Setting Sun on the 4th of July Weekend
As the sun sets on this 4th of July weekend I had wonder about the radical changes sweeping our country. Lots of mixed emotions in this land. I cannot believe how much we've changed as a people in the last 25 years. I still need to sort it all out in my head. Until then, I will snap up a few more pictures evoking the memories of the land I swore with my life to protect 26 years ago....before it disappears forever.
-ehw
Boy Number Two
This little guy is the life of the party. You can see it in the energy in his face! What a happy child and a blessing to be around.
-ehw
My happy girls!
After dinner and having fun on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Playing with some light in a corner near the front door. The hardest thing is to get the three year old to look up at the same time the bookworm is pulled out of her library book!
-ehw
A Father's first calling is to bring his children to know and love the Lord
What is the role of father? In the image above you can see some of the roles he ordained for us.
We see Joseph, the earthly father of Christ standing watch over Christ. The cloak is on showing us he is ready to move in any direction God ordains. His staff in hand serves as an extra support with the ground, keeping him in touch with the reality of natural law. It also serves as a weapon, to protect his charges and extend his reach using the wisdom of God to make tools with the knowledge he bestows on us through revelation. Joseph did his duty to provide shelter for his wife, so she could for fill the task of providing a home for their son. Together they made an environment welcoming angels into their home as messengers of God's wisdom. I can feel in this moment Joseph already thinking of presenting this gift of our savior to our Lord in the temple of Jerusalem...here he participates showing the wonderful reciprocation of salvation history by Christ becoming man.
Finally we see a child coming to the Holy Family. It is our job as fathers to bring our children to Christ, teach them the words of wisdom Christ provided, and a quiet place where Christ can speak to them without all the distractions of the world. I put the child in focus, because this is our fatherly mission on earth. The Holy Family, through recognizable is out of focus. The refinement a child's view on the mysteries of God is a gift of grace given by God alone.
-ehw
P.S. Thanks to my Dad for giving me a safe place to Love the Lord and work ethic, my Pappap for showing me the power of the Rosary and spiritual fatherhood, and my DjaDja for embracing the culture of life with a rich family life. A special thanks to my father-in-law who has taught me many ways to torture young suitors who would like to court my daughters in the near future.
Feast of Corpus Christi
Today is the feast of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ, in the Roman Catholic Church. This feast reflects on the connection between Christ, his Church and to each of us through the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Without this dogma, everything fall apart.
Last night I had the privilege to hear a sermon from Father Tri John-Bosco Nguyen, which truly a tour-de-force of theology. He does the subject much greater justice than I ever could but let me just reiterate a few points he made.
Examination of Corpus Christi cannot be done in the modern context. We must place ourselves in the culture of Christ time to begin our examination of this dogma. We must realize, when Jesus celebrated his final passover with his disciples he did not sacrifice a lamb. He offered bread and wine with the words, "This is my Body take it an eat it." All the gospels support this. So Christ himself clearly substituted himself for the lamb.
In John 6, Christ does not shy away from telling the crowds we must eat his flesh. Father Nguyen emphasized in the original text, the Greek work was actually meant "to chew." When people started leaving because of this specific language, Christ did not shy away from the truth of his words. Instead he looked to his disciples and challenged them on where they stood on the validity of his lesson.
This total self gift of Christ, to be with us in the Eucharist, is something which science cannot define or confirm. (The presence of so many eucharistic miracles is another story and piece of evidence though which can help those who need science to support their beliefs.) This example of total self giving is however the reason many religious, from the dawn of Christianity, entered lives of celibacy. Lives without distractions of external needs of the flesh which could reduce their ability to sacrifice for others. Even married couples engage in total self giving through the marriage act, which again follows the example of self giving embodied in the sacrifice of Christ in Corpus Christi.
The ability to receive Christ in our daily lives through the sacrament of Holy Eucharist, foreshadows what life in communion with God in heaven will be. It fortifies us with God's grace both spiritually and physically. It is a wonderful reality, I am proud to be part of.
-ehw
PS. Thank you Father Nguyen for a wonderful homily.
Never Forget...
This was D-Day...but only one of many D-Days full of sacrifice, honor, valor, death, and horror for those involved as they forced evil back into the shadows. Do not let their sacrifices be forgotten or in vain. It is our sacred calling to keep freedom ringing in our time as well. Don't let tyranny back into our world, and do your part to defend freedom!
