Today my wife and I had a Sunday afternoon date...to complete our Divine Mercy Novena and Sunday at our church. While I am still processing all the lessons from the last ten days, I rarely allow myself to miss a nice moment or two with the capture of a frame of electrons, ones and zeros. The image on the program matches the beauty of the Holy Hour... so I just had to share.
Jesus I Trust in You!
-ehw
This weekend the 9AM needed a volunteer family to take home an older chalice, called the Elijah Cup, and put it in a prominent place in the home. Every time we see it, we should be praying for an increase in responses to vocation calls from Christ.
Well the kids asked and jumped into the isle...as another family further up and on the side also went up. To make it even more interesting a family up front, good friends of ours, also started to leap up and then stopped. We did not see the Deacon motion to the family to our right so we kept charging down the isle...so the six of us kept walking to the delight and laughter of the parish on collision course with the other family!
As we saw the other family come into view ahead of us, we sheepishly turned about. We were headed back to our pew for the dismissal rite when we heard a booming voice...."Wait we have another one!" from Father John Bosco Tri. So we went on up and accepted the cup he held!
I don't think Father Tri was going to let us go. See Father Tri and my John Paul already had a little talk. Father Tri offered John Paul use of his vestments two weeks ago....he seems pretty sure my JP will join him soon. (JP is only 22 months old right now so they are a little big on him.)
The serious side of all this is however, we need everyone to respond deeply to their vocation call. God does not stop issuing vocation calls. The problem is we just don't respond as we should primarily due to fear. Fear of giving ourselves away totally to God's design, fear of the reaction to our family, fear of the ridicule the world will put on us for being "old fashioned", or even fear of not knowing a safe place to begin the journey.
The result is a horrible vacuum. One priest for thousands of families, and the loss of nuns to build social networks of schools and services all mean the Body of Christ does not get the care it needs. A loss of religious vocations means families suffer as well, because trained religious are not there to nourish with sacraments, knowledge of sacramentals, and caring hands. The carnage does not end there though with the failure to heed our vocations.
How many fathers are afraid to lead their domestic church towards God? How many mothers are not bringing the heart of Christ into the daily routines of family life with courage? Without true fatherhood and maternal care, the fires of vocation will merely smolder in our souls. Never will the vocation fire burn bright for either task God could give us. All this leads to greater pain for the body of Christ as marriages suffer, sacraments go under offered and utilized, and churches close.
Recently I read how Mother Teresa understood her spiritual darkness to be her participation in the pain Christ has when we reject his cry of thirst to add our soul to his. Imagine how we could soothe Jesus suffering if we all began to encourage children to become religious if they receive the call? On their journey to discernment, we parents would need to grow in our faith as well since we are their first teachers. A testament to this growth of faith, would be the rejection of the contraceptive movement, and the growth of larger families once again in Catholic households. From larger families historically come greater the number of vocations. This occurs since boys and girls do not feel the subconscious need to ensure there is an heir for the family name, or someone to care for parents in old age.
So pray for a great response to the vocations God sends us at any time in our lives!
Here is a short prayer for vocations I found:
O Holy Spirit, Spirit of wisdom and divine love, impart Your knowledge, understanding, and counsel to youth that they may know the vocation wherein they can best serve God. Give them courage and strength to follow God's holy will. Guide their uncertain steps, strengthen their resolutions, shield their chastity, fashion their minds, conquer their hearts, and lead them to the vineyards where they will labor in God's holy service.
Amen.
From EWTN: Click here to see the original
My Son as the Wonderboy Lieutenant Colonel
As a college student I really enjoyed my history assignments. Being a photo guy, I of course dug deeply into my pictures, maps and diagrams. In my senior year at West Point I watched my company pass in review on parade on my first personally acquired camera. When I printed the photos I found myself looking at a present day image, which could be from the relatively distant past if were not for some modern building in the background.
I was soon looking at every historical image differently. Every image of a battle, congressional debate, city street, factory or farm had me replacing the face of yesteryear with one of ours. We could be those past people, if it was not for an accident of historical timing. This made me appreciate photography even more, and my own place in history.
The event also made me remember a quote I heard from President Ronald Reagan a few years earlier:
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."
