Cool May, Warm Beverage

        I don't typically drink hot beverages in May, it's usually too warm. This May, however, has had a few cool days, due to cold fronts making it far enough south. Thankfully, thunderstorms develop as well and bring coveted rain to the area. It's raining this morning. I have the windows open letting the cool breeze in and listening to the melody of the storms. I love that song, many nights I've fallen asleep to it, this morning, I'm soaking it up like the parched soil.

        Like I said earlier, I don't normally have hot beverages this late in the spring, but the cool morning lent itself to wearing my favorite blue sweater my Grandmother gave me, and a hot cup of apple cider. I began sipping on the cider, but it just tasted like warm water. I stirred it some and the flavor rose to the top to meet me, and the fragrance filled the air. Then a question was asked of me, do you need stirring? Are you so watered down that you need your affections stirred to be flavorful?

        It's Wednesday and I typically attend a low impact fitness class called BodyFlow. It warms all my muscle and then stretches them out before relaxing. It's likely my favorite class, and I don't often get to attend these days having had all my shifts moved to mornings. This Wednesday morning, just before leaving I knew I needed to stay. I sat at my coffee table drinking a stirred cup of hot apple cider, having my own affections stirred my God. I don't spend near the amount of time or energy memorizing His Word. I did this morning, I am so grateful to be lead by such a gracious God.

Do you need your affections stirred?

The Poor Man's Studio Set Up

I’m a hobbyist photographer and as such can’t afford to dole out hundreds of dollars on studio equipment that I will only use occasionally.  This is when photography becomes an adventure in your own home. I hope to show you how to create studio stock photography with minimal photographic equipment and items that you either have or can get reasonably. The scope of this post will cover the set up, as well as touch on the camera settings necessary to get a good shot.

What you will need

·         A frame that uses two panes of glass instead of a cardboard backing

·         A lone pane of glass at least an 8”x10”

·         Parchment paper

·         Bookends

·         Anti-slip material

·         Laptop

·         Large hardbound book, no more than 1.5” thick

·         Card stock, color of your choice, though I prefer white

o   You can use multiple sheets of plain white paper, it just needs to be opaque

·         A small object to photograph

·         Camera

·         Tripod

·         A flash that can be fired remotely

·         Automatic shutter release. This is optional, though it makes life easier.

The Set Up

The Diffuser

·         Begin by cutting two pieces of parchment paper that will fit in the frame between two panes of glass (pretend you’re framing the parchment paper). This will be your light diffuser.

·         Lay down the anti-slip material and place the bookends on either side with the framed parchment paper. See photo below.

·         Place Flash behind the diffusion and set it as “remote” or “slave”.

o   Due to the numerous brands and models of flashes, we won’t cover how to change this setting. If you are not sure how,  a quick search of the Internet will be your best bet for learning.

o   Take a test shot. See photos below.

The Backlight and Platform

·         Open up your laptop and place it next to your diffuser.

·         Bring up a white image in full screen mode.

o   I would also recommend turning the ‘auto off’ for your screen to ‘never’ so that you don’t lose your screen mid-shoot.

·         Place the hardbound book on top of the keyboard, the card stock or plain paper on top of that, and finally the lone piece of glass.

o   The glass will give the photo a nice studio look.

The Camera

·         The position of the camera is going to be a matter of preference. This is a portion of the adventure that you continually adjust in order to get different perspectives. I prefer to have the camera straight on and slightly higher than the object. See image below.

·         The camera/flash settings for this shot may take a little bit of research on your part. My Nikon equipment allows me to remotely fire flashes using on the on camera flash. If you have a different camera this may require a little more equipment/research. If you use Nikon here are a few links to get you going: Nikon Speedlight PDF YouTube Video instruction

·         If you have all the necessary equipment than there are really only a few choices. Do you want a white background, gray background or a black background?

o   In Manual Mode: Slow shutter speed (1 sec, F20) will get you white,  fast shutter speed (1/60 sec, F22) will get you a black one and gray is somewhere in the middle (it's an adventure, remember, go and find it!). See images below.

Shutter: 1sec Aperture: F22

Shutter: 1/40 sec Aperture: F13

Shutter: 1/60 sec Aperture: F22

·         If you don’t have an automatic shutter it may be difficult to get a clear shot with a slow shutter speed, drop the aperture (i.e. F4) and make the shutter a little faster (i.e. 1/40 sec) and this should help.

·         Bonus: Load up a different backdrop! There are many “out of focus lights” images on the web (Google is your friend here!). Just grab one and make it your backdrop on the laptop. You will have to use the slower shutter speed for the camera’s sensor to pick up the light from the laptop.

·         This is my first tutorial so it’s a little rough around the edges; if you have any questions/critiques/comments feel free to contact me.

Fond Memories & Gravestones

Ever since I can remember, my father has joked that he wanted his gravestone to say “Return to Sender”. He uses this phrase as a play on the Postal term, alluding to our return home to the LORD Jesus. As Christians we often think of returning Home, and leaving this world behind, and I'm glad my dad has a comical outlook, and is able to see death as something good.