-ehw
Live not in vain, but in the light of Christ
Two days ago I attended the funeral for a friend's husband. He passed unexpectedly after a bout with cancer. I heard testimonials from several friends of the deceased. They told the story of a man who lived a life of love for his fellow man. From what his wife told me in the months we've worked together, these were no exaggerations. These tales exactly described his character.
This gentleman was a leader. He bore other's burdens with joy. He called out other men to be leaders in their homes for their wives and children. He was the rock on whom his wife and boys could lean at any time of the day or night for support. From what I heard, and knew from his wife, he was also not a man who allowed blind love of another person to cover up their faults in his eyes. This man called all people to raise themselves up to meet the challenges of life. He carried the same attitude when he looked in the mirror as well. He had confidence in himself, but never a vanity for himself. So when he did not know answers to life's hard questions, he reached out to a trusted circle of friends and the Lord for guidance.
Good men seek challenges, camaraderie, glory in the Lord, and lay down their life in service. Somehow the best of the good men do all these things with a smile. Obviously this gentlemen was all of these things.
So as we stood at the Canton American Military Cemetery, I looked out at the headstones and thought of what this fallen soldier could teach others in one sentence. It really came down to what all good military men have in common. He lived love not vanity.
Please pray for this family. My friend and her two good sons lost a good husband and father. Now they will need the strength to carry on their own lives, with the direction left by a good man in the example of a life well lived inscribed on their hearts.
-ehw
PS Just a note about the photo above. In American Military Cemeteries on US Soil we are not legally allowed to photograph the names on the tombstones (per the custodians at the Los Angeles National Cemetery). So in the four minutes I had to take a few photos before a huge thunderstorm...I got a few quality photos...under that specific guidance. Took some adjustments to make sure I stayed in the law, but I think it worked out.
Professor Harold Hill and you have trouble!
Our school put on one of my two favorite musicals this year....Musicman! If there ever was a show I'd want to be the male lead in, it would be this one! The directors did a great job with the kids on this production. Having been in plays in high school, and our class production at West Point for 100th Night, I am ever in awe with how much work everyone puts into making such a fantastic night.
The teachers and cast turned an old stage into a place of magic for this old soul for just a little while.
For right now I can say I have three of my children who performed on stage for the first time tonight. My daughter did her favorite thing...sing and dance. One special music teacher has my big girl singing with confidence for the first time in her life, and it is a blessing from heaven to see her smile when she sings! One teacher let my daughter dance, and taught her to act. Another teacher took my sons...one who did not act and one who is a natural...and brought out something special in each for a night they are taking into next year in the lower school play.
More later...late night is just about done. I just got all the photos ready to push out to parents from both upper and lower school performances. Only a couple hours of work...learning a lot of tricks and techniques building my style and processing plans. It really is my only contribution to the work the teachers and kids put into it. I hope they like the album and can just sit back and enjoy their hard work with these memories I give them tonight.
-ehw
Timeless glamor
One great part of recitals are the timelessness of costumes and many dance moves. I often think this is why so many parents return to sports fields or the arts. We can literally put ourselves right there in the center of the action if we simply suspend belief in our current age.
In this photo I simply waited for the girls to assemble for their final pose, and snapped away. With the classic hair and costume it was easy to go black and white to add to the timelessness of the image. I wanted to to make viewers wonder if this was last week, last year or ten years ago.
A great photo is really a timeless. That is what I want to keep learning to do.
-ehw
Julia dancing my favorite set of the night...
Capturing a dance recital for an semi-pro want to be like me is a lot of fun. You get opportunities to capture artistic poses, action and if your lucky the drama of a performance all in one sitting. This means the challenges range from simple to complex in the technical and composition aspects of shooting. I categorize the main challenges as lighting, subject placement and choreography.
If you are lucky you get a professionally lit performance. The lighting in a professional show always follows the action and movement (or creates a special effect on purpose). If you do not get a well lit show, you will find the active dancers in the dark. This slows the autofocus times, and puts your subjects literally in bad light. Bad light just ruins a good composition.
Subject placement can also bedevil you. If your favorite dancer is in the back, or obscured because they are the tall one, you will have a hard time getting the clear image. Subject placement will also effect the quality of your autofocus system. Objects appearing between you and your desired subject almost always cause the AF system to switch tracking to a near subject at the worst possible time.
Finally, the choreography will present the final challenge. Disciplined performances and staff will make sure the spacing and marks are exactly placed on the stage and in the performers heads. Leaps, spins, and other actions in the higher level groups and dance company will be precise. For shows where you can one chance to get a photograph, you also want an identifiable rhythm between the music and actions on the stage. This rhythm provides the photographer a predictable composition guide during the performance.