(From the Quotations Page)
While our DNA will allow us to recreate moments as actors from the past with ease, certain important lessons such as the American concept of freedom only will be passed on and lived with through deliberate efforts. Putting myself into the shoes of soldiers, statesmen, explorers, industrialists, farmers and my forefathers getting off the boat only made this lesson easier to understand.
-ehw
This year the capstone challenge of my boys Blue Knight year was the annual board of review at Regina Caeli Academy. (The full story of the event itself is here BOARD OF REVIEW) For the weeks leading up to the board I reinforced to the boys and their parents their awards were earned not given by saying:"When your friends ask about your awards you will be able to tell them in Blue Knights everything is earned not given."
This is a hard task we all must learn, and one fathers must teach repeatedly. In my case I had one boy who was able to discuss each question for five minutes each in great detail. The other son took a pretest in the kitchen as we cleaned up from dinner, and smugly thought his 80% was enough to stop studying....ah not in my house. After a very serious discussion on how the name Wojtkun was the only thing I would ever give him, and how he was not going to drag it into the gutter he go serious. So he was on cloud nine when he scored a 100% at the review, and earned the rank of Sergeant for next year the next week.
So what does this have to do with the 4th of July? Well everything.
In 1776 our Continental Army was in the field for over a year, dying for American Independence. The men in Philadelphia used the words of Thomas Jefferson to define what we stood for as a nation, knowing by doing so they signed their own death warrant. After years of fighting (remember the war went on past Yorktown in 1781) the Founders created a document forming a government which used checks and balances to keep the worst human failings in check.
Despite all the Founders did did generations ago, Benjamin Franklin responded prophetically to the question: "Well, Doctor, what have we got-a Republic or a Monarchy?" with "A Republic if you can keep it." Dr. Franklin knew human nature, and knew the lessons in his generation could not be passed on through our DNA. A republic could only be passed on through teaching each generation the cold hard facts of our history, human nature, and the balancing grace of applying natural law. Even with lessons learned, each generation must still earn a republic through application of those lessons to the events of their times.
In today's world we have a tendency to throw away the ideas of the past, thinking modern science can solve all problems. The news reports today show the natural tendency for people to crave the warm security blanket of authoritarian rulers (if they agree with us). These trends are disturbing, for they show people discarding the philosophical lessons (probably never learned and many times purposefully corrupted) of the founders.
So today we must again decide if we want to continue earning our Republic, or throw it away and again come under authoritarian rule...from inside or outside our nation. The threat is real, and only the willfully ignorant can't see it.
Time to go pray for our nation and its people...that the light of freedom ignite in our souls once more.
-ehw
The magic of bubble or two in the life of a child is indescribable. A bubble is a one of a kind creation with a fleeting lease on life which can captivate a child's imagination. One set of magic bubbles like this will propel a child to make many more bubbles to see it if the magic will come again. I guess it would not hurt us adults to have our own fleet feet bubbles to call our own!
-ehw
For the previous 54 days I participated in two 27 day novenas of petition and thanksgiving centered around the concept of a spiritual boot camp for a recruit to the Church Militant. A good friend of mine joined me on this journey, so I had a combat buddy the whole way. The format came from the website called the Roman Catholic Man (www.romancatholicman.com). Each day we received a meditation thought, lesson, wisdom from saints and the church fathers. You also dedicated yourself to a rosary each night with petitions of your choosing.
One of my petitions was for discernment on how I was to serve the Lord and my family better in the years to come. Saturday was my final day in this journey, and as we attended the baptism of a wonderful baby boy this photo came together before me. It symbolized many of the lessons the Lord brought to my attention int he last 54 days.
Here you see parents humbly presenting their child to the Lord, and pledging obedience to the church's teaching as they raise their child to trust the Lord. The Child's grandfather is the Deacon conducting the baptism. He calls all of his children to a life embracing the supernatural grace of God though example and deed. He does this as a patriarch of his family, and as an ordained clergy for the Body of Christ.
In this photo you see many members of our Regina Caeli Academy family, and other families joyfully embracing a culture of life and sacrifice. As my altar serving son said later, it was the nosiest mass he ever served at. As a result of the noise, the presiding priest only got a bigger smile because it was a sign of parents continuing to present their children to the Lord as they grew. He knows this pleases God greatly.
The joyful presence of children lining the isles reminded me I am to be like a child in my faith. I must be inquisitive and seeking truth with all my heart. The presence of my child reminded me I also have a calling as a younger patriarch to follow the lead of wiser Catholic men around me. If you want be the best you can be, you must associate and learn from the best on the field of battle yourself. It is the only way to care for your wife and children properly.
Finally, I realized even if I cannot do anything physically to help people I must continue to pray. In this photo are many who's names line my prayerbook. I do not know them well, and some did not know I was praying for resolutions to problems they mentioned when we met. I pray because right now, for most of them, it is all the charity I can provide.
The day and setting for the sacrament were beautiful beyond my ability to describe it in words. I knew by the high stratocumulus clouds change was just over the horizon. By the next morning the temperature would drop forty degrees to a low of 36 degrees. This symbolized how the Church Militant needs more recruits to prepare for the long campaigns of spiritual warfare to come. So the final part of my discernment was the knowledge I am to help sound the call for new warriors to join our cause. For men are meant to be courageous, not cowering from fear and despair.
The journey to these discernments was long and productive...but only the beginning of a new a more challenging chapter as I seek again to capture a glimpse of his glory and share it with you..
-ehw
The commisioning of priests and institution of the Eucharist...two great gifts
The beauty of Holy Thursday never escapes me Last night as even more beautiful because of the lessons taught to me by so many God seeking people over the last year. Lessons from people who past over 1800 years ago, and lessons from those living amongst us now filled my mind, heart and warmed my soul as we heard the liturgy of the word and celebrated the liturgy of the Eucharist
Father Tri, of St Brigid Catholic Church, reminded us the story of each life is what makes the church breathe the world. The story each life brings to the church helps pass on its's lessons and beauty from generation to generation These stories allow the priesthood of the family to connect with the priesthood of the Church. To make this occur we all must listen, observe and react to the wisdom of God as it works its way into our lives throug everyone around us.
The Holy Eurcharist is the foretaste of heaven, the perfect mana, needed to nourish our souls with the grace to navigate e challenges of a fallen world. When taken in concert with reconciliation it enables us to stay on the path to heaven. It keeps Christ within our very blood...commingling a bit of heaven with our life here on earth..as we go about our day. So when we say take Christ with you wherever you go, if we partake of this holy nurishment we can do exactly that. No other God before or since offered such a gift to mortals. In fact no other God offered to make lowly man part of himself, and join in perfect communion in heaven, for all eternity if we choose to do so.
Pray for our priests that they may lead all souls to heaven. Pray for our priesthood in the family, that each man will be willing to lead their family to the best of their ability to the altar of God. Pray each mother makes their home a place where the stories of old, new and the future will enable The word of God to reach fertile ears and move those souls to Christ. Pray for the religious, that by their concerted life they make offerings the rest of us cannot for the salvation of the world.
So let us begin our Triduum journey, and honor the sacrifices made to bring us all the way to heaven.
-ehw
Kalen helping bring the gifts forward with our Decon in formation Randy Ortiz
Christ the judge at the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
The world is full of manmade noise. Noise, sounds and vibrations with no Godly organization, only serve to distract us from our ingrained mission of finding and loving the Lord. This means if we want to draw ourselves to the Lord, we must through force of will, ignore the world's noise so our souls can make music in harmony with God's intended design for the world.
For example, take a look at tomorrow's March for Life in Washington, D.C. There thousands will walk as a result of a court decision literally made up from the air the justices breathed, and created with little factual evidence or legal precedent. The whim of men created "rights" which did not exist ever before, denied the humanity of a child in the wound established with natural law at the dawn of time, and to this day results in the extermination of so many people it is actually fulfilling Margret Sangster's dream of the ethnic cleansing of "lesser" peoples. Oh the thoughts of this are nauseating to God fearing people everywhere!
In the thousands of words the people attending will hear tomorrow, very few will change the hearts and minds of committed abortion supporters. Why? Abortion rights supporters will constantly deny the humanity of the child in the womb by shouting their own words over anyone opposing them. They will continue trying to convince themselves their own destiny must not include the life they helped create. They know they cannot avoid the consequences of their own actions, but they will shout themselves horse trying to convince themselves otherwise. In a way it is a perfect demonstration of evil madness to try and deny physical realities in such a way. The thousands of words hurled by the protesters will only be added noise to these abortion supporters.
