Angels we have heard on high

I am kind of in the Christmas mode as we have been getting all our Christmas decorations set about the house. I noticed an ornament on our Christmas tree that I thought would make a nice photograph. It wasn't until after I had taken the pictures and was looking at them on my computer that I noticed that something was not quite right. I will not tell you what it is that is wrong I'll just post the image in the blog and see if you can figure it out. Anyway I chose today's topic from the ornament in question. The Angels we have heard on high is obviously a Christmas carol and since I gave you a history lesson yesterday on the Christmas tree I thought I would give you another one today on this carol. I was not able to find as much information on this carol as I was on the Christmas tree, but I was able to find out a little bit. It seems that the words of this carol are based on a traditional French carol called "Les Anges dans nos Campagne" which when translated means The Angels in our Countryside. The common English version was translated in 1862 by James Chadwick. It is most commonly sung to the hymn tune "Gloria" the most memorable part of the song is it's chorus which says "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" which is Latin for Glory to God in the Highest. "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" is itself the name of an older famous hymn. That is all I could find out about the history of this carol if I find anything more I will add it to the end of today's blog. So, if you not in the Christmas spirit yet, you better not keep reading my blog or you just might find yourself in the Christmas mood.

Photoman

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

It's that time of year again, time to get into the cobweb filled attic and drag down the spider filled boxes of Christmas decorations. Then we set up our Charlie Brown Christmas tree and put on the lights, ornaments and finishing touches. It has become a family tradition on Thanksgiving weekend to put up the Christmas tree and decorate it. Lately the kids have been taking on the majority of the responsibility of decorating. Seems like they have more time and energy than mom and dad these days. So what it is it about the Christmas tree that we all seem to have one in our homes each year for a short 1 month or so. From what I can gather the Christmas tree predates the 1500's and was first decorated by the Romans as far back as the year 390. The first modern Christmas trees were from the 1500's these trees were set up in homes but were not decorated. The oldest record of a decorated tree is from 1605 in Strasburg, the tree was decorated with paper roses, apples and candies. The first recorded use of Christmas trees in the U.S. were used in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1747. These were not actual trees but wooden pyramids with evergreen branches attached and decorated with candles. Real trees were later introduced but were never really widely accepted as part of the Christmas ritual. It took a while for the tree to take hold in America but by 1850 the Christmas tree had become quite fashionable in the eastern states. In 1923 President Calvin Coolidge lit the first National Christmas Tree on the White House lawn. This is a brief history of the Christmas tree, if you want to find out more you can visit http://pickyourownchristmastree.org/traditions.php which is where I found the information for this article. I don't know about you but I am glad that this is a part of the Christmas tradition still today. When I see our Charlie Brown looking tree all decorated up I realize what the tree does for me. It reminds me of all the wonderful years as a child decorating the tree with my mom and dad.

Photoman

This little light of mine.

I was reminded yesterday of a song that I would sing at church as a child. This little light of mine is the title of this blog and also the title of the song. As I was looking around on my facebook yesterday I saw a friend of mines name and thought I would check her facebook out. I have been wondering how she is doing but have not been to her facebook to see if she has been updating it. I was pleasantly surprised at what I found. Sarah is a recent graduate of Xenia Christian High School and shortly after she graduated she went to Peru to work for a year as a missionary. I had not heard from anyone as to how she was doing and when I saw her on my friend list it reminded me that I did not know what she was up to. She had posted quite a few message up and I was encouraged as I read through them. I was most impressed at her willingness to allow God to work in her life. She shares openly how God is teaching her to be dependent upon Him. She talked about how when she was here she wasn't as open with people about Christ as she is now. She talked about how she is trying to allow God to use her entirely and not holding back any part of herself. She is truly trying to immerse herself in this experience and as a result she is seeing God in a new light. She is not without problems but she is relying on God to work through the problems for her and not trying to fix them on her own. Unfortunately it reminds me of how much I am not relying on God. I have so many areas in my own life that I need to turn over to God 100%, but saying it is so much easier than doing it. I was looking through my photos to try and find something for this blog. As I was looking through my pictures from my most recent missions trip I found these images. It is a reminder to me of the people of France who need our prayers and many of who need to know Christ. I am not sure if the young man with the guitar is a believer or not but he was sitting on the steps of a Catholic Church in Paris. The other 2 images were taken inside the same Catholic Church. If you are reading this I would ask that you pray for my friend Sarah as she is still in Peru and will not return until next summer.

Photoman

Abandoned

One of my favorite places or things to photograph is abandoned buildings. I am not sure exactly why, maybe it's the excitement of never knowing what you will discover behind the next closed door. I just find it exhilarating and exciting to go into a building that has not been in use for years. It is interesting to see what kind of things people leave behind. The peeling curling paint on the walls make for some interesting abstract images. Depending on how long the building has been sitting empty will affect the condition of the building. It's an adventure fraught with peril, you have to be very careful when you are entering a dilapidated structure. It can be dangerous as often the buildings are falling apart. The buildings structural integrity is often questionable but this also adds to the adventure. Never knowing if your next step could cause the floor to cave in can be intoxicating. I feel like I am in an Indiana Jones movie when I am walking through the building. Every noise evokes the fear that maybe you are not the only one in the building. To my great relief I have never found anyone else while I was in one of these buildings. I am not sure how many buildings I have been in but each of the images in this article are from different buildings that I have discovered. If you are reading this and you know of some abandoned buildings in the Dayton, Ohio area I would appreciate it if you will let me know about them.

Photoman

Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving!
Photoman

High School Seniors

I have to admit portrait work is probably not my favorite type of photography. I do however really enjoy it sometimes. I enjoy shooting weddings but the pressure you are under to perform can be very stressful at times. I am very good at handling stress so I never really get overly stressed when I shoot a wedding. If anything goes wrong or if the lighting is bad and I have to use flash it adds a new level of pressure to the job. I much prefer using natural light as my main light and just use flash for fill light. I do not like being dependent on my flash to get the shot. If your flash acts up during a wedding you can't just stop the wedding and get a new one. It is too late at that point. I had a flash die on me at a wedding and by the time I got to my backup and got it on the camera and all hooked up I had missed the ring exchange and the kiss. You can never get that moment back. So, though I enjoy weddings it is not my favorite type of portrait work. I really like shooting High School Seniors, there is literally no pressure. If you have equipment problems you can stop and get the replacement equipment and not worry about missing your shot. Worse case you need to reschedule the shoot. You don't have cranky brides and mothers and mother-in-laws to please. You really only have to please the Senior and sometimes the mother. You can take your time and have a conversation with your client, it's a much more relaxed atmosphere. Not to mention the amount of time I have tied up in a wedding is 10 times more than I have tied up in a Senior. An average wedding will take about 16 hours and the average Senior takes about 3-4 hours. OK, so i exaggerated a bit its more like 4 times the work. My least favorite type of portrait photography is family and children portrait work. Maybe this is because I haven't really had much opportunity to do this type of photography. I may learn that I like it if I do it more, but I doubt it. I have posted a few of my different images for you to see, I hope you enjoy looking at them.


