Turning Three
When a child turns three it is a magical day...a day to play with new toys, enjoy your new clothes, take a nap, eat your spagetti, and enjoy your cake. It is quite a fun moment in time for Dads too...
-ehw
When a child turns three it is a magical day...a day to play with new toys, enjoy your new clothes, take a nap, eat your spagetti, and enjoy your cake. It is quite a fun moment in time for Dads too...
-ehw
I'm on a trip to D.C. and I really wanted to walk the city a bit...well at 7 degrees this morning and 15 this evening walking around town was not an option. It was to work, to a meal along the way back and to bed. I just don't have the right hot gear to have photography fun today. I'm also really tired after a long day of work. I think I walked an easy six to seven miles today between meetings and around the city. I should be in better shape...
Today out of the blue a friend of mine called to tell me he had joined the Knights of Columbus this year...always wanted to, and finally did it this year. I was overjoyed to hear the news. See my favorite memories from my last stint here in Virginia came mostly from my work with the Knights.
Instead of a current memory I thought back to my favorite memories of my previous years here in the region. An this image taken last year about this time was one bringing back good times with my friends helping others, caring for our families or being the visible arm of the order!
Vivat Jesus!
-ehw
The four hour trip, planned afternoon meetings, getting a work out....the plans of man.
The morning storm in the nation's capital...three inches of snow...two cancelled flights (one after I was on board!), the broken luggage carousel adding over an hour to bag recovery, cancelled meetings and arriving after thirteen hours in the dark on a cold blustery night revealed the plans of nature.
I kept my calm...almost completely...read two good books by Scott Hahn and most importantly when I thought I was just going to be beyond frustrated for the day found the place to say my rosary. See I needed calm, and the big glass windows overlooking the tarmac and runways called me. There I stood in the long Atlanta winter sun, the warmth making me relax, and my rosary called.
Today I said the Sorrowful Mysteries (Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crown of Thorns, Carrying the Cross, and Death on the Cross) and it put me right into my place. I thought I had a bad day? That was a bad day!
Suddenly tonight as I was preparing for bed I knew Christ had provided my daily photography inspiration. I could not pass it up, or fail to share right away. It was the what the spirit wished me to do to give back some glory to the Lord for my safe travels.
Vivat Jesus!
-ehw
I have to say my boys did well today. Up at 0615 and out the door by 0640 to bus tables for the Knights of Columbus (KofC) Pancake Breakfast at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church here in Alpharetta, Georgia. After a quick wake up call I found them highly motivated all morning, and they never stopped moving. They were great Blue Knights! I think the key motivator was all you can eat pancakes....Kalen (11 years old) served 0730 mass..and Kevin (7 years old) and I sat in the pews. Then it was right back to work.
A great thing about helping out the KofC is that these events are pretty well run for years. So putting a new body into the system at an entry point job, like the three of us busing tables, is easy as cake. If you attend enough times, I promise you'll get promoted to kitchen duty. Money raised goes to charitable works in our local community, to disaster sites, local food anks, parish members in need of assistance, special family focused events, ultrasound devices for children and their mothers; and even abroad.
Working with my boys at an event like this, also gives me a chance to see them growing up. See Kalen blended right in, ready to be with the adults (and learn the skills needed to work with them). Kevin was a cute second grader, but totally focused on doing a good job with a smile. I kept hearing from my brother Knights about how well they were doing. No goofin off, just Both are better customer service people than their Dad. They each consumed and sold the hot chocolate at every opportunity. I was glad when they did not break the bank on refills.
Oh it was a wonderful time to be with my sons! Made a me a happy Dad!
-ehw
P.S. This is why I love my style of photography...I get a chance to capture a moment when His Glory Shines through a person and makes the world a better place.
The greatest challenge in life is fitting everything you have AND want to do inside the few minutes we get each a day. It is just not possible to do everything. So this little blog suffers from time to time. This is one of those stretches in time where the blog suffers for many good reasons.
This past month we've had a few challenges at the house. First it was crunch time for the Darebots, the Regina Caeli First Lego League team. Four seventh graders and one fifth grader (my boy Kalen) make up the team. I'm an assistant coach. I don't know much about the whole process, I just take my cues from my good friend and head coach, Les Levergood. My job is to back him up. He did a great job with the kids by mentoring them along the way. They won the programming award at the qualifier round. This got us invited to super regionals on January 17th in Athens, GA. You are invited to see their blog (which I administer for the kids who provide most of the entries using this link: Regina Caeli Darebots
So what do they do at practices? Build a robot, program the robot and then prepare what amount to basically sales presentations to judges on a special project they had to research. In their briefings they must demonstrate cooperation, teamwork, workflows, cost estimates, and a dozen other items. There is also a wildcard game the kids must work on, to which they must demonstrate their teamwork to solve a complex problem under some sort of constraint (Like giving directions with your back to your partner!) Practices run two to three hours each, and the kids will tell you we still need more time!
But that is not all! I continue to help with youth and parent evangelization at church. So we continue on with Blue Knights, when I am the lead parent for right now. I handle the scheduling and planning. Other Dad's pitch in to get the work done. Since I am working, very little time for photographs there!
Then there is the matter of chaperoning my daughter's first upper class dance at school....oh talk about a heart attack moment! Yep after I swapped out with a family friend as chaperone...three boys asked her to dance. I had to hear about it after the fact.
Then there was the other work I did, like photograph our first mass in the new St Michael the Archangel Chapel at our school...
And of course finishing the Shelby Cobra Project!
Throw in a few family moments at Thanksgiving and Christmas, taking two weeks to clear the flu bug from the family, fixing computers, learning new lessons to get software working right for you in this ever changing world and I am whooped! You heard me right! I said I am whooped!
Some would think that I should slow down...well I will in some ways in the coming year. In other ways I need to keep living and enjoying the moments I get. Life is precious. Caring for others through coaching, evangelization, praying for them, expanding your personal relationship with Christ, defending the country, and being a better Dad/Husband all make life worth living. I still have a long way to go in all those areas. When I get all those things figured out, I think it will be time to rest with the Lord. Until then...I'll try keeping Proverbs and the Sermon on the Mount in my actions a little better everyday.
An one personal request from me to you (if you made it this far). Please keep both the unborn and those wanting children but not so blessed in your prayers. In our journey through the year we had two miscarriages. We met families enduring three, four, five miscarriages on the road to making their family and understood their pain and joys. When you are done praying for those two groups...please pray for people to embrace their role as parents to raise their children in the light of the Word made Man Jesus Christ.
This is a little personal because see we are praying hard that we get to meet a little someone in about 30 weeks...and this is one of the award winning photos of the year right here that I did not even take!
God Bless and Happy New Year!
-ehw
In our home we switched up traditions a few years ago to get a little peace back into our Christmas worship...and also to enjoy our Christmas Eve traditions a little more. See we get the house ready, make our Christmas Angel Food Cake, then we have a nice dinner, light the Christ Candle and sing to our Lord and Savior. Truthfully the house is so full of nervous energy I am amazed everything gets done and enjoyed!
After dinner we set the family gifts out under the tree, say our prayers...and the kids get off to bed so the good St. Nicholas of Myra (the good Bishop who smacked Arius) pay us a visit! Oh I mean Santa Claus in the red suit. Except for a last minute requirement to find eggs (thank you Bunn family for letting us share your egg coop bounty at 945PM!) everything was perfect.
More later...but all is good in the Wojtkun Home! Our Lord is made incarnate! He is ready to show us the word spoken and expressed in creation since before time began! What a wonderful, wonderful blessing to the world! I also love how my children love each other.
So enjoy a glimpse into our home, celebration of Christ's birth, and understand my poor wife only looks a little green because Baby E is doing well and will make his name known next August.
-ehw
PS These are the very first photos from Mr Fujifilm X-T1...enjoy!
If you thought playing tag at DjaDja's house meant running around 14 acres of land on your feet...you'd be so last century! Heck we give the two year old and seasoned citizen the leg up in every way. In fact the only guy running on foot was the cameraman!
-ehw
I'll confess this little one is a sweetheart, and I'm partial to her since her parents are good friends of ours. However I think those eyes make the shot, and capture your heart. Her eyes will captivate you in person, and I hope I put such a feeling in this photo.
