Category : Pilgrim’s Chronicles

Things are not always what they seem. The image above was “constructed” from the image below.
A little Photoshop and Capture NX2 and it is a different image all together. I don’t have a problem with a little trickery if the photographer is open to share the process.

In my spiritual life I don’t want in any trickery. I want the truth and only the truth. Jesus is the truth and the light, and He is the only answer I need. It never ceases to amaze me how many people are willing to settle for what seems like a reasonable facsimile of the best they could have. Trusting your life to success, money, fame, fortune, or power is accepting far less than God wants you to have. You can spend your life and throw it away chasing those things, which in the end are of little value. God simply says ask me and I will give you a treasure of great value, that will not rust and the thief cannot steal.

When my time is done here, I am going to have a treasure, that surpasses any other. When God is ready it will be Up, Up and Away for me………

the pilgrim

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

That’s one of my favorite book titles. I have dear friend in New York state who did a self published book of his work, nice work too. His name is Frank Daniti and his book title, Being Perfectly Frank With You. Got to love it! I’m telling you because I have a wonderful opportunity this weekend and I want to ask for your prayers. I’m attending one of my favorite meetings of the year, Southwestern Photojournalism Conference, being held at Southwestern Theological Seminary. This meeting is in conjunction with Christians in Photojournalism. I’ve been a member of this organization for many, many years and it is one of the most wonderful groups of photographers out there. At this meeting some great things happen. The fellowship is great and many people have come to the Lord right at this meeting! This year’s speakers include, Scott Kelby, Louis Deluca, and Jeremy Cowart. Saturday night after Jeremy Cowart’s talk I end the evening with a special presentation called, Obedience is Better than Sacrifice. I will be sharing the story behind the Pilgrim’s Chronicles.

I will share that with you now, but I will ask that you pray that the audience at Southwestern be prepared to receive the message, and that God will be with me, and give me the right words to accomplish His mission. My sharing session is at 10:00 p.m. Central time.

The story behind the Pilgrim’s Chronicles.

When I was a young photographer I made a nearly, spiritually fatal mistake. I came to believe that my photography and my career was about me. I wanted to be admired, and worshipped as on of the greatest photographers in America, maybe even the world. I was actually a very insecure guy, who needed the approval and praise of others, just to feel o.k.

At 35 years of age I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. My doctor gave me a 3 to 5% chance of surviving. Even though I was a Christian, I was devastated. While in the hospital recovering from surgery all I could think about was not getting to spend all my life with my wife and children. On the the third night in the hospital, alone in my room I cried out to God. I asked Him to help me face what seemed inevitable. I knew I couldn’t face it alone. I asked God to spare my life just long enough for me to see my kids grown and on their own, I promised God that if I could live that long, I would not serve Him every day for the rest of my life, but every moment! When my doctor returned the next morning I was well rested, having had a sense of peace that passed any human understanding descend on me after my prayer the night before. My doctor said the tumor they had removed was cancer, but not the kind they had feared. The new prognosis was that I had a 95% chance of surviving.

After the initial joy of that news I came to realize that over those three days I had not thought once about being “famous”. All I had thought about was my family. It was a wake up call. It changed my life forever. I’ve kept that promise. For the last decade I have been begging God to give me a ministry. For a long time my only answer has been, do what your doing now, and wait on Me.

I don’t like waiting, but with God’s help I’ve tried to function in a way I think He wants from me.
A little over a year and a half ago I was at the Reno Pylon School in June with my dear friends
(and bosses), Bill Pekala and Scott Diussa. Scott was working on his blog and it was of great interest to me, I didn’t even know what a blog was! He encouraged me to start a blog, which I did the same day we talked about it with his able help. After a couple of days of publishing airplane images, what we were shooting that week, I realized I didn’t know what I was going to blog about after that!?

In my spirit, I clearly heard God’s voice and He said this is the ministry you asked Me for. From
that day I’ve published almost every day except the weekends I’m home with family. We’ve had well over 100,000 hits and God’s work is being done. I thought in the early months that I was doing this for you, the reader that drops by to see what is new here. I’ve come to realize that this was also for me. By getting before God everyday and in a quiet place listening for his still voice, He has opened up my spirit to see and understand so much more. I have drawn so much closer to Him. His word and spirit have become so much more alive to me. He has changed me, I’m not the man I was a year an half ago when I started something that even then I did not understand.