Photoman

Photojournalism

Photojournalism, what an exciting word! This word brings to mind thoughts of adventure, travel, discovery, stories, life and many more. If I could do anything or be anything I would love to be a photojournalist. I love to use my camera to document life the things that happen around me every day. One reason I started this blog was because it is a form of photojournalism. I don't get paid for it but it gives me an outlet for the photojournalist that is lurking inside of me just waiting for an opportunity to get out and go wild. Many who know me know that I love photography and that what I want most as a photographer is to photographically document the work of missionaries around the world. No type of photography excites me more that photojournalism. I'm not sure exactly what it is that gets me so excited, maybe it is my lack of experience. I have read how hard and how physical it is and the little experience that I have had with actual photojournalism hasn't proved this to be true. I am sure that if I ever have the opportunity to be a full time photojournalist I will get a dose of reality. I almost had an opportunity, a small local weekly newspaper was looking for a full time photojournalist, of course I applied. I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that. I applied and about 2 days later I received a call and was asked to bring my portfolio to an interview. I went and was told all about the job, it sounded so interesting and fun it was perfect. Though it was a small paper, it is read nationally and therefore the amount of exposure would have been huge. The downside was the pay, at $9.00 - $10.00 per hour I couldn't support my family. I had to take myself out of the running for the job, which from the way they were talking, I think I could have had the job if I had wanted it. Oh, but I did want it, I just didn't want to go bankrupt in order to take the job. I am pretty sure that within 2 to 3 years I will be working as a missionary photojournalist. I am currently working on my application for Global Recordings Network. This is the mission Agency where I believe God is calling me to serve Him as a photojournalist. I will keep you informed as this progresses. In the meantime please enjoy some of my photojournalism photos. By the way the photojournalism slide show that runs in the upper right corner of the blog is not my work, I just liked the slide show so I added it to my blog.

Photoman

Abstruse!

I am posting an abstract image that I found in my collection. I am not sure how to describe my mood at this time and when I was trying to decide what images to post and talk about, I couldn't find anything that really jumped out at me but this abstract image. The more I thought about it, I realized that Abstract is a good description of my mood at the moment. One of the definitions of abstract is "difficult to understand, abstruse" my mood if anything today is difficult to understand. I think it may stem from the tragic news we received this morning at the conclusion of our church service. A teenage girl who had been a part of our church passed away yesterday. She was just 18 years old, she had so much life ahead of her. I feel so bad for her family, I can't begin to understand their pain. If you are reading this and you are a believer would you please stop and pray for this family right now. Please pray for her two younger sisters, they must also be in terrible shock from the pain. As a follower of Christ and a believer in the One True God it is times like these that I ask WHY GOD? Why would you put a family through this? Only He knows why and though it hurts we have to trust Him. It's easy for me to say that as a bystander, I don't think I could say it if it were one of my children. I will leave this blog at that and I will post this abstract image for you to view, but please don't mistake this as me trying to make sense of this tragedy with my image. I am in no way trying to do anything at all but post images that represent me and my mindset at this moment.

Photoman - mourning the loss of life.

Music to my ears.

My daughter had a birthday this past June, when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday she quickly made me a list. One of the first things that she wrote down was to be able to play in Mrs. Whitmore's Orchestra (the Cedarville Youth Orchestra). I was happy to see that she was expressing an interest in playing in an orchestra. She had been a part of the Springfield Strings Youth Chamber Orchestra and didn't rally care for it. I was a little apprehensive at first because I thought that she may start and then lose interest and want to drop out. Well, to make a long story short I signed her up and she got notice on her birthday that she was



going to be a part of the the Cedarville Youth Orchestra, which is a part of the Greene County Fine Arts Association. Even before her first practice we found out that the Jr. High drama department at her school needed girls for their play and that they were dipping into the 6th grade for some extra help. She was so excited she forgot about the Orchestra and tried out for the play and wouldn't you know it she got a part. It was a small part with only two lines but it was a part none the less. She had to leave school and go straight to Orchestra practice, pack up early and head straight to play practice. Her play practice and homework took most of her time and left little time for violin practice. I am proud of her though, she never gave up. Even when she found out 4 days from the day of her first concert that she was 3 songs behind the rest of the group she never gave up. The play ended just before her concert and she spent a large part of her time practicing her music right up until the day of the concert. On the day of the concert she spent most of her day playing her music and preparing for the concert. I will have to say that I was pleased at the result, tonight's concert was truly music to my ears. The orchestra sounded like they have been playing together for years. I know that they have not, the Greene County Fine Arts Assoc. has only been in existence