To accomplish this little shot I was playing with my favorite little lens, the Fujinon 23mm F1.4. In this photo I experimented with an extremely shallow depth of field, opening the aperture all the way just to see what it will do. Because I was using a mirrorless camera, my Fuji XE-1, I was able to see the DOF in the screen as I composed the image in real time.
I know some purists out there will be screaming that professionals use a viewfinder, and that I am violating some law of photography since I did not have my eye up to the viewfinder. Heck I might as well have used a cell phone right? Well probably yes and definitely no.
See part of the reason I switched from traditional DSLRs to this mirrorless design was I got comfortable keeping eye contact with my subjects during composition. An instructor told us how vital was, and at first I was like yah right...but then I tried it. Eye contact helped me take a great group photo of 64 VIPs. Why? Because by looking at my subjects I kept control over them. It then helped me take individual subjects mind off the camera and kept it focused on our conversation. With younger kids it became much less about the camera, and more about the game we were playing. I found more candid moments caught, and fewer cheesy smiles that look like the child in under duress.
Well...the journey is still moving forward as I learn more about my little craft...and I hope to share more of these lessons as I go forward with you!
-ehw
Our first President, and the Congress of the United States, dedicated this day to praying and giving thanks to God. In the final paragraph we see him calling all public and private people to do our duties faithfully. He also asks us to "promote the knowledge and and practice of true religion and virtue." As you can see there is no separation of church and state. To George Washington our bounty comes from God, and our personal duty is to live in accordance with Nature's Law. To Christians this means we must live inside God's design for the world in all that we do.
In fact, to achieve personal and national civility we must receive adhere to this guidance. The result of dismissing this call to Nature's Law is chaos.
We need to look no further than the debates on Furgeson to recognize this. Rioters in the streets don't care that the man killed willfully beat a man to rob his store moments before his encoutner with Police. They do not want to recognize that the man was high on illegal drugs, something that would impair his judgement even more. Obtaining supplies for this habit was the reason he robbed the store, and was wanted by police. The natural effect of giving into vices such as these is a bad conflict with those entrusted by the citizens to protect them from such abusive behavior.
The solution to this type of problem is simple. It is to live inside natural law. To Christians this means simply to live out the Golden Rule...and your relations with others in your community will start off on good footing. To solve many other problems we face, there is a good book that is our family instruction manual I can recommend: The Bible. Start with Poverbs and Wisdom...then move up to read of the word made man in the Gospel and natural law will unfold before your eyes.
So make today something more than turkey and football. Make today a moment that changes your life, and that of your family. Give thanks to God Almighty, and point your family to the eternal wisdom of his word. The greatest thanks you can offer God, is to deliver your house to stand with him.
-ehw
The theme for the day is to honor veterans for their service, both those who died and those who continue to serve. In its original form, Armistice Day recognized the War to End All Wars. Americans and Europeans moved into isolationism, turned inward and also sowed the seeds for the next war. Free nations cast down their arms, and allowed others to prepare the engines of war to enslave them until it was almost too late. Today we see the same problem around the world. Engines of tyranny now spin up and prepare to pounce when weakness reaches its most critical point.
As a historian, and man of Christian faith, I cannot in good conscience follow that example today. I know there are good people in this world. I also know there are those who give into evil. Those people seek to either turn me to sin as an accomplice or make me their slave. The enemies of freedom will never rest. The enemies of building the Kingdom of God will never cease adapting to our transient strengths in their attempts to tear it down.
In a nation of almost 350 million we have only about 1.5 million under arms today. The nation's recruiters cannot get enough young men to join the service due to lack on interest, poor fitness, and (frankly) intellectual incapacity. Many men get rejected due to gang affiliation and drug use. So the administration is actually trying to bring foreigners (legal and illegal) into the ranks to defend this country. As a reminder of history....when every great nation began to commission others to defend their statehood they fell. Just look at the history of Rome. Republic to tyranny. Native sons to mercenaries.
So today please consider something a little different for Veteran's Day. Don't just thank a veteran, raise a veteran.