This has brought a great deal of laughter, and created lots memories for my family. Looking back, I realized we had neglected to come up with something clever for mom. My intentions here are not to be morbid, and I'm not expecting my parents to die anytime soon, Christians just think a little differently about death as I mentioned earlier. What I did want to do was find a unique and funny way to describe the woman who has brought so much joy and, quite frankly, adventure to our family. I had to give this a great deal of thought, don’t laugh! This is serious!! If it’s going to be on her gravestone it needs to be GOOD!

In 5th Place - “Death, It’s the Real Thing”

This will take a little more brain power on the part of the visitor, as it is a play on the CocaCola slogan, “The Real Thing”. If we were asked to name my mom’s favorite soda, hand’s down it’s Coke! The preference may have migrated slightly to CokeZero, but the flavor of Coke is still the one she seeks.

In 4th Place - “I Hope You Brought Chocolate”

It is a truth universally acknowledged that women like chocolate. My mom is no exception to this truth, though she takes exception to anything but Dark Chocolate. I remember wrapping a milk chocolate Hershey miniature in  “Special Dark” wrapping, saw the look on her face when she bit into it, and never did that again!

In 3rd Place - “That Looks Like a Buick”

Mom has always hated the plain looking cars these automobile makers turn out year after year. Indeed, they all resemble one another to such a degree that it would seem all car manufacturers purchased the shell from Buick! She has become so accustomed to saying this that when a car commercial came on a few months ago she spoke those very words; I then had to gently inform her that it was in fact a Buick commercial we were watching.

In 2nd Place - “I Hate Game Shows”

Rather self-explanatory I think, she’s never liked Game Shows, I’m right there with her too! If you need more explanation, read the book of Ecclesiastes and substitute “Game Show” everywhere you see the word “Vanity” or “Chasing after the wind”, you’ll get the idea.

In 1st Place - “We Got This Stone on Clearance”

She LOVES clearance shopping. The feeling that you just snagged a great deal is a great feeling! Thankfully, her shopping skills were passed on to, well, Angela at least. The gravestone itself will have to be on clearance! I don’t believe she would let us buy it otherwise.

My parents are in great health, and I don't expect we'll need these words any time soon. Honestly, I loathe the day my parents pass from this world, knowing the pain of loss will be great. I feel like these words will be a suave on the wound. They won’t heal, but they will remind us of the great parents that were hand-picked by God.

It's That Feeling You Get

My favorite feature of a camera isn’t the high light sensitivity, it’s not the intervalometer for time-lapse photos, it’s not even the gorgeous video it takes, but the simple ability to capture moments in time, or memories as they affectionately called.  There isn’t always something special about the photograph, it may not even be taken well, or occasionally out of focus. Though somehow these things don’t seem to matter as much.  The people in the photo, they matter, they mean the world to us.

My singles group at church do service projects, now and again. Recently we’ve been cleaning the common areas of the apartments the church owns. We purchased the apartments to help people trying to get their life back together, and it seems to have positively affected the neighborhood as well, praise the LORD. This Sunday, however, we replaced the wood on a very tired picnic bench at said apartments.

Several of us had forgotten this and were not dresses appropriately, and by not appropriately I mean they were wearing heals! This didn’t stop them, and it made me proud. It was a simple thing we did, and only took about two hours. They laughed we shared though, those will last a lifetime. My camera we being a little temperamental, always wanting to bring the background into focus when it was the foreground I wanted. It might have helped to strap the flash on for fill light. In the end the photos were just decent and I became a little discouraged, then I remembered my epiphany.

It was another Sunday morning a few weeks prior, I was driving to church, my camera in my backpack  (I’m rarely without it), and the LORD spoke to me. It was nothing audible, which was unfortunate as I had some questions for our great King. I have been taking pictures of my family, my friends, and those I love, for some time now, and there is a feeling I get when I take these picture, but up until this point I had not been able to describe it. This is what the LORD told me:

It’s that feeling you get when you know everything is going to be okay, because the people in the picture with you, love you. They loved you then, and now, and if you left, they’d miss you.

So capture your moments, your adventures in this journey we call life. Don’t just photograph what’s attractive or eye-catching, photograph memories, and in the in the end you may just find you like those blurry, over-exposed photos better.

TicTac & The Rollie Pollie

My roommate’s cat, TicTac, isn’t your normal everyday cat; he’ll only eat cat food or cat treats but instincts being what they are, has on the rare occasion, eaten a bug or two. One morning, while sitting down to do my devotional with the Lord, I see him staring intently at the ground. This is not an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence for him, many things fascinate this cat, but as I look closer I see a little pill bug slowly making it way closer toward him. Now earlier I told you he has succumb to feline ferocity and eaten a bug or two, well that’s what I thought was about to happen here. However, he did nothing more than to closely observe the little creature, periodically tapping it with his tiny paw for inspection. I’m not sure what results he was expecting, but the rollie pollie (that’s what I called them growing up) would just stop for a few moments, then resume its endless journey. I half expected him to eat it at one point, but the fascination with this micro-marathoner seemed to prevent him. The moral of the story, sometimes David defeats Goliath, and sometimes Goliath gets bored and lays down in his little box next to the floor heater.