What caused these abortion supporters the most fear? It is the mandatory waiting period, and ultrasound machine testing. Why? Because in the quiet of a doctor's office, with the noise of the world isolated from the room, the reality of natural law confronting hardened hearts wins over far more souls than continue to deny there is a new life in their womb. Abortionists loathe the requirement any person listen to the heart beating while they see the face of their child before they kill it.
The sound of natural law runs naturally in the heart of the unborn child, and speaks with a clarity to unsettled souls like no other sound on earth. Oh how I wish we could mandate put the father in the room as well! Maybe the natural music could save three souls at a time, and help make a proper family.
So the next time you find yourself lost in a sea of manmade noise, find a place where you can slow down and hear the pulse of life. Let the pulse remind you of your place in the cosmos as a child called to God. Then follow the call of this music to build his kingdom in word and deed. Then maybe it will be easier to get a smile out of Christ the Judge when the time comes to meet him.
-ehw
The 2015 Darebot Robotics Team
The First Lego League's first elimination round starts on Saturday at 7:30AM. Our Regina Caeli Darebots will be there, and ready to compete. Under the direction of Coach Les Levergood, Assistant Coach Fred Bunn and myself they grew a great deal...or maybe in spite of our coaching they grew! If you want to catch up on their adventures you can visit them at the website Regina Caeli Darebots.
The team practiced two to three times a week since late August. Now after the long series of rehearsals they are ready to compete....for the first and possible last time! Coach Levergood ran a tight ship this year, and Coach Bunn brought excellent programming instruction to the kids. Solving the mysteries of the gyroscope was an incredible experience for the kids. I helped them build out their presentations.
The team will do three presentations to judges Saturday morning. The first will be their sales pitch for ways to improve collection methods of depleted uranium on test ranges and battlefields. They will then explain how they grew as a group using the lessons from Core Values. Finally, they will discuss robot design and programming methods. In the afternoon they will run their robot Penguin through the course several times using different teams of Darebots. At the end of the day, they will find out if they are in the upper third of 40 or so teams. If they are they may move on to regionals in January!
Tomorrow Coach Levergood will guide the seven of them through six and half hours of final rehearsals! So pray for Coach L and then the team!
Here is Penguin the robot!
A few weeks ago a most incredible person told me a story, a story of forgiveness which humbled me. The story goes something like this...
Years ago this person suffered a great injustice at the hands of another. Bonds of trust broke, and a relationship broke into pieces. The breakup effected more than the two inside the relationship. The shattered relationship hurt many others, and still does to this day. Defenses went up to prevent additional pain, but the grace of forgiveness remained open to the offender. Not only does forgiveness flow, the offender gets prayers and encouragement to return to the church and obtain salvation from the victim!
I suffered a few injustices in my life, and I will admit my pride gets the best of me from time to time when the wound resurfaces. When I asked the person, their response was "To hold on to the anger and hate is to condemn your own soul to Hell. We can only move forward to Christ when we release the hate and let it fade away. We can only achieve heaven when we wish for those who harmed to repent and join us again on the path to heaven."
I prayed about this on a few nights since I heard this sermon of word and deed. I realized how much more I need to grow as a person to reach this type of holiness...and I hope I can imitate their example with a few more years of practice. Until then, I'll also pray this incredible person continues to show people like me the true path of Christ in this fallen world.
-ehw
P.S. The photo is of Kellie at the Antiedam Battlefield Museum. It was a wonderful moment to watch her enjoy flowers, amidst the stories of war. It reminded me of the decades it took to heal the wounds from the Civil War, and the lesson above being the path towards reconciliation.
Chapel at the Might Eighth Air Force in Savannah Georgia.
Read MoreTwo Lovely Girls
First day of Fall Break with a broken refrigerator! Mom is out with the boys for a medical appointment, so Daddy gets his girls all to himself! So Daddy takes the girls out to the place he can afford, and he knows Kellie will eat the Chicken Nuggets! What else can you do afterwards than get the girls a present! Yes I splurged again and got them each a prayer card for our school room collection!