With some practice, and luck, you will get shots you want to keep and post. Up above here I have my girl in motion. Face sharp as a tack, some motion in limbs and those around her let you know this was not a still life. Such photos are possible with just about anything on the DSLR or Mirrorless market today. Just takes some time to practice, and patience in post processing to make the most of what you get in camera.
-ehw
P.S. This shot came from my Fujifilm XT-1 with the 18-15 F2.8-4 lens. If I had another few hundred I'd use a 16-55 F2.8...but it is out of my budget right now. And it was an odd location for the primes I had in my bag that night.
The "Our Father" is the perfect prayer since Christ himself taught it to us. It is therefore so fitting we say it just before we approach the altar to receive communion. I reminds us of the awesomeness of God, the reverence for his name, the greatness of his kingdom, the submission to his will required to be part of the kingdom on earth and in heaven. The prayer then foreshadows the transubstantiation of Christ in the Eucharist by asking for our daily bread! Finally it asks for forgiveness of our sins, and the openness we must have to forgive others who also come home to the Lord. Why? We are all sinners in a fallen world where temptation lurks everywhere. We will all fall from time to time, and have a need to come back into the good graces of God.
-ehw
PS Sorry my thoughts are so jumbled this week. I feel like I have a huge case of writers block!
The balloon
For the record: If Napoleon thought he could inspire Grand Armies with little ribbons I think I may be able to solve the problems of children everywhere with enough balloons. Just one ballon for each child can solve childhood obesity, cooperation, sleep deprivation and getting behind in physics!
-ehw
Boxing
Cooperation
A Magical Moment
Last night we attended a birthday party for one of the teachers at our school. It was a wonderful night. What struck me the most about the evening was how deceivingly simple it was. The teacher's family organized an iPad based karaoke machine, a sign, dessert, music, balloons, the teacher's brother said mass (yes he is a priest), and each family brought food for themselves plus some. Children vastly outnumbered adults, and even managed the entertainment all night long. Many teens also assisted us parents by holding (and chasing) infants and toddlers efficiently across the school gymnasium for an hour or two.
Above you see my seven year old swing dancing with a wonderful spirited four year old. Later he was swing dancing with a lovely fifth grader! I am glad my children will have these memories, and lessons on good social graces. I will never be able to take them to fancy amusement parks, exotic locations, and even movies are a strain on the budget. But this type of night was both precious and priceless. You could even say it was magical.
-ehw
P.S. Yes the lights were out in the gym. You can really say it was one of the few times I really wished I had a costly full frame DSLR rig with see in the night capability!
The simple things...like a sweet dance
-ehw
The current tricycle owner...2015
I took a trip down memory lane yesterday. it all started with taking this photo last week on Holy Saturday. Here is my youngest riding a tricycle with a long history in the family. This was is the second tricycle we owned, but all four children rode it. I got to thinking about all the stories it could tell. Right now the tricycle is in fear as the current driver (child #4) threatens to run down the driveway into the street...just because she is a cute red headed dare devil.
Owner #3 circa 2010
Just a few years ago the child #3 furiously tried keeping up with big brother's two wheeler. This little guy does not like loosing, and it took a lot of learning to understand one day he would have his own two wheeler. (Oh did I mention tears as well when the fatigue set in?) Until he got his own big bike, he made use of the bucket for hauling everything! He showed people he was Virginia tough.
Owner #1 circa 2005
A few years earlier we had the original owner get his new bike...and found he only had eyes for his sister's bike! That is exactly what you see here. The little guy is not looking for ways to pedal...no he was watching for a hijack opportunity of his sister's older tricycle. He never rode it after this!
What happens when you get hijacked and the thief leaves his car with keys?
Well this was the first time my big girl took over driving the tricycle...it was just minutes after the photo above. See her brother came over, traded, and never came back. A few weeks later I finally gave up trying to get my son on this one. I reset it for her to ride for about a year when she got her first two wheeler. Then it got handed on to the rest of the family.
Well...the moral of this post is to remind you to capture memories with what ever you have. These photos come from a 2 Megapixel point and shoot camera circa 2001, a 10 Megapixel 2009 Pentax DSLR, and a 2014 Fuji with a cool X-Trans sensor! Do you really care? No! What matters are the memories and emotion attached to the photo. If the photo tells a story you'll want to relieve, it will stay in your collection forever.
So when child #5 rides this little bike, I will be ready camera in hand to record another story and chapter of my family life. It will be something I want to remember many years from now.
What stories will you treasure? What photos will you hold on to? In the end it is all that will matter.
-ehw
Mary Leading us to Christ at All Saint's Catholic Church in Dunwood, Georgia.
Walking by this statue of Mary, something told me to stop and look again. So I did look again. Suddenly a message screamed out at me, "FRAME A GOOD SHOT!" I am not going to call it divine revelation by any means, but my inner artist saw something it just needed to capture.
Take it for what you want. See what you want. I just saw Mary reminding me her Rosary leads us to study her Son, Jesus Christ. When our moment comes we'll choose which sinner to imitate. By studying Christ's mysteries though meditation during the Rosary, we will find ourselves better prepared for that moment.
-ehw
P.S. Fujifilm X-T1 with a little fill flash to even up the scene a tinny bit. Processed RAW in Capture One 8. So far it all just works and is a lot of fun!
My big three year old...who needs it her way!
Somehow Valentine's day came and provided us a good bit of time together, while we all worked a number of projects simultaneously. Of course the Daddy was able to distract a few with donuts for a while! While three kids got a donut with Daddio (who only drank a cup of decaf)...the big girl enjoyed some peace and quiet with her mother for two hours.
I know some may say we're crazy for having all these kids, and I have to admit when I look at the daily calendar I almost think they are right. When you have children you know who runs the house calendar most days of the week.
Kevin full of heart
Then I look at these photos. I remember the smiles, heartaches, experienced frustrations, lessons going both ways, and the love spelled agape. The moment I work through the memories and reach the agape though I must pause in awe.
See the agape moment is the connection I have now with my parents and in-laws. My Mom just sent me a note telling me she made my Dad's favorite dinner...meatloaf...and I remembered meatloaf dinners she made for my birthdays. I know the stories of my in-laws scrapping pennies to save up for a nice trailer, and camping trips with their family they never forget. Those are moments of selflessness we are meant to live for. Those selfless acts are what connects us from one generation to the next with fondness. I have yet to see a selfish act do the same.
The boy with a golden touch with children..and their greatest defender
In that agape moment His Glory shines through...and I must capture it with a click of the shutter. I hope you can see His Glory in these captures of time as well.
The oldest soul amongst us...with a gift of kindness in all things
-ehw
P.S. Fujifilm XT-1 with electronic shutter enabled...and a whole lot of experimentation going on! Processed in Capture One Pro 8
Kevin goes to his first confession..the joys of a telephoto lens....
Yesterday was one of those milestone days in our family. Our third child, Kevin, went to his first confession. He's been asking to go for the last month, and yesterday was the day set up for a third of the second grade classes to attend. The true milestone though was Kevin asked to go to confession over a month ago. We parents only had to facilitate the sacrament. I believe this is is a sign God sent the gift of faith to Kevin.
As parents, my wife and I believe the greatest judgment God will put on us is whether or not we did our best to bring the word of God to our children. Please note I did not say successfully bring the word, attend at church strictly, ensure memorization of text or anything like that . I said God will judge us our efforts at doing our best in evangelizing our children.
At this point of my spiritual growth I fully recognize the gift of faith is one I cannot bestow on myself. If I cannot bestow this gift on myself, I also cannot bestow it on others! All I can do personally is develop my fear of the Lord into love of the Lord. Where I lack skills in evangelization for my children, I must look for other places for children to find them. After all the yapping is done, the real work still rests with God. God bestows the gifts of the spirit, as needed, for us to accomplish the tasks he gives us.
Over the last year we just did our best to help Kevin learn his act of contrition, talk to him about forgiveness, repenting, and repairing damage made by our sins. My wife and I also constantly work to provide the children a somewhat peaceful environment around the home. There God can speak to our children without undue distraction. We are glad our travels, orchestrated by God, led us to be with many others who believe in the same parental mission.
We fully recognize God's hand guided the course of events inside Kevin's heart. Those events led the little boy to accept God's gift of grace yesterday at confession. It bodes of so much potential grace to follow in his life, if he continues to move on the same path into manhood.
Today however, I will use these photos to remember the moment this little boy took his first step into adulthood as a Catholic. It is wonderful and overwhelming to see God working in our midst. That is after all why I started carrying the camera in the first place...
-ehw
Capturing his Glory!
Kevin signs the book of the elect with his own hand.
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
Kevin wipes down the trays...
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.
Kalen buses up the table before the big rush
My ever growing boys
Bigger than who?
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.
13 and beautiful! Hanging with the upper schoolers at a sock hop!
Then there was the other work I did, like photograph our first mass in the new St Michael the Archangel Chapel at our school...
The Choir
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