Triple Threat: Ornament, Gift Label, Gift Card Holder

Triple Threat! Gift Tag, Gift Card holder, Ornament

Every Christmas I try to come up with new and creative ways to label my gifts, this year was no different! I grabbed these extra Starbucks cups from an office meeting where we’d order a large amount of coffee from the blessed coffee house. My first use was to make an ornament out of it for the office Christmas tree. We work shift work, including midnight shifts, so coffee holds a special place in all our hearts. This was the end result.

After making this ornament I realized I could use it not only to label my Christmas gifts, but it would also hold the Starbucks gift card I had gotten them.

Here's what you'll need:

• ·      Starbucks cup & lid
• ·      Push pin
• ·      Ribbon
• ·      Marker
• ·      Gift card (optional)

Step 1: Punch two holes side-by-side in the middle of the lid using the push pin

Step 2: Cut 6-8 inches of ribbon (I use thin ribbon) and thread a loop through the hole just made.

Note: I say 6-8 inches because it will give you enough room to make the knot and allow you to decide how low you want the ornament to hang

                            

Step 3: Tie a knot so the ribbon won’t slip out

Step 4: Place Gift card (optional) in the cup, close the lid and write their name on it!

I used a little more ribbon to tie the ornament/gift card holder/label to the gift bag/present.

Merry Christmas!!

Morning Constitutional & The Prairie Dog Whisperer

I’m up at 7 AM, I glance out my window, sure enough, it’s morning. I don’t usually wake up this early when I work the evening shift, but something about the mornings being cooler with a slight breeze encourages me to start the day. I skip breakfast, too anxious to eat anyway, and head out for a walk along the lakeshore. Yesterday, during my morning constitutional, I stumbled upon a family of prairie dogs. I have my trusty Nikon and head out the door, hoping for a second encounter.

     In my limited experience, I’ve found it difficult to photograph woodland creatures, patience doesn’t seem to be a virtue I possess. As I approach their home I hear one of them begin to call out. Some say their cry sounds like a squeaky toy. Not only did I find this to be true, but it sounded like this squeaky toy was currently being used by a very excited dog! I gave them a wide berth, walking close to the lake, all the while the little furry squeaky toy kept on yapping. 

Patience, I thought to myself, patience. I pass on and headed to the pier, figuring while I was out I might as well take a look. I approached the pier, hesitantly at first as there were fishermen at work, but they didn’t seem to take much notice of a lone photographer. Embarking upon this well used structure I think to myself, this pier must have been made rather inexpensively. Instead of trustworthy planks with several sets of nails, there lay in front of me rows of plywood, with nails only at the seams. What’s more, the plywood was old, chipped and warping, looking like it had been bearing years of memories and hours of patient fishing. 

Putting one foot in front of the other, I followed a trail of nail heads to the end of the pier. Once at the end I took a deep breath, made it! I took a survey of my surroundings, snapping some photographs of the general landscape and hope-filled fisherman, sharing in the peace of the morning air. I placed my hand on the rail for safety, but found more than safety. Upon these white weather worn railings was more than the mark of time, there were names. Rusted from old age, the scratches in the surface reflected the patrons of this faithful, yet barely safe, pier.

Finally back on solid ground, I decided to return and give the prairie dogs another go. They were still out grazing what little grass was left around their holes of sanctuary.  I knew they had seen me, but they made no mention of it. Once again I stayed near the edge to allay any intimidation. I moved closer to their home and with the help of the sun captured some decent shots. Pleased with my work thus far I continued. Just as I was making my way around to get a better view, and elderly man, whose name I would later learn was Mike, began walking toward the little creatures bearing bread. With all possible confidence, he sat down and started slapping the bread on the ground and calling them by name. To my delight two members of the little family wobbled their way over to the man with the bread. As he fed them he told me their story.

The fattest one was actually the offspring and use to be quite tiny, but now bore what might be considered a pot belly among prairie dogs. The mom was the second bread connoisseur, and was so use to this man that she let him pet her. I felt like I was intruding, and would have left had the man not engaged me in conversation. He told me he could even get the mom to sit in his lap and he’d scratch her tummy from time to time. I sat in amazement snapping as many photos as I could while this golden opportunity lasted. 

Now that the mom and her young had their fill of bread they began grazing for more fibrous sustenance and I made my way over to Mike. He asked where I lived and what I did for a living. We talked about the low lake levels and how the lake had been dry back in the 70s. He spoke of his past in Vietnam and how he’d been wounded five times. After a pensive moment he remarked on how thankful he was for the ability to walk around, and have all his limbs. We watched the two prairie dogs continue to eat, and I silently thanked God for people like Mike.

The glory of young men is their strength,

but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

Proverbs 20:29

To see all of the pictures from my morning walk follow this link http://bit.ly/RhU29Z