Today I’m blessed and thankful for this journey and intend to continue it as long as God wants me to continue. This is not about me, it happened when I came to that realization in my own life, that Obedience is better than Sacrifice. It continues as I reach out with His love and His grace.

I want to share that message with the group in Fort Worth, because I know God wants all of us to be missionaries wherever we are and what ever we are doing. He has a plan for you, tell Him you’re ready, and then wait. He won’t fail to give you a mission too.

In Christ,

the pilgrim

So it’s time to get in the game, it’s time to tee off!
Couldn’t help myself……….

*Photo Note: D7000, 200mm Micro Nikkor. More close-u examples. Top, Sidewalk chalk, just above, golf tees.

O.K. Friday’s blog might have not been such a good idea. I was frustrated after a bad day of flying on Thursday, coming back from Las Vegas, and I vented. Most readers thought it was funny,
one reader didn’t. I got an email from a flight attendant frustrated and angered by my comments. While her email rant to me was filled with some good points, she blew it when she ended it by saying, “you can’t imagine how hard it is to deal with idiots like you on my flights!” O.K. I think her frustration was starting to show. First, even when I’m being treated rudely on a plane, I never dish it back. I try to accept that the person may be having a bad day and try to return their rude behavior with kindness, even if I would love to fire right back. My point on Friday, which I don’t think she got, was that as a Christian man, I have a responsibility to rise above normal human reactions, and respond like Christ instead of react like I would otherwise.

Living the Christian life is not for sissies. I don’t think you can do it in your own strength. Let me rephrase that, I can’t do it in my own strength. One of the most troubling scriptures for me in the entire New Testament was when Jesus, advised us to, “turn the other cheek”. For many years I couldn’t see how when struck my someone, (verbally or physically), I could offer the other cheek as well. I was falsely thinking that I had to be able to do that in my own strength. God never intended for us to be “good enough” to do what we must do in His name. Jesus reminded his disciples repeatedly that only through the power of the Spirit would they accomplish their mission.

Living the Christian life is not about entering a training program where you become super human. Living a daily walk with Christ is about TRUSTING Him, not asking Him to make you all powerful.
If you were all powerful you wouldn’t need God. No, God wants you to need Him, Love Him, and communicate with Him. The best news is that God’s plan works!

When someone hurts my feelings by a cruel remark or inapropriate act I can’t respond the way I should, but with Christ’s help I can. How could we ever expect others that don’t know Jesus to want what we have, if we don’t respond any better than they do. You are all missionaries, and your message to the world is how you act, what you say, and how you respond when someone treats you in a bad way. I know it’s not easy, I’ve failed many times, but it’ worth it because someone’s eternal salvation is hanging in the balance. Help them make the right decision.

Father please help me, I don’t want to fumble the ball!

the pilgrim

*Photo Notes: Close-up experiments in prep for upcoming classes.
Top, Colored Pencils, D700, 200 Micro Nikkor, F40 @ 1.6 sec. ISO 200
Next down from top: Cheese grater with colorful napkin reflecting in it’s side.
Idea inspired by Paul Van Allen of Nikon. D700, 200mm Micro Nikkor F32 @ 2.5 sec. ISO 200
Directly above: D7000, 200 Micro Nikkor, F11 at 1/800th of a sec. ISO 1600
(Cooking oil in water, lit from below with a 200 watt incandescent bulb in a reflector,
reflecting Amber CD.) Idea from Bryan Peterson’s Youtube classes and his book on
Close-up photography.

Those of you that come here often know that I’m a pretty calm, forgiving, and kind guy. If you’ve not been here before, please wait until Monday to read this blog. Today I’m going to rant and rant real good. I met a wonderful couple at WPPI that read this blog and they said they enjoyed when I ranted, that they often agreed. So I’m going to take that as permission to let it rip. *Note at the end of this I will have an apology.

I hate flying on commercial airplanes.

Sometimes it’s not so bad, some times it’s just awful, this morning it was awful. No, no turbulence,
but the rest of what bothers me came in spades on the way from Las Vegas to Atlanta.

Here’s my list:

1. Airplanes need to be bigger or passengers smaller. I’m learning to eat healthy and I’m glad I am, and I was way too heavy, for way too lang, BUT, I’m sick of sitting next to people that take all of their seats and then spill over into my space. It’s even worse when they “spread out” and use their shoulders and elbows to “clear out” the space they wanted, but don’t have. I’m tired of getting somewhere after a 4 hour flight and having a back ache from leaning into the isle to try to give them some of the space I paid for.
2. Speaking of leaning into the isle, refreshment carts should have big red and yellow stickers on
them that say, “ CAUTION -Lethal Weapon”. Have you ever had a flight attendant ram your
elbow or shoulder with one? Trust me it hurts, and I have a sneaking suspicion that if they are
not having a very good day, they love it.
1. Speaking of flight attendants, I remember when they were all beautiful young women with
winning smiles and great attitudes. I’m not saying that none of them meet that description, but
more and more of them look, and act like the wicked witch of the north. Seniority at work……
1. If our Federal Government is going to ride us like rented mules over every little thing we have in
our suitcases, maybe they could pass a rule that says that anyone getting on a plane has to
brush their teeth or their hair, preferably both. It should also me a Federal Mandate that a
shower must be taken at least within 6 hours of a flight and a fresh application of deodorant.
1. How about everyone abides by the same rules. Every time I let my seat back to relax before taking off, a grandmotherly flight attendant raps me on the head with a ruler and barks, “get your seat back forward until after take off!” This morning a very large man in front of me leaned his seat all the way into my lap as soon as he set down and it stayed like that until we landed in Atlanta. I could have easily shampooed his hair, and should have.
2. I’ve got a good suggestion, if a Flight Attendant has a posterior only 3 inches less wide than
the aisle of the plane, they should give them an office job. They can’t be gaining that weight on
what they offer us! I opened a small bag of pretzels today and 5 fell out the size of BBs.
1. In the rare event that you did get a young, very attractive, Flight Attendant, I suggest they have
their compact and mirror confiscated so they might realize there are actually passengers on
the plane, that are not wearing pilots uniforms!
1. On conduct; any flight attendant that is rude to a passenger, without provocation, should have to exit the plane, regardless of altitude.

The New Rule Book for the Flying Public
By me, so obviously no one has to follow it, but it sure would be great if they did.

All passengers should have to be required to wear shirts, shoes and socks. Dress should be somewhere North of the people you see on the website, the people of Walmart.

When waiting to board a plane you stand in a line, you stay behind the person in front of you and
in front of the person behind you, you don’t step in front of others, you never cut the line. No matter how important you think you are, if you want to get on the plane first in your zone, get to the front of the line early and save your position. People who break this rule should be invited to inspect the jet engines as they start them up.

If you talk on your cell phone in the gate area, or on the plane before the door closes you should do so in a low voice. Talking loudly about how important you are, and how many people you can direct to follow your orders is irritating to others, who, by the way, are not that interested in your life anyway.

When boarding a plane try not to seriously injure someone with your backpack, purse, or computer bag, as you proceed through the plane to your seat. I swear some of those people have bowling balls in their shoulder bags.

Once at your seat, get things put away quickly, and then sit down and get out of the way, however if someone in front of you fails to keep this rule, don’t act like a jack wagon and show your irritation at that person. Trust me, you’ve done something just as egregious yourself, probably today.

When the plane lands, it unloads from the front to the back, jumping up and trying to get off in front of people in front of you on the plane is never acceptable unless you are late for your next flight and you have informed the flight attendant that you must rush. She will see that you can rush off.

When collecting your luggage at Baggage Claim, try not to knock people down when you attempt to take your suit case off the conveyer and can’t control it.

O.K. Having said all of that, thanks, so much, to the good flight attendants that have made my days better, the wonderful pilots that have never failed to get me safely to my destination! To all the airline people that make my great flights, great, thank you.

You want to hear something really funny, I thought all of this while wearing my favorite T-shirt today. A Life is Good shirt that shows a glass filled mid way, the slogan says, “Half Full”
go figure………..

This all proves one thing, we can be filled with Christ and not act very much like Him. I will
try to do better tomorrow.

the pilgrim

Friday Weigh in: Down two more pounds, 219, down from start 239.