for 2 years and some of the musicians just joined the group this year. From the sound of the orchestra you wouldn't know it. I was truly and wonderfully impressed. As I mentioned earlier, my daughter had been a part of the Springfield Strings Youth Chamber Orchestra prior to being a part of the Cedarville Youth Orchestra, I never heard the quality of music from the Springfield Strings Youth Chamber Orchestra that I heard from the Cedarville Youth Orchestra tonight. If you are interested in hearing them, they will be playing on Sat. Dec. 6th at the Cedarville United Presbyterian Church as a part of the Little Town of Lights. They will also be playing on March 21st at the Cedarville Opera House and once again at the Cedarville Presbyterian Church in April (the exact date is yet to be announced). I would like to formally invite all who read this, I think you will be pleasantly surprised if you attend a concert. I know the Cedarville Youth Orchestra will welcome you. I would also like to thank the Generous Donors and the Board of Directors for the Greene County Fine Arts Association for their time and financial support without it the Cedarville Youth Orchestra would not be possible. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Cedarville Youth Orchestra or becoming a donor to support the Orchestra and Greene County Fine Arts Association, the address is Greene County Fine Arts Assoc., P.O. Box 584, Cedarville, OH 45314. All gifts are tax deductible and would be greatly appreciated.

 


Photoman

California or bust!

Well today I thought I would share some pictures that I took when we were in California checking out Global Recordings Network or GRN for short. As you may know I have felt called to the mission field for some time now. It has been about 7 or 8 years since I formally announced my calling to the mission field. It has been a long journey to this point filled with excitement and disappointment. I won't go into all the details today. I have recently had a revelation of sorts and so that is why I chose to show these pictures and tell this story today. As I have already said it has been a while since I felt the call to the mission field, for a long time I didn't know what it was that God was calling me to do as a missionary. I don't have any formal Bible education so that takes me out of the typical missionary roles. You know like church planting, Pastor roles, Bible teacher, etc. but there are many other areas where God could use a person with my skills and abilities. I am a master electrician, not to mention that I am very mechanically inclined in areas other than electrical, I have degree in commercial photography, I am very outgoing and love to meet new people and see new places. All these things are good attributes that God could use to have me reach people with the Word of God. So I know that there are many ways God could use me, such as, maintenance at a mission hospital, school or camp; an airplane mechanic; a church builder; etc, etc. He could put me in a foreign setting to help with the infrastructure of some 3rd world country and I could share with the local people about Christ i.e. a tent maker missionary. There are many ways that He could use me. After a lot of prayer and questions God revealed to me that He wants me to use my skills as a photographer on the mission field. I couldn't have been any more excited to think that God would use me in this way. After learning this I was introduced to GRN, they showed an interest in my work and wanted us to come to California to see their ministry. So last November we took a trip to California. We were able to purchase our airline tickets for just $60.00 each round trip, this was further confirmation to me that this was God's direction for us to go at the time. It was a wonderful trip, we were able to have the time we needed with the ministry and get a mini vacation in as well. The pictures you are seeing are from our time together as a family. This trip was probably the best trip our family has taken together as a family. Let me get to the more recent news that has spurred this post. As I said, I have recently had a revelation of sorts. I have been thinking a lot lately about why it is that I am still waiting on God to put me into a missionary position. I have decided that I should not sit around and wait on God but that I should be busy making plans based on what God has already revealed to me. So Kelly and I have decided that as soon as she is finished with school we are moving to California. She will get a job as a nurse and I will start working with GRN as a missionary photographer. We have been waiting on God to help us get out of debt so that we could apply formally with a mission agency, we are now going to apply and start moving in the direction we feel God wants us to go and see how He pays off our debt. I think the waiting part has been our mistake all along. I have felt like I was floundering around not moving in a specific direction. I feel that God has revealed to me that the waiting around has been holding me back. I was waiting on God to move and God had already moved and has been waiting for me to move. This way He can stop me when I make a wrong move and I can feel like I am doing something other than just sitting around watching the world go by. In my defense, I also feel that God was waiting for us to find a way to get out of debt on our own, that is where Kelly's school comes in. Once she has finished school we hope to be able to use a lot of her income to pay off debt. If God hasn't already taken care of it another way. So there you have it, for those of you who know me and have been wondering about my call to the mission field, this is the latest and the greatest news that I have. If you have any questions feel free to leave me a comment or question and I will respond to them in another post, if possible.

Photoman

Butterflies as promised!

O.K. here are some of the photos I took at the butterfly shoot the same day that I took the photos of the African Flower in my last post. I really like the first image because I like the abstract looking background. I also like the cool design on his wings. These images are not prize winning images by any means but I like them and I just wanted to share them with anyone who happens to be looking at my site. I wish the butterflies had been a little less skittish and would have sat still for a macro shot. Well, now that I think about it I didn't have a true macro lens when I shot these. I do now however, so next time I'll try it and see what happens.



When I was there on this particular day there were several elementary school classes there. There were elementary kids everywhere, the poor butterflies didn't stand a chance. Almost every kid there was grabbing at the butterflies trying to catch them. Most of the images that I have posted were taken with a long lens or a zoom lens as the butterflies were staying well out of reach of the kids and me. After a while things settled down a bit and the butterflies were a little better about coming close. For the most part they tended to stay as far out of reach as they could. On this next image I used a lens baby to put everything except the butterfly slightly out of focus. Did I mention that these butterflies were African butterflies? It said that the butterflies were African but they look very much like American butterflies to me. Anyway this little guy landed on a nearby carved African figure and posed for me. This is one image that was not taken with a long lens. I really like this image partly because of the background. The African figure adds a touch of culture to the image.



I also like how the butterflies antenna are so sharp in the image. It really shows just how sharp the Lens Baby 2.0 is. This next image is probably my second favorite, I am not sure why. I just really like the look of this butterfly. He looks sleek and ready for action. He is poised on the edge of the leaf ready to take to the sky. He almost looks like a guard butterfly, holding his head high and legs and wings poised for action. His wings are straight up ready for the first sign of trouble so he can leap into the air and kick some butterfly butt. I also really like his colors, the Lime Green reminds me of the 1960's era muscle cars.



I know, I don't get it either, there is nothing muscular about butterflies but I think this guys role model might just be a dragon fly. I know ,I know, it sounds silly but hey I think this guy is cool. As you can see from the shape of the wings on this next guy, the kids were really hard on the poor butterflies. If you look at the tips of his wings it looks like this guy has been in a battle or two. What I like about this image is how regal a stance the butterfly has taken. Though his wings are tattered and torn he still stands tall and proud for all to see. My favorite thing about this image is his eye. You may not be able to see it in this small image but if you were to see it in full size his eye is so very cool. His eye is as green as the leaf he is sitting on and looks like the face of an alien or something. I also like the composition of this image. The leaf he is sitting on leads you right up to the main subject and the background is out of focus enough that it doesn't compete with the butterfly. The only thing that I might have done differently would have been to try and compose this shot horizontally so that the



butterfly was at the extreme lower right third of the frame. This would have him looking into a large open space on the left side of the image. It would add a whole different dynamic to the image. Ahh... at last, we come to my favorite image. O.K. so I am a little biased, so what it's my blog. I can't help it that my beautiful daughter just happens to be in this image. What better backdrop for this lucky butterfly to have the privilege of being upon. This was a fun image that really wasn't easy to get. I know this image could be better but the model is just too cute. Its not like we had a long time to compose this image the butterfly wouldn't hang around and wait all day until I was satisfied that I had the perfect shot, we were lucky to get this shot. If we ever get another opportunity I will be sure and tell my daughter of whoever it is that is the model to try and look into the eyes of the butterfly. We were afraid for her to move too much as we were afraid the butterfly would take off. Well there you go these are some of my favorite images from the butterfly shoot in 2007. I didn't get to go to it in 2008 but it happens every February so I am planning to go in 2009. I will have to post some images if I get to go. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do taking them. Feel free to comment on any of my images. All photographers no matter how good they are need criticism. Criticism is what makes us better photographers, at least it does when we listen and learn from it.

Photoman

Agapanthus

This is an image that I made while I was visiting the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati. I was there for the purpose of a butterfly shoot but I was drawn to these beautiful blue flowers. They are called Agapanthus, and they are an African species of flower. I took several different exposures at different angles, this is one of my favorite exposures. I will have to post a few of my butterfly images in another post.

On another note, I finally received a check from my insurance company for my gear that was stolen. Now I have to make a decision. I really want to purchase the new Canon 5d mark II but I don't quite have enough money to buy the 5d mII. Also if I find the extra money and decide to go for it. I will have to wait until sometime in December to get it. I will also need to buy a few other things that I lost as well and I will not have any money left for those items. On the other hand I could just purchase a 30d or a 40d and get a new L-series lens. If I go this route I will be able to replace everything that I lost as well. I really want the 5d mII though. I am currently leaning toward the 40d with the L-series lens and all the trimmings that I lost when my camera was stolen. I am also planning to get a Pentax point & shoot digital camera as well. This will be a camera that I can carry with me everywhere that I go. It is waterproof and it shoots HD video. I will probably go for this option as I will be able to replace everything that I lost and with a small amount of my own money be able to add the point and shoot Pentax. I'll let you know once I decide what I am going to do.

Photoman

I love this image!

I love this image, so I thought I would post it in my blog and tell you about it. I shot this image 2 years ago at the Xenia Old Fashioned Days Carnival. My 2 oldest children are in the center of the image. I love how you can see the expressions on their faces. I call this image Summer Fun since I am so sick of the cold weather and it has just started, I thought I would warm up my blog with this great summer photo. I love the composition of this image as well as the subjects. I would really like this image even if my own children were not in it. It just makes it that much better knowing that a great image is made even better because of my children. I say children but they are actually 151/2 and 17 years old. Almost to old to be calling them children anymore. I guess no matter how old I get they will always be my children. They are almost young adults now. Ever since we went to California last year to look at a ministry there, my son has been ready to move there. My daughter on the other hand has been against the idea from the beginning. Today however she told her mom that she was ready to move, she said that she doesn't like the cold weather. She is definitely her fathers daughter, I am glad to hear that she has finally come around. My plan is to stay in Ohio until my wife is finished with Nursing School, another 1 to 2 years. Then I plan to move to California or Australia and work for Global Recordings Network as a Missionary Photographer. Well, how we got from "I love this image" to talking about GRN I am not really sure but here we are none the less. So let me change the subject one more time. I think it won't be much longer before I have my website back up and running. I am having it totally redone and I will have to learn how to use it, so it will be a while before I get all the content loaded. The good news is that it shouldn't be much longer before it is at least up with the basic info. Well I got to go it is once again late and I need to get up early and work outside on the coldest day of the year of 2008. Yeah you guessed it, I am so excited I can't hardly wait.

Photoman

Writing for the sake of writing.

I am writing tonight for practice. I want to keep the desire to write at the forefront of my mind, so I write. The more I write the more I want to write. Today's blog is more of a diary of today than anything else. I didn't feel well this morning, so I didn't go to work today. I still don't feel great tonight but I do feel better, so I probably will go in to work tomorrow. I wasn't alone today my youngest is sick and was home from school today as well. After I got up at 11:30 I fixed the two of us lunch, she had been asking me to make her my famous french fries for a while now, so I made them for us. My wife has recently started back to school and is finding it harder than she had hoped it would be. Since she pretty much goes to class, comes home and studies, takes a break to eat or shower, studies more and then goes to bed. I decided that I should help my wife by washing the dishes, then I got really adventurous and decided to do some of the laundry for her. Now this is normally her favorite thing to do and she won't let anyone else help out. Since she wasn't home I couldn't ask her permission, therefore I decided that she would appreciate some help. Now I didn't attempt to wash the clothes, just the towels and sheets and things that nobody else ever sees. Since we have a young lady staying with us from France we tend to have more dirty towels and sheets than we normally do. I thought this would be a good way of helping out. I haven't looked closely at any of the items that I washed so I hope they turned out all right, if not my wife will be sure to let me know. She at least didn't get upset that I was doing her laundry for her, I did however have to reassure her that I left the clothes for her to do. Now that I am thinking about it, I think I need to go to the laundry room and make sure that the last load of sheets that I washed have been put into the dryer. As soon as I finish this post i will go and check. I had a photography conference scheduled for today that I almost forgot about. On Mondays we usually go to my parents for dinner, today however, my parents also were not feeling well. I decided that it would be a good night for pizza, so I ordered pizza and went and picked it up. When I got back my good friend Earl was here waiting for me to go to the conference. We had time to scarf down a bit of pizza and then we were out the door and on our way to pick up another friend who was attending the conference with us. We arrived at the conference only minutes before it started. The speaker of the conference was Vincent Laforet, he is a photojournalist and his list of clients is quite impressive. You can visit his website at http://www.vincentlaforet.com/ or you can see his blog at http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/ . Sorry, I lost my train of thought, it probably isn't the best idea to try and watch TV while I am trying to write but that is what I am doing. I enjoyed the conference but as usual afterward I realized how far I am from being a true professional photographer. I always feel I am so far behind the learning curve and even more behind the equipment curve. Oh well, no sense it pouting about it, I need to do something to get myself more involved in the profession of photography. I plan to join a photography club next month as a start. I am also still working on a photographic essay book. The book however will take a long time to finish and all that I read is that they rarely turn into money. I don't plan to let that stop me however, I am doing this as a personal goal, not to get rich. Well that is a synopsis of my day today, I hope you didn't get to bored reading this. It's getting late and I need to get to bed so I am done writing for now.

Photoman

My day of wet experiences.

My first wet experience started Friday night, when I went to bed it was raining. When I got up the next day it was all wet outside. Since my wife is so overwhelmed with her Nursing School I decided to be nice and cook breakfast for the family, after eating I decided to continue being nice and wash the dishes. My second wet experience, I was up to my elbows in dish water for 3 hours. I am probably the slowest dish washer who has ever washed dishes. While I was busy washing the dishes I looked out the window and saw my third wet experience, another form of water was in the air, snow! I hate winter, so this was disappointing to say the least. While I finished the dishes it continued to snow, at least the snow didn't stick to the ground. After I finished the dishes I realized that it was almost time for Lyndsey to go to her friends birthday party and I need to get a shower (my third wet experience). I had just enough time to shower and get dressed and we were out the door in the cold falling snow. When we got to the party I decided to stay and wait for her. This led to my fourth wet experience, this birthday party was a swimming party. I probably enjoyed this wet experience the most even if I didn't actually swim. I had my camera with me so I photographed the girls while they played in the pool. I will attach a photo at the end of the post. After the party we left to go home and when we got outside it wasn't snowing anymore but it was now raining. My fifth wet experience of the day. It wasn't just rain it was a cold rain, did I mention that I hate winter time? I would love to move to California or Australia or anywhere that is warm year round. Well that concludes my day of wet experiences, I thought it was kind of odd how no matter what i did it seemed to be affected by water in some form.

Photoman

I'm in the mood to write.

I am in the mood to write so I am writing this blog post. I mentioned in my last post that I have finally decided upon a good topic for a photographic essay book. As I said then I am still in the early stages of research. I recently had a small rejection, which took some of the wind out my sails, so to speak. It was disappointing news but I am still working on the book none the less. Yesterday I had an unexpected phone call from a person I had been unsuccessfully trying to make contact with. It was just the thing that I needed to put the wind back into my sails. I explained to this person what it was that I wanted and they were more than willing to help me. I intend to interview this person formally in the near future. Not only is this person the perfect subject for my book but they may be able to put me in contact with others who will be perfect for my book as well. I need to get out there and find a good digital voice recorder so that I can start interviewing my subjects and start compiling a chapter or two of my book. Once I get one or two chapters completed I can start looking for a publisher or a literary agent. I am not sure where this book will take me but I am excited to find out. I am sorry that my last few posts have not had any photos with them but I have been so busy I don't have the time to add them to the post. I gotta go I need to get to bed. unfortunately my book has not been published and therefore I still have to work a day job to pay the bills.

Photoman