{"id":14123,"date":"2015-06-01T13:37:21","date_gmt":"2015-06-01T13:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=14123"},"modified":"2015-06-02T10:31:06","modified_gmt":"2015-06-02T10:31:06","slug":"things-i-love-and-things-i-dont-love-so-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=14123","title":{"rendered":"Things I love…and things I don’t love so much…"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It’s time for a list; things I love, and things I don’t love so much!<\/p>\n

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Things I love:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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1. \u00a0My wife!<\/span><\/strong> \u00a0Every time I go out and teach or speak I mention how much I’m still madly in love with my wife, even after 45 years of marriage! \u00a0I once had Sherelene with me when I made that pronouncemnt , once again, \u00a0I lady came up to us and asked, “How could you still be in love after 45 years of marriage?!” \u00a0My wife quipped, “well he’s only been home 15 of the 45 years!” \u00a0While that is almost the truth, I think the absence has actually made us grow closer. \u00a0I love to travel, shoot and teach, but I love coming home even more. \u00a0Sherlene has made the last 45 years countless great homecomings!!! \u00a0In a very large way, God has used Sherelene to set me free to experience the life I’ve been so blessed to live. My family fits in here to<\/strong>o<\/strong>!<\/span> \u00a0I have a wonderful family; three great children, (now adults), and their spouses, and 6 wonderful grandchildren, I’m truly blessed, \u00a0and a great brother too!!! \u00a0I took my granddaughter Cassidy to the workshop at Grandfather Mountain, and she shot some great images!, one is below, we had a great time!<\/p>\n

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Image by Cassidy Moore<\/p>\n

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2. \u00a0My Faith!<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0My daily walk with my Lord is all that keeps me going. \u00a0The schedule I keep and the things I’m doing are exhausting, especially as I get older, but the Lord holds me up and guides my path! \u00a0Some years ago when I gave my life completely to Him, He took me at my word, and has blessed me in more ways than I could ever share.<\/p>\n

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3. \u00a0My friends!<\/span> \u00a0I got an email a while back from an angry reader who accused me of manufacturing the number of friends I have. \u00a0He suggested you can only have a very few close friends! \u00a0Well Westers Dictionary says a d friend is:<\/p>\n

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friend<\/strong><\/p>\n

noun1<\/p>\n

a close\u00a0friend:\u00a0companion,\u00a0soul mate,\u00a0intimate,\u00a0confidante,\u00a0confidant,\u00a0familiar,\u00a0alter ego,\u00a0second\u00a0self,\u00a0playmate,\u00a0playfellow,\u00a0classmate,\u00a0schoolmate,\u00a0workmate;\u00a0ally,\u00a0associate;\u00a0sister,\u00a0brother;\u00a0best\u00a0friend,\u00a0kindred spirit,\u00a0bosom\u00a0buddy,\u00a0bosom\u00a0friend;\u00a0informal\u00a0pal,\u00a0chum,\u00a0sidekick,\u00a0crony,\u00a0main man,\u00a0mate,\u00a0buddy,\u00a0bud,\u00a0amigo,\u00a0compadre,\u00a0homeboy,\u00a0homegirl,\u00a0homie,\u00a0dawg,\u00a0gal pal,\u00a0BF,\u00a0BFF;\u00a0informal,\u00a0plural\u00a0peeps;\u00a0archaic\u00a0compeer.<\/p>\n

ANTONYMS\u00a0\u00a0enemy<\/p>\n

.2\u00a0the\u00a0friends\u00a0of\u00a0the National\u00a0Ballet:\u00a0patron,\u00a0backer,\u00a0supporter,\u00a0benefactor,\u00a0benefactress,\u00a0sponsor;\u00a0well-wisher,\u00a0defender,\u00a0champion;\u00a0informal\u00a0angel.<\/p>\n

