Self Portrait

Took a self portrait the other day…

The image helped me remember how our children are so often…for better or worst…a reflection of our successes, failures, fears, virtues and vices…

Let us pray we do well by them!

-ehw

Memories

Photographs are a snapshot of our memories...the question is where should they be be?  On your smartphone or in print?

I must say prints are the best in terms of long term since they are tangible.

Digital is the best for sharing in the here and now.

Like everything in life you should use the best medium for your purposes!

Here is the joy of a boy with his Grand Dad cruising the lake.  I will print it for me...but display it here to share.

I wonder what you may think on the topic!

-ehw

PS A little Fujifilm X-20 shooting away having a lot of fun!

Wiley Coyote's last stop

Did you grow up on Road Runner and Wiley Coyote cartoons?  If not your missing a little bit of modern education.

This site at the top of Pike's Peak seemed to be the inspiration of all those falls Wiley Coyote took...Track runs all the way up to the edge and then...well it is a 2,000 foot drop.  Good for getting home in a hurry if you are not worried about arriving in one piece.

It was a fun part of the trip.  Everyone had to remember to work a little slower because it was not hard to get light headed up there in the thin air of 14,000 feet.

-ehw

P.S.  Mr. Fuji made this trip up the hill.  A nice story teller told me once that if you can get an interesting angle, like the top shot that can be the grabber.  The second shot finishes the story you wanted to tell.  So depending on the purpose of your post, share either one or both.  I thought both would work better on this little story of our trip.

Watching you!

Keeping children entertained on a 90 minute or so train ride through very dense clouds s not an easy task, but that is exactly what we did climbing up Pike's Peak.  Did you know then Captain Zebulon Pike attempted to climb this mountain in November?  He waned to do this while wearing a summer uniform back in 1806!

Kevin here took the time to enjoy the company of his grandfather for the ride up the mountain...and peppered him with questions and little "figgity" games you would expect of a six year old.  Grandad tempered Kevin's energy with his wisdom so they did have a fun journey together that taught Kevin a few good nuggets of information along the way.

I personally was imagining Captain Pike's First Sergeant looking at him just thinking he could get a tiny bit up that mountain...oh the burning eyeballs!

Looking through the eyes of a child, or in this case into they eyes of a child, can really charge us with both a fresh perspective AND energy to explore the world.  This type of energy propelled the great creatives and explorers of history.  Creatives who temper that youthful exploration with introspection are those that use their adventures to enrich the lives of those around them.  Those young creatives who don't get a safe guiding hand...well they end up frozen on Pikes Peak...with their talents wasted in the alpine air.

-ehw

P.S. Fujifilm X-E1 with the 18-55 "kit" lens.  Make no mistake...this is not your typical kit lens.

At the foot of the altar

Stunning artwork and symbols even at the foot of the altar in Grand Lake......one aspect of churches I truly enjoy are those which teach the faith through art...

I'll have a treat in a few days when I show you the Cathedral of the Plains.  The parishioners there really made art and faith sing...

Since this was a circle the square frame seemed to be the best choice for the selection.

-ehw

Wow...twins!

Today will be a full day...so I am happy to share this simple composition of a little flowers shining in morning light....

-ehw

P.S. When shooting flowers outdoors I highly suggest wind breaks and diffusers. One keeps your subject still. The other helps control the highlights by making harsh light bigger.

Places to Worship and Pray

During our trip to Colorado we went to St. Anne's Catholic Church for Sunday Mass.  The building fits right in with its rustic, mountain feel with the rest of the church.

That Sunday we heard a sermon from a traveling priest, who ironically my wife alone heard two months ago in Atlanta at the Seton Homeschooling Conference.  His sermon was a great call to action about the need to evangelize a culture of life from conception to death worldwide with all our hearts and minds.  I will use my pictures to illustrate one point he made about the horrible confusion we suffer in our society right now on this topic. (See this website for this additional information: Humanlife International)

This week, CNS News Service showed a short video where college students signed a petition for "Fourth Trimester" abortion.  Yes Fourth Trimester...there are only three Trimesters....so much for education in world class colleges...basically these men and women are convinced a woman should have the ability to kill their offspring at anytime.  Horrible, chilling, and if you pardon me sickening thoughts.

Based on the demographics and polling in the last election, the same people probably support enhanced environmental protection laws.  Laws which already make it illegal to touch an endangered bird species egg, shut down damns so fish can spawn in cold mountain streams, or to kill a doe out of designated season.  The same groups often also sponsor animal rescue missions at fantastic costs to help injured animals heal up for return to the wild.

The evangelization the priest talked about is that we need to show people the disconnect between the two concepts.  If we recognize a eagle inside the egg is the same eagle that will one day soar through the sky, how can we also not rationalize the child inside the womb is not one who could care for your dignity in old age?  We must evangelize with somber reminder that some of the greatest leaders of faith, had horrible sins in their past.  St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Augustine...and coming close to home I even know my own sins....all needed an awaking.  Some had a lightening bolt.  Some had a gentle calling.  All came home to live within a culture of life, one which they bestowed on us with more tools to build up higher with our own generation.  We are called to provide each of us sinners a chance to live out their conversion with good deeds inside the church of God.

So I encourage you today to recognize that the guidance I heard from the pulpit, is derived from the same holy words I heard as I sat in the cathedral of the mountain stream that afternoon.  Proverbs clearly state the Wisdom of God streamed before the first ray of light, the first breath of wind and bubbling brook of water.  So for those in doubt, I call you to listen to the call of life in a house of God or in grand creation itself.  As our Founding Fathers knew, natural law is the one source of wisdom which can bind people of all faiths into one people to respect the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of each other from conception to natural death.

