I was running errands today and I saw it, a pink painted bicycle at a thrift shop on the side of the road.  I had to jump out and try to get an image!  This is the beginning of new excitement for the craft I’ve loved so much for such a long, long time!  I’ve wondered how life after Nikon would be, today as silly as it sounds, I got kind of a promise, the visual excitement has never left, but the joy is intensifying!

 

I hope you guys have a great weekend, I will, with dreams of an exciting visual future.

 

Be blessed my friends,

 

the pilgrim

 

O.K.  Maybe it wasn’t so wonderful, but the increased visual excitement was!  Isn’t it fun to feel excitement!

As a photographer I’m really into texture.

 

texture |ˈteksCHər|nou

the feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface or a substance: skin texture and tone | the cheese is firm in texture |the different colors and textures of bark.•

the character or appearance of a textile fabric asdetermined by the arrangement and thickness of its threads: a dark shirt of rough texture.• 

Art the tactile quality of the surface of a work of art.• the quality created by the combination of the different elements in a work of music or literature: a closely knit symphonic texture.

 

I love to see and then try and capture the consistency or inconsistency of a surface.  A very smooth glossy surface can give us the opportunity to show the gradation of tones, and a rusty surface can help us capture the feel of that rough texture!   One of the great joys of the art and craft of making photographs is trying to capture those distinct visual moods.  To capture it you have to be aware of it and to be aware you have to look more deeply into the nature of surfaces.

 

The surface is the most outer layer.  You can’t see below that surface.  People are that way too, what you think you may see on the surface may not be what lies underneath.  While capturing surface images works for making a photograph, we must dive well below the surface with people, if we hope to have a great relationship with them.  That is vital because what God wants us to have is relationships, sharing and being a part of each others lives.  Photography is easy, life is hard, but wit God all things are possible.

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

A little music lingo there!  This week is being spent finishing up 11 years of working for Nikon. Several big boxes are on the way back to Nikon with the huge consignment of gear that had to be returned.  A friend said, “I bet you will hate to send all that stuff back”, honestly I’m glad to see it go!  Not that it wasn’t fun, but the responsibility of all that stuff in my house was always a little much.  I’ve learned to shoot with a much smaller set of gear, and actually enjoy the simplicity more, and my images are better with less thinking about the equipment.

 

I’m really looking forward to some time with family, the Nashville workshop, the Faithful Friends gathering in the Smokies, Glacier  with Charles Stanley, light painting with Dave Black at Shaker Village and finally doing the Death Valley and Amish Country Workshops with Jack Graham.  I’m thrilled to be going back to Photoshop World in Las Vegas in September, and speaking at the Black Hills Photo Shootout in South Dakota!  Then I can’t wait to get started on a few dozen eBooks I plan to produce, wow, I’m gonna be busy!  I am more committed than every to spread the good news of His love on the blog, and everywhere I’m to go and speak, or share.

 

Lots of exciting things are coming down the track for Jim and I, please pray that we put Him first, and seek His wisdon in all things.

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

No, I’m not saying I’ll never get on an airplane again, but I won’t unless it’s the only good way to get somewhere I need to go!  For the last 11 years I’ve had a love/hate relationship with commercial flying, mostly hate. I think flying usually means your having to leave home, where you would rather be, or coming home tired from a long arduous trip.  A lot of my friends say you must be sorry to see the Nikon Tech Rep life in your rear view mirror?  Not really.  I will miss the great people I’ve worked with, some of my customers, but I won’t miss the reports, and some of the events that I always dreaded.  I’ve been honored to be part of such a great team, but all things come to an end, eventually.

 

The end of one thing is the beginning of another, and change, while hard, is good.  I have tried very hard to live by one principle, whatever God wants, is what I want.  I believe God always has a plan, and it is for your good, and His glory.  If I can live a life that ends in those two conditions, I might even be o.k. with getting on another airplane, if that’s what He wants…..

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim