I couldn’t resist sharing this with you folks after Virgil Boler sent it to me, it’s from the “The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards”  Hope your Thanksgiving Week is going a lot better that this fellows!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

I started my career as a photographer shooting black and white for a daily newspaper and concentrated on that kind of work for many years.  I still believe that monochrome is the best way to learn to see graphically and I’m thankful I started that way!  The only problem with color is it an actually can become the subject itself, with monochrome you have to use tones, shapes and lines to more effectively tell your photographic story!

 

These are a few of my favorite monochrome images, I hope you enjoy them!

 

 

 

 

I hope you agree that I really “nailed” that last one!!!

 

You don’t deserve that kind of abuse!!!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

As the Christmas Season approaches our thoughts turn to celebrating the birth of Christ and showing our love to those we cherish the most!  Of course the most cherished person in my life is my Heavenly Father!  I wonder what I would give Him if I had the chance to lay a present under His tree?  I doubt that any material thing would ever be adequate, after all, He made it all, owns it all and I’m sure His needs are not for physical things.

 

The more I pondered this idea, the more I turned to scripture to see what He had to say about what He wants the most from us.  He has given us free will and I know what He wants the most from us is a decision only we can make, He doesn’t demand it, He patiently waits for us to discover His desires for us.

 

I believe that the Holy Spirit has guided me to the scriptural evidence of what He desires most!

 

First I know He wants us to Love Him.

 

Mark 12: 29-30

29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this; Listen, O’Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord, 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”

 

John 13: 34

34 “So now I am giving you a new commandment:
Love each other. Just I have loved you, you should love each other.”

 

Ephesians 3: 18

18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.

 

2 John 1: 5

5 I am writing to remind you, dear fiends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning.

 

Next I believe He wants us to have complete FAITH in Him.

FAITH

Romans 5:1

1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

 

It is deep faith in Him that allows us to rest in the knowledge that He will always be with us, never forsake us and bring us through all trials to where He wants us to be.

 

Lastly, I know He desires us to be OBEDIENT to His word, His direction and His words He speaks to our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

 

OBEDIENCE

1 John 2: 5-6

5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him. The is how we know we are living in Him. 6 Those who say they love God should live their lives as Jesus did.

 

My dear brother and friend Dr. Charles Stanley has taught me often that God desires our Obedience rather than sacrifice.  We can only give Him our complete obedience when we Trust Him without doubts, knowing He is faithful to His word.

 

So these are the three things God wants from us, that only we can willingly give to Him;

 

Love   –   Faith   –   Obedience

 

My Christmas prayer, for all of us, is that we will give to God what He so richly deserves and desires this Christmas, our hearts, our undying Faith in Him and the courage to always say, “Yes Sir” when He asks anything of us.

 

Let me be the first to wish you a Blessed Christmas,

 

In Him

 

the pilgrim

 

I just returned from the Great Smokies, the third of three October workshops.  The color in the UP was spectacular, in Ohio’s Amish country just ok, and in the Great Smokies another great fall color year.  Thought I might share a few images from the last two workshops!  Above, Tremont branch of the Little River from the Tremont Wooden bridge!  Below, a shot from Greenbriar.

 

 

Morton’s Overlook was good color and great mist from the passing storms.

 

 

We stopped by the Primitive Baptist Church and I did a couple of window light portraits, always fun,  Top image, Peter and Mary Andrade, bottom Virgil Boler!

 

 

 

Yellow leaves reflecting on the road at Chimney Tops picnic area.  Red leaf on rocks along Greenbriar branch.

 

 

In the Amish Country of Northern Ohio we had acceptable color but lots of interesting subject matter, including a set of areial images from the drone at Hale Farm.

 

 

All the images above were with the iPhone 12 Pro Max!  Images below with the DJI Mini II drone.

 

So, that was the fall images plus the previous blog entry from the UP, Enpoy!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim