deeply for those families that have lost loved ones in this natural disaster.
Secondly, I work for a Japanese company and it causes one to wonder what long term affect all of this will have on my company. Beyond all the speculation, life is, what it is. That led to the thought of what do I know for sure? Let me make a list;

1. I know that God is in “complete” control of my life and I can trust Him implicitly………
2. I know I love my wife, my family, my friends, and my associates. My love, respect, and
affection for them is not affected by natural or unnatural disasters.
1. I have been blessed with a great life, filled with great people, wonderful experiences, more
comfort than I deserve, and the assurance of an unshakeable faith.
1. I know that I love being a photographer, working, and being friends with other photographers.
2. I know that I’m not sure of very much else.

So the bottom line is that when you see the devastation in Japan and realize that life went from perfectly normal to turned upside down in a matter of seconds, you realize how fragile life is. We have no guarantees, save for the ones I listed above.

For me that is why faith and family must come first. Why would I build my life around anything that offers no substance. Riches and fame cannot buy peace, joy, or love.

Matthew 6: 25-34

25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
 28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
 31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
I am just as tempted to fret and worry about the state of the economy, the condition of our world,
and my own fears and anxieties as anyone else, but for me I have an anchor that is wedged into solid rock, and though the winds will blow and the storms will rage, I know I have a greater hope in Him.

the pilgrim

Speaking of Solomon’s clothes and the flowers of the fields, I shot some neat stuff in the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens while doing and event for Nikon this past weekend. Here are some of the images from that weekend shoot.

God’s Colors

One of the things I love to do most in making photographs is drive around until I see something that catches my eye and then try and figure out why it caught my attention. I’m down in North Carolina to speak at an event in Belmont, (near Charlotte). While trying to find y hotel and the event site in late afternoon light, I saw a few things that interested me. Below is the scene I saw from the road,
which I immediately pulled over and shot, then I made the image above, complete with some Topaz filtering.

I call this technique the shot, within the shot. After examining the overall scene, ask yourself the question what drew me to this opportunity? With the old Sinclair station it was the gas pump.
Below are three shots of a red bench against a grey wall with a great shadow. The three shots are step one, two and three of moving in tighter and tighter. Admittedly, the first shot is just to show what i saw from the car speeding by, the next two are an attempt to move in on the main idea of the shot, you may or may not like the last shot, I like how tight it is, but you may prefer having the entire bench shown in shot two.

The bottom line is, does it work for you? If you think you’ve captured the essence of the scene, you have succeeded, I was going to say Win, but that has gotten a bad name lately……..

O.K. One more, just for fun.

A little extra help on that one, the yellow box allows you to see what I realized caught my attention once I examined the tractor.

Go out and have some fun doing some extraction of your own!

Blessings,

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: All images D7000 and the 24-120 AFS VR f4 lens.