Sometimes the snapshot is what you need to take home as a good memory, and today my snapshot caught smiles on two roomates happy and lovely with their Dad. Fourteen and three...and the two who have their Daddy wrapped around their finger. It won't win any awards, but it is the moment that clicked.
-ehw
Kalen holds John Paul on this 12th birthday today!
Today I officially received two more grey hairs. Kalen turned 12, and John Paul celebrated eighteen days! Kalen planned out his birthday almost all by himself.
The day started last night with vigil mass for the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. Kalen organized a simple get together today with good friends for a day of Nerf gun wars and legos. He made his gluten free cakes with Grandma, a time honored tradition, this AM to provide dessert. For lunch? Simple hot dogs with gluten free buns for those of us on the dole with him for sensitive tummies was his planned menu. It was his party, followed by a family pizza night where he watched a funny movie about Penguins from Madagascar. Tonight he went to bed beaming with the joy of friends and family being with him today.
All of his actions got me to thinking about when does a boy crossover to become a man? I could only think of the answering: "The man arrives when the boy begins to seek and take responsibility for his actions."
This young man is doing just those actions. It makes me proud to know he will do everything in his being to be a real man as he grows older. It makes me sad to know my eldest is no mere boy any longer. It also worries me, since I know this little man tries to take on more than he can chew or is responsible for.
I am still happy today to keep the promise made 12 years ago today. I promised to always get to church on the Feast of the Assumption and say a prayer of thanksgiving for a healthy child. Just attending mass with him last night was pure bliss in an of itself.
-ehw
P.S. John Paul is not a noisy child...unless he needs momma's special blend. He is also not a huge believer in flash bulbs!
Dad I was this small?
Kevin: "Dad was I this small?"
Dad: "Yes son you were once that small"
The joy of teaching a culture of life to your children is that even when the baby gives a yelp, the older kids know this is part of respecting life from conception to death. You know you succeed in reaching their souls with with this understanding when they have such great awe for the new members of the domestic church...and all people created in the image of God around them.
My older children saw the trials Mom went through for nine months to get John Paul to birth. They understand more than ever the depths of love she had for each of them before they were born. Each of our children, at the age of reason, now understands this baby was their baby brother from the moment of conception in the womb (even if they haven't had "the talk.").
The big kids will soon will associate what Mom suffered as part of her agape love for each of them, when only our God knew their name and destiny. The older kids now also understand in a larger sense why abortion is decidedly agains the commandments of God. John Paul was never a bunch of harvestable organs and stem cells. John Paul was John Paul when two halves became one whole.
As crazy as the calendar is now these are the good times. As crazy as life will get it the coming days, months and years if we get the concept of agape in their heads and hearts I think we have a good chance of succeeding as parents. I hope we raise children who fulfill the Lord's two great commandments: To love the Lord with all your heart mind and soul. To love your neighbor as yourself.
I pray to God we, and parents everywhere, achieve this noble goal as well. For there is no other option than this if we are to form a civil society where peace can reign.
-ehw
Boys like their summers filled with wonder and awe...and this year both found fulfillment in home based fireworks over the Fourth of July! If you remember your childhood, I bet it was moments like this you remember for a lifetime. I know memories like this are seared in my mind!
-ehw
P.S. Always a challenging shoot when darkness is involved, and you will not use the flash. The rewards for catching the special moment of light are immense.
Watching her baby even at rest...
At the start of the month I began my proverbs review. One chapter at a time..and since the month has thirty-one days I get to read Chapter 31. This is a chapter I have to read aloud to her, and I must say she deserves it in spades. I cannot match the beauty and wisdom of the Bible so her are the words of Proverbs, and some photos to follow showing the riches my wife brought to our family.
Proverbs 31: 10-31
10 Who can find a woman of worth? Far beyond jewels is her value.
11 Her husband trusts her judgment; he does not lack income.
12 She brings him profit, not loss, all the days of her life.
13 She seeks out wool and flax and weaves with skillful hands.
14 Like a merchant fleet, she secures her provisions from afar.
15 She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household, a portion to her maidservants.
16 She picks out a field and acquires it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength; she exerts her arms with vigor.
18 She enjoys the profit from her dealings; her lamp is never extinguished at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle.