-ehw

P.S. The priest closed his homily with a reminder that following a the Lord's calling will result in suffering and rejection from those who reject the teachings and desire to force your acceptance of their own selfish cause.  If you chose not to follow my postings anymore...I'm sorry.  You must however understand that my photographic calling directly manifests itself from my faith.  Since I respect the dignity of every person, don't post shock photos or sexed up visions of men and women.  I look for beauty where others may not.  I look for a capture which expresses a manifestation of wisdom in this earthly life and appreciates God's beautiful creation.  I seek to unify through charitas, not divide.  If you liked photos I capture, it is because of what God calls my heart to capture.  In the end, each and every photo I capture must past the family room edit test where my computer rests...and so must the words and lifestyle I chose to live.

Wildlife

After a full day of exploring (remember my version of exploring with a family ages twelve to 17 months old is not what the twenty something with no children crowd calls exploring) my almost ten year old showed disappointment .  His Junior Ranger book was called for him to see a few more animals.  I knew, and he knew, midday on the mountain near the road was not the time to see large animals interested in safety.  So I proposed a dusk big boy expedition with Grand Dad looking for big game!  As you can see we were successful!

We saw lots of caribou, one moose in the far distance, and three sunsets as we again climbed the mountain looking for the elusive mountain goats with no success.  Our little adventure resulted in rich discussions, and a chance to experience the wonders of the world through the shutter clicks and voice of an almost ten year old boy.  His seriousness on completing his ranger mission made me proud.  He is a boy focused on accomplishment, with a heart sensitive to caring for others along the way.

Those moments on this little jaunt up the mountain will be long remembered and cherished.  It is why we must struggle from time to time to separate ourselves from the daily struggles of workplace survival, to reconnect with those around us.  Even Jesus did it by walking up mountains to pray closer to his Father without the distractions of crowds and disciples!  I know my moment of appreciation would only be a shadow of what the King of Kings would feel, but then again my burdens are a fraction of a shadow of those he bore.

So as I finished this day I was happy with a few good frames, the growth of my eldest son, and generosity of my father-in-law.  It was an excellent day in of photographic discovery.

-ehw

PS This is Mr Pentax K-5 with 60-250mm at 98mm (147mm in 35mm equivalency) , F8, 1/250 and ISO 800.  Close lady caribou huh!

Top of the Alpine

Standing at the top of the Alpine Pass in he Rocky Mountain National Park was a thrill.  Above the tree line at about 12,000 feet it left your heart racing a little bit when you reached the tip top.  It was a wonderful day of learning, travel and family as the big kids and I made the "final" accent.

A rather amazing experience....

-ehw

P.S. First two photos from the Fujifilm X-E1 with the 14mm.  The one with the children was done with a in camera photostitch.  The snow is from the Pentax K-5 with a long telephoto racked out long to compress the ridge line and increase the drama of the scene.

Back on line

Back on line...finally!

Our Uverse cable was physically cut at the junction box down the road! Took four days for AT&T to find it. So the sun is up again over the Wojo Clan and it is back to work!

-ehw

P.S. this photo is a reminder to take your gear with you...Grandad took us on an unexpected expedition up the mountain and I did not have my flare resistant primes with me...so the photo was not what it could be...

Photographers Delight

The Grand Lake Museum is a photographer's delight. I could return there time and time again working new angles on various exhibits. This is really what I love to do with my travel photography, pick up a scene or environment and convey it to the world with an enriching twist. Capturing my children, and in this case their cousin as well, in wonder at grasping these new lessons just is icing on the cake....

The big lesson for the family was that everyone had to be able to do everything...and life was pretty sparse by today's standards for the "rich" townsfolk. The boys learned they had a lot of skills they had to learn as tradesmen in building, repair, hunting, fishing, and finance to keep the family afloat. The girls learned that a family lived and died on their skills managing money, supplies (something as simple as running out of lard or meat in the winter meant death), clothing, and daily management meant a smart and skilled lady was highly sought after!

In the end though, families pulled each other through...they had no government handouts or fire departments to assist them! If they messed up they died in the remote mountain country, unless someone else could assist out of their bounty and charity. What a different world, and one that did make our country great....

The first photo is of the cousins looking at an old stereotype photo viewer...yes they had three dimensional viewing too!

The second caught my eye due to the really cool window light..and then my father-in-law said the towel was like the ones his mom made, so of course I had to capture it for him!

The final photo is a pin cushion upstairs in the sewing room. I loved the color, texture and setting. I could just imagine one of the girls there working hard at mending a borders shirt or making a quilt.

I hope your enjoyed this as much as I did! I'll have more photos later!

-ehw

Shoot out! day 1 in Grand Lake

On our first day in Grand Lake we took the kids to the local museum, which was the first boarding house in town. The sights were fun, educational and for the kids enough to make them want to come back. More on the museum later, but today I wanted to share the children's highlight..the dress up area! They all dressed up and played their parts! They even played bank robber!

When they left they actually wanted to come back again for more! Both learning about the crickets old house and the games!

-ehw

P.S. Ok this shows the value of a simple program like Snapseed to process photos on the fly. I also could use the sepia setting on my camera (which I also did) to give you a fun historic shoot in just a few taps of a finger.

Rocky Mountain Colorado

The final push to our Rocky Mountain campsite took about five hours. The kids were surprised that they got the treat of seeing the Rocky Mountains up close thirty years sooner than their Dad...

They fell into their grandparents arms, Kevin (boy number two at age six) moved out of the trailer immediately to take up residence with his gran parents, and we settled down for a delicious dinner. I was thrilled to simply know I had no driving ahead of me for a few days.

Since this is Sunday I thought I'd share my wife's choice for a vanity plate on the van. It says "You're life has an owners manual" with a picture of the Bible.

-ehw