As a parent myself I can now feel the fear and angst felt when the child raises their hands to say, "This I will defend." Despite the angst I know my life is but a transient one. My days of quality service as a front line fighter now extend far into my past. If my children want to be free, and give that gift to their children, they must one day put veteran somewhere on their resume.
It is time we all realize it is not enough to just thank someone else for the gift of freedom. It is time for each man to serve where able. Service in the active duty military, guard, and police, fire and rescue all keep us safe. It does not have to be a career...just a portion of life holding the line against the terrors of the night makes you a worthy veteran in my eyes.
So today do more than thank a veteran. Raise a veteran. Your grandchildren will thank you one day for giving them the gift of liberty.
-ehw.
The ability to shoot fantastic people, things and events is what keeps me coming back to this hobby. I seek out lots of challenges, and they help me grow both as a professional and personal.
This '68 Shelby GT500KR was a hoot to be around. It is one of four that year to have both an automatic transmission and an air conditioner. It sounds real pretty when it is running as well.
During this shoot I learned firsthand the value of speed, efficiency, and technical skills required to provide top tier products. I realized about 25 things in my last accounting of to improves from this shoot. The biggest one I can mention now is the value of shooting in a good lighting window or creating your own good lighting.
As I created these images I could understand the technical masterpieces so many artists create with good strobes, reflectors and scrims. On the day of this shot I did not have a large enough scrim...say about 10x20 feet... so we moved the vehicles all around to make this work out in good lighting. Try as I might the 46 inch circular just did not cut it no matter what we did.
Despite all that I still produced a some really nice images I am happy to share!
-ehw
PS. As will all my images they are available for sale, and 10% of the sale price will go to charity.
As a high schooler I so longed to escape the drama and pressures to simply conform to popular culture. I had no desire to participate in underage drinking, running the edge of the law, or disrespecting my parents. I had no real love for the show described as funniest of the times...the Simpson's. Here we see the prototypical popular culture Hollywood wants us to accept: A dunce Dad who worships beer and donuts, the Mom who is good hearted, the girl who always knows best, and the little boy who is a bratty idiot bumbling through life. Any number of shows continue this tradition today.
I thought then being an adult would allow me to just be...me! Then came college and adulthood. That pressure to conform to popular culture just nevers stops. I was watching football one Sunday last year, and noticed the commercials were just a rehash of everything of those years but even worse. Dumb men, women on display, worship of bear and stupid stunts by young boys.
I finally realized the reason I kept being targeted like this was I refused to come inside the "normal" range of tolerance for this behavior. Where most say that this is simply harmless, silliness I could not in good conscience allow my children to see it, before they had the Armor of God to fend off the vices.
So I've been supporting this little boys club at church, called Blue Knights ( www.beholdpublications.com). In fact a friend and I founded the parish club for our boys. Since then the group remained small, not for lack of marketing...simply because it competes with so many other things out there. I pulled my eldest from the last part of two baseball practices last year to attend these meetings...yep we're not the norm. We shut off broadcast TV, and screen what we see on Netflix. Radical? To most yes. However only the beginning of what I must do as a parent.
My wife in her spiritual journey learned the thing we will each be judged on by Christ will be how we did my our children in terms of bringing the faith to them. I learned contemplative faith is a gift of God given to some, but not all. As a result, whatever we do for our children to raise them as children of God requires us to provide each child the unique skills and rules necessary for them to traverse life's turbulent seas.
My Father repeatedly said the same as I grew up, "I love you the same. I just love you differently." As a child I did not understand it as well as I do now. Of course I also wish the English language would use the proper words for types of love more freely. What he said really echoes the bible parable about the workers coming in at different times...or being given different amounts of talents. To each God loved them the same (unconditionally). However God gave of himself to each differently based on the man before him.
Some children will never pass the stage of the Fear of God (doing what is right as to not disappoint God). This is fine, because if they keep the Fear in their hearts, they will always live inside the boundaries of natural law. This takes them towards God's Kingdom with their fellow men. Other's given the contemplative gift, well maybe they will be quiet enough to listen and heed God's word. From that personal message I pray they develop a Love of God, where they make God's ways their own freely without reservation. Either way, as a Father I would be happy to one day have them beside me worshipping God in heaven for all eternity.
Society has no interest in you making it to heaven. The world we see on TV wants you to buy this good, pull the election lever for their candidate, or pull you from others and focus on your personal pleasure. So to each of you out there contemplating the road you will travel with your family, don't be afraid to step outside the norm. Homeschooling, one parent employment, staying up every night working late in charity for your public school child, finding the right worship methods for you, finding the right role models in faith....each journey is custom built for you.
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."
-Robert Frost
Happy praise God Sunday!
-ehw
P.S. These photos are what you can do if you turn the norm on its head....Halloween should be looked at for a Christian as the eve before All Souls Day when we praise those of virtuous living! We should pray for our family, friends and selves to be on the same road to heaven!
On this Sunday morning, with the two youngest kiddos on my lap, I read the Divine Office of Readings for today. The reading was about Ester. Here she was a young woman being rounded up, just because of her beauty and taken into the harem of the king.
I cannot imagine the thoughts and fears she had on that fateful day. She was nothing more than a pawn, in fact she was less than a pawn at that moment. She was a grain of sand in a vast desert. However, inside that grain of sand we know as Ester something stronger and more significant was ready to bloom through the grace of God.
See Ester had the seeds of faith planted inside that grain of sand through the gift of faith. Through the events unfolding around her she would receive the choice to stand fast with her faith or cover her face in fear. Her free choice to sacrifice herself for her people is a foreshadowing (one of many) of the type of life Christ led on his way to the cross.
As a parent Ester's story only tells part of the story's lesson. Her foster father Mordecai fulfilled his parental and priestly duties towards Ester by first forming her in faith, and then continually reminding her of God's covenant through to her people. A covenant which only survives if each generation embraces it freely in their hearts and deeds. That is why Mordecai continued to remind his adopted daughter of God's commandments and covenant until the crisis peaked.
The challenges we face in this world today are no different than those Mordecai and Ester faced. The way to overcome those challenges are also no different than their responses. Parents and children must respond to the hand in the sand, the love and wisdom of the Holy Spirit in all that we do.
Parents and clergy must form their children with wisdom and the fear of God (that is the desire not to disappoint God) so they can evolve their faith into Love of God (where we make his will our own). We parents can never stop living our lives calling out both ourselves and our children to holiness. We must never stop praying the gift of faith is given to our children.
Children must understand as early as possible, they have a great inheritance. The covenant of God passed down and expanded from God through Abraham, through David, through Christ to each of us. Through this covenant we bind ourselves to follow his law, and obtain the rewards of eternal unity with him in heaven. Their basic choice in life is to chose virtue over vice each day of their lives. Whether they choose to do it from fear or love will be their own, and a decision they must understand accountability falls on them alone.
Have a blessed Sunday while remembering how Ester and Mordecai listened to the hand in the sand.
-ehw
Today someone drew in the sand a little story. The lines left behind still drew me into an enchanting world of mystery. I may understand parts of the story, but I will never grasp the whole story! I am sure of this since it was not my hand drawing out the tale. It immediately made me think of God's handiwork I see around me, and the mysteries of God I will never comprehend.
Did you have an adventure from fingers in the sand today yourself?
-ehw
This Shelby Cobra is the last of the 67's. Number 500 in fact! I saw the documentation and original window sticker to get all the proof I could need.
So it is also the last of the Cobras in the original Mustang body style. As you can see the car also wears a special badge signifying the good work of the owners to maintain it in original form. Yes it still has that wonderful throaty engine sound. It has about 14,000 original miles on it (well if I remember accurately).
This photo is available for sale if you'd like to have it adorn you wall, christmas cards or coffee mugs....please contact me at www.ehwphotography@gmail.com! It will help me pay for the website! Let me know the size you are looking for, and I will get you a price quote!
-ehw
A different type of day today. It is a Federal holiday, so I had the day off and wrote up a busy schedule for myself. However it was a still a school day for Regina Caeli Academy so the four kiddos with the momma got up and at it in the early morning light.
Nine days out of ten...well 95 out of 100...I am the guy up first and out the door while they enjoy their warm blankets for another hour or so. So to be roused by my wife's alarm, and the sound of lots of other feet is a game changer.
Today you can see the Silver Bullet headed out the door on its mission. As it left I found myself reading the news alone with my coffee. I found myself experiencing the same fears I had in my bed last night at 2 and 3 and 4....Ebola, TB outbreak, Flu type 68, ISIS, Russia on the move worldwide, China on the move in the South China Sea, a disarming US, Bishops in the middle east and Africa reminding their people they need to defend themselves, and a blatant turning away from natural law this country was founded on on every page.
Now fear is not a good state to live in, instead it is an emotion that should push us to new work to right the situation. So I made my list for the day, heard the divine office, read the morning prayer, and moved out to 9Am mass. During mass I listened and fell deep into thought. I wanted to ask God where he was. I wanted to ask him to do something about this madness around me, to help my family survive the coming turbulence. In the silence of post communion I my head rang with words from so many other sources me like a piece of lead dropped from the roof.
"Son I did do something about all this. I made you."
With that I got myself into motion working on preparation for Blue Knights tomorrow night (6 new boys coming in for the first time making their shields), meeting with a friend, and saying a few prayers along the way. I guess the big guy reminded me, to do what I can, where I can to build his kingdom. So I better get a little busier!
-ehw
This morning, before the raindrops came falling down around us...I got to spend some time with two legendary cars (as well as two younger siblings). Yes I visited a Shelby Cobra collector and it was fantastic.
These are a '67 Shelby (number 500) and a '68 Shelby KR. They are wonderful automobiles. True museum pieces if I ever saw one...except these are working samples. Both got back inside before the rain started coming down to protect their original coats of paint. Hearing the engines was also a wonderful experience. I wish I could give you a sample of the sounds along with the photos. The owners were fabulous hosts!
I'd just like to extend my thanks to the owner and his family for welcoming me into their home today. I am excited to return soon and complete the job on a drier fall day. I'd also like to thank them for letting me add these to my public portfolio!
Thats right, the work you shall see in coming days is now part of my portfolio, and therefore available to you through EHW Photography.
-ehw
My parents were not hippies (not my Army officer Dad!), but we did have this type of camper back in the 70's. Since the statue of limitations is over I can tell you we sat five in a car with only three seat belts for several years. My sister and brother both slept on a hammock over the driver's seat as toddlers. I can't remember if I was in the tent or not. I think I did, at least once. We also went to see the first Superman movie at the drive through in this big bug as a family. That was a fun night. I also remember holding the check from the back used to pay for it...and as an adult I drove past that spot and memory every day for two years 30 years later.
This automobile may not be a horse, but it does foster bonds between who we are today and our past. Maybe it is because we associate travel with growth and freedom here in the USA. I know this is a poor way to explain an American and their automobiles. I just had to get those stories out. The car made me do it!
-ehw
P.S. X-E1 with HDR Efex Pro2, Slight color treatment in Nik Color Efex 4.
This car sat right next to my booth on Sunday. It was screaming to be photographed. This is one of my favorites from the car. The light and reflection of trees in the chrome makes it almost magical. Well in my opinion! I hope you agree. Any feedback is appreciated.
As with so many cars at the show this one brought back memories for my childhood. This was the car of the Rich and Famous in my teen years. I could never hope to own one (still can't) but they were very refined and lovely cars for their day. Today they are just plain old classy.
-ehw
P.S. jpeg HDR conversion, nine shots +/-3EV. Done in HDR Efex2 by nik. Color Effex4 chrome correction, and finished in Perfect Effects 8.
Going to the library in this household brings sounds of joy. Here is Julia caught reading a book, just to check it out. It was a Daddy and Julia outing. Well she had to be picky, she did check out the absolute limit of books. To waste a selection on a poor book would not be good. She even sacrificed one of her precious books for each brother. Believe it or both they both hugged her with a super hug when they saw her selections.
Well it was a wonderful smile, and moment that just needed a capture for my book of life.
-ehw
P.S. This is an example of a straight from camera B&W from the little Fujifilm. The film emulsion settings are amazing. When I get it right, I have little to do but crop and share.