20 She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy.
21 She is not concerned for her household when it snows—all her charges are doubly clothed.
22 She makes her own coverlets; fine linen and purple are her clothing.
23 Her husband is prominent at the city gates as he sits with the elders of the land.
24 She makes garments and sells them, and stocks the merchants with belts.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity, and laughs at the days to come.
26 She opens her mouth in wisdom; kindly instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband, too, praises her:
29 “Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.*
31 Acclaim her for the work of her hands, and let her deeds praise her at the city gates.
Proverbs 31: 10-31 from the USCCB in the New American Bible for Catholics
I hope you can see the love on these faces! It is real. Their work and prayers helped get us here.
-ehw
Kellie Meets John Paul for the first time. "John Paul has nose!"
Kevin marvels at his new pine cone picker upper helper
Kalen wants to cuddle with baby all day long.
Julia loves having another sibling
What happens when you take three sweet little girls, from three different grades, all growing up together over the years and let them play? Magic smiles and poses appear! Their different heights made a naturally interesting composition! Maybe this will make it past the yearbook editor and get a thumbs up!
-ehw
P.S. Ok Fujifilm fans this was my often neglected 35mm prime set at F2.0 to handle the poor gym lighting. Yes the ISO is 3200, but the X-Series RAW file handles it well in Capture One 8. Even the jpeg was excellent! I just enjoy playing with RAW files whenever possible because I adore the extra headroom to craft my final images.
Back to school picnic 2015! Kids reunite with old friends, and new friends learn our favorite games. Oh the fun and energy of youth just cannot be beat when I go on assignment!
I often get asked,"When is the best time to photograph children?" I always reply when they are at play. I should also add right after they ate and before they need a nap! The photo above contains all those elements, and the reward to me the photographer is an image I can enjoy and share with many parents!
Well incase you are wondering....the school is Regina Caeli Academy (or http://www.rcahybrid.org/) and it is a wonderful place to call home!
-ehw
P.S. For you techies out there...Fujifilm is on a roll right now. They just updated our firmware on the X-T1 to improve autofocus on erratically moving subjects like these kids! In a poorly lit situation the camera locked on and captured some nice photos, suitable for yearbooks, school websites, or parents refrigerators!
Oh the fun of teaching virtues
The hardest part of virtue training is we all need to do it everyday. The most fun you can have in virtue training is to come up with ways to make your children remember the experience. On this night my buddy Les worked up the game and the stations for our club.
Each child went to the start point and put four weights on the arms and legs. They then faced the questioning period of three questions. Successful answers removed one weight. Then you ran the obstacle course to me...standing in for St Joseph where you recited your St Joseph prayer. I told the boys to talk to their mother. Then you went to Mary, portrayed this evening by a lovely four year old, to say the hail Mary. Mary then sent the boys to her son Jesus (represented by a crucifix) to recite their Act of Contrition to dump their final weights. The whole event gets timed and champion crowned.
I think it was fun to see this little girl's reaction to the boys coming to her, especially her big buddy above. For the record...the boys did pretty well on answering the questions.
This is why photojournalism is so much fun. Capturing real life, not made up stories or events designed to draw the press in is what excites me! It makes you think on your feet as a photographer with your tools at hand. When the action happens you have to grab it fast!
-ehw
P.S. The boys you see above are all part of the Blue Knights Boys Club we started two years ago...we hope to grow a little this year at a new home....praying hard it can work out.
Big Sister time is almost around the corner!
My baby big girl will only be a baby a little longer! I cannot believe how she grew, and how our family of six changed since we moved to Roswell, Georgia three and quarter years ago! Any time between now and the end of the month Baby Echo will be on his own here in the house, and little big girl will be a BIG SISTER in a family of seven! She'll always be my rascal princess. She will be full of life and opinions until the end of her days. She also makes a cute picture perfect cutie from time to time!
-ehw
P.S. This is exactly why I always try to have a decent camera with me...cell phones are great...but I just cannot hold them steady. So to me a proper camera is still a decent one. In this case my XT-1 with a walk around 18-135 zoom. Using the new version 4.0 firmware, the lens and camera combo are like a thoroughbred. So instead of wanting a new camera, I become willing to purchase new (to me used to you) lenses and hold the camera a lot longer.