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I can’t tell you what a friend is for sure, for me there are very long term friends, people I’ve known for decades and their are newer friends that I may have \u00a0known less than 10 years. \u00a0I love them all and treasure them all. \u00a0I meet a lot of people that I get to spend only a few days with, like workshop guests, but many of these folks feel like friends to me. \u00a0I can’t say how many of them feel that way about me, but that doesn’t matter, the fact is there are many,and they have blessed my life! \u00a0I’ve also been questioned about saying I love you, to what some people would consider almost strangers. \u00a0If you are filled with God’s love, He enables you to love others, with His love!!! \u00a0That is not an ability we possess, but one we can exhibit through Him!<\/p>\n

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4. \u00a0The fun of photography gear!<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0I love buying and using cameras and lenses! \u00a0I’ve been shooting images for over 45 years and \u00a0I’ve\u00a0always enjoyed the camera gear! \u00a0I think at one point I loved it too much, rather worshipped my gear, but I got over that, now they are just tools, but fun tools none the less! \u00a0I am especially fond of the Fuji prime lenses. \u00a0Fuji makes a number of spectacular prime lenses, all tack sharp and very well made of mostly metal. \u00a0It is a pleasure to use such good glass!<\/p>\n

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How about a few things I don’t love so much!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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1. \u00a0People that do reviews so they can trash any certain brand.<\/span><\/strong> Out in the big photography world there are those that love their brand so much that they trash all the other companies. \u00a0You won’t find that happening here! \u00a0I respect everyone’s right to love the gear that works best for them, \u00a0As I tell my students, at workshops, “If you own any modern camera and are not getting spectacular images, it’s probably not the camera!”<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I read a review recently by a fellow and he not only trashed the gear he was reviewing, he speckled profanity through out his article. \u00a0It’s a free county, but I don’t think you need to do that to get you point across! \u00a0I’m sure some people like it, but I’m not one of them!<\/p>\n

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2. I really don’t like to see reviews by people whose work makes you wonder if they know enough about photography to have a valid opinion!<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0If Art Wolfe, Jack Graham, or John Shaw have an opinion about a camera or lens, I want to know what they think, they are exceptional artists, but when I see an article and it is accompanied by, at least in my opinion, sub standard work, it makes me wonder how they can make a real point. \u00a0My advise to myself , and the rest of us, is to make some great images before you critique the manufacturers equipment! \u00a0I know the internet is filled with nit pickers, and that is just the way it is, but having some real knowledge and experience would be helpful before you start expounding, at least that’s my thought!<\/p>\n

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3. \u00a0People that are judgmental!<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0That may seem strange after my previous paragraph, but I don’t consider calling folks out on that kind of thing a judgment. What I’m talking about is people that look down on other for any reason. \u00a0If you think you are better than someone else because of your social status, wealth, or fame, then you’re making a terrible mistake. \u00a0Some of the finest people I’ve ver known were people that some people would have seen as “the lesser” in society. \u00a0We have much to learn from each other, and it needs to start with acknowledging that we’re all God’s children, and try to see others though His eyes! \u00a0Trust me, the rewards will amaze you, if you can let Him teach you how!<\/p>\n

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Well, I hope I haven’t offended to many folks, it was never my intention!<\/p>\n

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I want ot thank Don DeLong, Don Dennis, Lynn Rogers, Gerry Emmert and Tom Roper for joining us at Grandfather Mountain this past weekend you guys were great and a special thank you to my dear friends, Jim Begley, “Snake” Barrett, Jim and Sue Haverstock and Miles Smith for adding to the great fellowship we all enjoyed! \u00a0It was great to see Chris Klapheke for a day too!<\/p>\n

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Blessings,<\/p>\n

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the pilgrim<\/p>\n

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      It’s time for a list; things I love, and things I don’t love so much!   Things I love:   1. \u00a0My wife! \u00a0Every time I go out and teach or speak I mention how much I’m still madly in love with my wife, even after 45 years of marriage! \u00a0I once […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronicles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14123"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14139,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14123\/revisions\/14139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}