Monthly Archives: January 2012

 

You need a lot of things to survive in this world, Faith, Hope, and Love, but the greatest of these is Love….

 

1 Corinthians 13:1

¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

 

Walking around in the French Quarter this evening after dinner, I saw this little painting in a store window and went in and asked if I could photograph it, the lady kindly said, no problem!  My grand daughter, Cassidy, loves owls and I thought she would like it!  As I continued to walk back to the hotel, I thought just how much wisdom is in the scripture above, and the little painting.  I think how much I prepare before going on an assignment for Nikon or leaving on a long trip.  Countless hours of deciding what I will really need, and what to pack, and how to carry it.  We need to take more time to decide what we need to survive each and every day on this journey called life!

 

We definitely need Faith.  We need to know that God is truly in control, that He has a plan, that He has, in fact, already set His plan into motion and that His plans can’t fail, never fail!  Faith is counting on things that the world says you can’t count on!  Faith is “complete” trust and confidence in Him.  We can’t walk our walk with Him without Faith.

 

We are wired to need Hope.  We all have expectations of what we believe will happen.  When we start to doubt that God’s love can see us through we loose Hope.  Hopelessness has wrapped it’s ugly arms around our society, the enemy wants us to sink into despair, but we can have Hope,  because He lives!

 

The Greatest of these is Love.  Love prevents a multitude of sins.  We cannot cheat those we love, we cannot steal from those we love, we can’t take the lives of those we love.  We will be honest with those we love.  We will think the best of those we love.  We will show respect to those we love.  We will pray for those we love, we will seek to lead those we love to Christ.  We can do no harm to those we love.  God does not love, God IS LOVE!  God’s relationship with us is based on His great love for us!

 

We can have all three, we can have Faith in Him.  We can know He is in control and we can have the Hope that comes from knowing He is working out His plans in us!  Most of all when we are filled with His grace and compassion we will exhibit His Love.

 

Make 2012 the year that you start living in midst of His great gifts; Faith, Hope, and Love……..

 

In Him,

 

the pilgrim

 

Last night the worldwide release took place of Nikon’s New Flagship Pro camera, the D4.  I have actually been shooting with the camera for the last month and I can say it is very high on the Wow factor scale.  My apologies for those that have asked hundreds of questions about the new camera everyone was expecting, you must understand that prior to the release of any new camera, we are strictly forbidden from discussing any information, until it is officially released it doesn’t exist…. Now I’m happy to fill you in on the details!  For the last several years I’ve felt that for those willing to carry a heavier camera the D3s was the camera n the market in terms of out and out image quality at all ISO’s and in all situations requiring speed of operation.  The D4 is the next logical step in this evolution, and a huge step at that!  I personally was not sure I wanted to carry such a robust camera, before it was released, after several weeks of testing,  I will definitely be using the D4 myself, a great deal, it’s simply the most complete camera I’ve ever held in my hands! I’ve never shot a more responsive camera, or one that produced more magnificent files!

 

Of course for the video producers the new camera is a massive leap forward with more capabilities and much higher quality video files than anything previous from Nikon.  The control of exposure, focusing and sound while capturing in multiple frame rates at full 1080p makes this camera a fantastic machine to produce Broadcast quality video.  New features include HDMI support for off camera video file capture, headphone out, exceptional in camera sound quality, and many other key features for the DSLR videographers.

 

On the still side, I can say without any reservations that I’ve never shot a camera that produces nicer, cleaner, sharper files.   Many of the test images I’ve made, (some samples below), are so rich with detail that no matter how much I have enlarged the files they remain crisp, clean and highly detailed.  Noise performance at High ISOs has once again been improved, even over the D3s which was so spectacular that many thought not further improvement might be possible, trust me it is possible and is accomplished in the D4!   For those of us that like to work in HDR, one very valuable new feature is the broad range of bracketing options in the D4.  The camera will allow 3-5-7-or 9 exposures in either 1/3 – 2/3 – 1 full stop, plus 2 stops and 3 stops!!!!  The possible dynamic range capture for very difficult HDR situations has been massively increased!  The D4 also features a quick HDR feature that makes an in camera file based on a overexposed and normal frame.  Nice for increased dynamic range in a quick and easy fashion.

 

Other key features include:

 

* A 3.2 inch 921,000-dot LCD with ambient light sensor to automatically adjust the LCD visibility according to the environment.

 

* 51 AF points delivers fast and accurate AF detection.  15 are Cross-type sensors in the center detect contrast for both vertical and horizontal lines for lenses f 5.6 or faster.

 

* 10 Frames Per Second in FX-format for up to 200 frames.

 

* A new Nikon FX  (36 x 23.9 mm) CMOS sensor with 16.2 effective megapixels. 

 

* Nikon’s first 91,000 pixel RGB 3D Color Matrix Metering III.  Highly effective in field use.

 

*  ISO range from 100 to 12,800 that can be set to from 50 to as high as 204,800!

 

* While the basic operational controls remain located as in the D3s several valuable new controls have been added, two sub-selector joystick make moving and setting autofocus points more responsive to your fingers touch, and they are positioned for optimal control for both vertical and horizontal operation.

 

*  Lighted control buttons for better operation in dim light.

 

* Expeed 3 image-processing engine for exceptional speed and performance.

 

* A battle hardened – weather sealed – fully magnesium body with a Thermal Shield finish that protects the camera by dissipating heat in direct sun conditions.

 

The list goes on and on and I can assure you  that it you have been a very happy D3 or D3s shooter you are going to love the D4.

 

For years I’ve said things like I love the Nikon F, I’m not interested in the F2 only to adopt it and use it with much love and success, the trend continued through the F3, F4, F5 and finally the F6! Now the D1, D2, D3 and the D4 is the very best yet.  You would think I would learn………..

 

the pilgrim

 

Here are some sample shots with the D4, they are HDR’s and the shot below each is a small portion of the same file:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trust me, these files blown up to 4 X 6 foot don’t look any different!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes Virginia, life is not a beignet, but it doesn’t have to be sour mustard either.  I got an email, it was not ugly, but it was obvious that someone was bothered, I suspect this person was not alone, please allow me elaborate.  This is a line from the email, “I enjoy your work and you are very encouraging in your blog, but, it seems as if you live in a fairy tale world, where all is good, please help me understand where you are really coming from?!”   No problem, that is where I’m really coming from.  No the world is not a fairy tale, far from it, but it doesn’t have to be a place  where we live in constant misery either.   Are there awful things happening in the world, yes.  Can I do much about most of it, no.

 

We have a choice in life, we can put ourselves in the loving arms of our Savior and trust Him even in the very difficult times, or we can try to slug it out with the world completely on our own.  I’ve tried both systems, the first is the only one that works.  I have a very dear brother in Christ, who is one of the kindest, most gentle, and loving men I know, and you would never guess what he did for a living before he retired. He was an investigating officer, in crimes against children.  I can’t imagine a more more difficult mantle to have to shoulder, more of a burden.  Yet, this man has been an “overcomer” !  His life is not based on his circumstances, but the victory of His Heavenly Father.  Sadly the world is filled with evil, and evil will always make itself apparent in this world.  This world is broken, and someday it will be replaced with the promised paradise from our Father in Heaven, till then we must, do all we can to fight the wrongs, and find our strength in Him. Christians are not cowards, that shrink in the corner with their eyes closed tightly.   They are fighters that seek to meet evil face to face and triumph over it, they just don’t do it their own strength.   David did not defeat Goliath because of his skill and cunning, He defeated Goliath because God was on his side.

 

Can you defeat the world around you, no, but it has already been defeated by the man that gave His life for you.  The enemy that runs free in this world has already been defeated, the fight has been called,  he just doesn’t know it yet……….

 

So to answer your question, yes, I know I’m in a world filled with hurt, but God is in control and while he will not spare me from all the pain, He will hold me up in the midst of it.  I may get bruised and scarred , but will not suffer defeat, a promise worth holding on to.  I wish the same for you my friend, don’t settle for being defeated, live in victory, ask Him to walk along with you, it’s the only Way……..

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

 

When I have to work long weekend assignments, I can often take a day or two off during the week before the next big weekend assignment starts!   That’s why I’ve had time to do a little dedicated shooting between bowl games.  I went back out to the French Quarter again this morning, doing some more head hunting.  Well not hunting heads as much as looking for  more color, texture, and this morning I added light and shadow!  This is also and exercise in extracting just part of the scene.  I’m thankful to have this job, I get important work done and keep my skills sharpened up!

 

Texture & Color:

 

Shadows and Design:

 

Color and Design:

 

Contrast / Design / Color:

Color!:

 

Color & Design:

 

 

This is for my boss and friend Scott Diussa, I think this is him in 40 years!

 

 

Some more out and out color:

 

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim