Monthly Archives: December 2012
As we come down to the end of 2012 I have a bunch of unrelated things I wanted to share, so let’s just call this “a little of this…a little of that…Friday!”
A big thanks…. I want to thank “Snake” Barrett for doing so much to help the His Light Workshops this year! He built our new website, you need to check it out, he is doing as great job as it continues to grow! http://hislightworkshops.com/ He also led the way in teaching night photography and time lapse. He is always there when we need to know what phase the moon will be in, or what angle the sun will be on the arches, if it’s technical, he is our man! Snake is a pleasure to work with, a joy to fellowship with and always is laughing about something, Jim and I are thrilled to have him on our team!
The dream continues to come true….. When Jim and I met in my office, and talked about this idea of making His Light become a reality, and then prayed that it would be what God wanted it to be, we never dreamed He would do such fantastic things. Not that we didn’t know that God can do anything He pleases, it’s just as humans we seldom see just how magnificant His plan is, until we find ourselves standing in the middle of them! Now, a couple of years later we see everyday how He is changing lives, and we get to be there to see it happen! Not a day goes by that I don’t receive emails and calls from someone telling me just how much what happens there and on the blog is changing their lives! Listen, seriously, please listen carefully, I’m just a guy who lives in rural Kentucky, there is nothing whatsoever special about me, except that I love the Lord with all my heart and I really and truly try to be obedient to Him. All this that is happening is because of Him! ….and Him alone. It was my dream, a dream I dared to dream, but He has made it a reality….
Another thanks…… Jim Begely has been a great partner in the workshops, a wonderful friend, and a rock in our spiritual growth. I can’t tell you how many times we wrestle with big decisions about what direction we are to take our little company, and Jim always takes it back to where it belongs, at the foot of the cross! His life is an example of taking God’s word, and living it. As a man I can’t think of a more valuable asset in life than this kind of friend and brother!
The last big thank you, and it’s a big one….. Over the holidays as I got to love on all my family, I couldn’t help but think about a simple little wooden sign our kids got us several years ago. it sits is in the middle of our countless family photographs, it simply says “all of this, because two people fell in love…” Did I ever, and 44 years later I’m still madly in love! I love you Sherelene.
Camera wars………. I work for Nikon and I love my job, but I’m mad at Nikon! They have made it way to hard for me to decide what camera or cameras I want! In the last 40 years I’ve always owned the F camera or in the digital age the D single digit pro body! I’ve owned F’s, F2s, F3s, F4s, F5.s and a F6 (O.K. I never owned the F6 but I had one of Nikon’s for a while) I’ve had D1s. D2s, D3s and now I have a D4 (in my consignment) All have been state of the art for their period, but now it’s not so easy, with the monster resolving D800 and 800e, and now the very reasonably priced D600 which is the second highest resolving camera on the market in a 35mm body size form factor,what is a man to do???!!! I’ve been doing a ton of tests, which is part of my job, but also a labor of love, and I’ve come up with a simple answer…you can’t go wrong with any of them. It all comes down to your budget, your needs, how much weight you are willing to carry, and what you need to do with the resulting files. Once you figure that out, if you can keep your emotions out of the decision, you will know what is the camera for you. Only one factor remains, what is coming next!!!!!!
A lazy man’s HDR formula! I greatly admire Jim Begley’s HDR images, and R.C.’s, Raymond Jabola’s, and a number of others that do very protracted things to get just the right image! I’m not that guy, I work fast and don’t have the patience to work through layers, masks, and such, but for those that are like me, I’ve got something you should try! I am giving an example below, take a shot you would like to appear as an HDR, a straight one frame image. Then go into NIK Color Efex Pro 4 and apply Tonal Contrast filter, use the sliders on the top right to get the level of HDR effect you want. It should look a little gritty. Now apply Glamour Glow in the same Nik program, Wow, pretty good for something that takes less than a minute!
I did Tonal Contrast twice, yes you can layer them to increase the affect! One more thing the original shot was made with a point and shoot camera! What did I say about testing and worrying about which camera!! Yes, the image at the top was done the same way!
Breaking His Light news……. We are in the process of finalizing plans for a great workshop in October of 2013. We will be bringing Dave Black to His Light http://www.daveblackphotography.com/
Dave is one of America’s premier sports photogprahers and also a master of light painting, his class in Shaker Village will be a light painting workshop, and until you’ve studied with Dave, you haven’t seen great light painting technique. This will be a very hands on workshop with both outdoor large scale light painting, and small scale studio type light painting. Strictly limited to 14 participants! It will be late October when the Kentucky fall foliage should be spectacular in Shaker Village. The workshop is expected to be $899. Contact us as soon as possible if you want to join us, I expect this one to fill up very fast! Yes, Dave Black is an amazing brother too!
A new Point and shoot I love! Nikon’s new P7700 is a great point and shoot! It has a very well made with a good heft, but still small enough to stash away in a coat pocket. It is a 12.2 mega pixel sensor compact with a great zoom lens, 28-200 f 2.8 to f4 lens that is very sharp! It has a fold out LCD panel which makes shooting from low and high much easier, it does not have a viewfinder, which I miss, but the LCD panel works great and is very contrasty and sharp. It shoots RAW and has a usable ISO range from 80 to 1600. It also shoots Full HD, 1080p movies with stereo sound! I took it down to the local antique shop the other day and made a few image handheld, (it has great vibration reduction built in!) I was impressed, take a peak!
Pretty nice work from a camera you can put in your pocket!!!!
Haver a great New Years weekend, I will be spending it with my grandchildren, Cade and Cassidy, see you Monday, God Bless!
In Him,
the pilgrim
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This entry was posted on Friday, December 28th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
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Over the holidays, I’ve been editing images and thinking about what a great time I had at the workshop in Red Rock country last month. The other day I got the image above from Jim Begley that he shot of my son Wes at Horseshoe Bend. I love the shot of Wes, it is not only a nice portrait, but it is where he is happiest out in the wilderness! You can see it on his face, nice portrait, Jim!
I think it is because of Wes, and Jim, Snake, Chuck, R.C. and all the great people that were with us that these workshops are so much fun. The scenery is spectacular, and the opportunities to make nice images are endless, but it is even more the fellowship that you remember, after it is all over and you get back home! My wish for everyone is that they experience that kind of friendship and fun in life. Many find it at the tailgating before the big game, or during a fishing trip, or in Sunday School, but it is a vital part of our lives to have people whose company we really enjoy, and new friends we add to our most important circle!
I wish you a Happy New Year and the blessings of friends,
the pilgrim
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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 27th, 2012 at 8:15 pm
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Merry Christmas, I pray for you that today is filled with love and peace, and that you enjoy the reason for the season!
Luke 2:2-38
New Living Translation (NLT)
2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
The Shepherds and Angels
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward men,
the pilgrim
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 25th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
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Merry Christmas Eve! I hope you are surrounded by friends, and family. Some families exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, some Christmas morning. Gifts, at their best, are given with no expectations in return, they are given out of a desire to express love and appreciation. We use the time of Christmas to do that for those we love and want to express that love, by trying to give them something we hope they will value. Of course the greatest gift is the original gift that started the celebration of Christmas, the Christ child!
On the way home from church yesterday morning my grandson, Elijah, read a quote from his ornament that he received in Sunday school. It said, “Give the Lord your best, whatever it may be, for Jesus will accept your gift joyfully!”
On the Eve of Christmas I want to talk for just a moment about what would make a great gift for Him. I believe that what He wants most is our hearts. Have you ever heard the expression “the hearts desire”? Of course you have, and it means what our hearts want most of all. What His heart wants most of all is our acceptance of His forgiveness, and inviting Him into our lives and hearts. Jesus came to earth for only one reason, YOU. Yes, if there had been no one else on earth, except you, He still would have come to save you.
Some people recoil at the word save, but in reality that is exactly what He did. We are all sinners, which means we have fallen short of what God wanted for us. Our only hope was a sacrifice for our sins, instead of us paying the penalty of death, for our sins, Jesus took our punishment on Himself. His death was the payment for all our sins. If we accept that, and accept Him, we are forgiven.
Once forgiven, we have a deep desire to honor Him for all He has done for us. This is where the gift comes in! The only thing Jesus asked us to do because of His sacrifice was accept Him and then tell others that Good News Story! If you were once lost, and then someone found you, and saved you from certain death, wouldn’t you want to tell others that are lost the wonderful story of Jesus!!??
So if you haven’t given Jesus the gift He really wants, you have some last minute shopping to do, and it’s easy, you don’t even have to brave the mall tonight, just go before Him and say I want you to have my heart and my life, His joy will be unimaginable!
Merry Christmas Eve,
the pilgrim
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This entry was posted on Monday, December 24th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
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