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
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
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
What is an anniversary without flowers for your beloved? Thankfully after 17 years of marriage I can tell by sight what she would like....I just wonder if she noticed I put some roses in this one for a change. Red roses at that! That was the sneaky item this time.
I know you all wanted a portrait of my lovely and dear wife for my project! No better time than an anniversary or Father's Day to get such an achievement done! If your wife is at week 34 of pregnancy, feeling achy, nauseous, and reminding you it is all your fault than you should probably wait a little longer for a portrait opportunity. it is best for the health of the photographer. I am sure I can get a fabulous photo, but I don't know if I could live long enough to develop it.
So until the better opportunity appears, you get a little memory of the flowers I picked up for my wife in the late summer sun on our front porch.
Just a reminder...if you have art needs please let me know. I would be happy to help capture your special day, a portrait or make some special art for your home. Ten percent of your final purchase price will go to charity..right now Regina Caeli Academy our family educational and spiritual home!
-ehw
Today my bride and I celebrate seventeen years of marriage. The rings you see above display the weathering, scratches and soil of living as a couple. These years included ten moves, five home purchases, four children (14, 11, 8, 3), one baby on the way (34 weeks thank you God), four miscarried babies in heaven, hundreds of friends across the country, illnesses galore (some very scary), tears of joy for children's achievements, arguments, resolutions, and deep religious growth granted by God's grace of faith to both of us inside the sacrament of marriage. We each fear the premature loss of the other more than ever. Just the thought takes our collective breath away.
We now, through the years of experience, understand the deep commitment required to maintain this relationship. We learned of the complex interaction between all the forms of love: agape (self gift), philia (friendship), ludus (playful), and eros (physical). At this point of our marriage we can only say we are starting to to keep them all in proper perspective. We find our marital joys multiply when we use these tools God built in us while building his kingdom here on earth. This understanding is right on time. Little kids normally only provide little problems. Big kids have the big head hurting problems to deal with. The next seventeen years should be more interesting then the last seventeen. Therefore we have a lot more work to do on our relationship.
My wife and I lamented the Supreme Court ruling yesterday. It was wrong on a matter of states rights and morality. More importantly it gave into the concept that everyone deserves happiness and love as they personally define it at this moment. The concept of love people throw around in common speech today, has a diluted definition resulting from poor catechesis by churches and schools. I also venture to say the concept comes from a lack of self reflection. The constant bombardment of noise in our brains from so many media sources provides no silence in which God can be heard. If our marriage followed such a fluid metric, we would be a separated wreck of humanity by now.
We will pray our country does not continue down this manmade path of tyranny. This is of course the inevitable result in any country refusing to subordinate itself (and its rulers) to Natural Law principles. This couple will continue to trust in God's compass, not our internally flawed guidance systems subject to radical narcism. We will need it to navigate the scary world now before us.
Thank you God for making my wife, and revealing yourself to us through the graces of his son Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. I am grateful for the journey you gave us to travel together. Amen.
-ehw
As promised I continue the portrait work...here you see a portrait with a story. In this case, " How do you make sure you can beat Dad?" It is quite simple actually. Play Go Fish with a twist. Deal Dad a six, leave two sixes in the stack, and sit on the fourth one. My boys are genius!
-ehw
P.S. What I think actually happened was Son #2 dealt the card fast and flung it at his brother, Brother missed the card and did not notice it hit the seat. He moved once and it went under his thigh....and Dad did not see it until we cleaned up and he stood up! Photo taken with the Fujifilm XT-1, 23mm lens and processed in Capture One...
This is my third annual tribute to two of my Grandparents on what would be their anniversary month....my Babcha and DjaDja. This was the flower Babcha loved dearly, and my grandfather scrounged up for all their dates during World War II in Boston, Massachusetts. A special couple and full of love. Through better and worse they made a good life together, and have a wonderful love story. I miss my DjaDja and wish I could visit my Babcha more often...
What is hard to tell here is that two years ago this bush almost died in the coldest winter in decades. We had no blossoms last year. So this year I am loving the sweet fragrance of these flowers, and their beauty before my eyes.
My next project is to get my Nana's favorite flowers so I can do the same in the memory of my other grandparents! Such good people, and examples of time hardened marriages! Their grey hair are crowns of glory as spoken in proverbs, and had so much to pass on I just did not have time or the experience to fathom.
-ehw
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.
The hardest part of any religious retreat is when you leave the protection of the cloistered environment and must return to the real world. This weekend Father Jack presented a talk on living your faith in the real world, and not turning a faith community into a faith ghetto. He said this at the beginning of the retreat. It gave us each plenty of time to meditate, pray and plan for the afternoon exit.
For Catholics practicing the magisterium, we face many challenges in the current political and economic climate. In just a single keystroke any one of us can, and eventually will, experience a portion of the sufferings of Christ for our faith. If we are lucky we will not face the physical harm being put on christians around the world, but this is also not guaranteed even inside the once secure United States. The daily newscast is enough to prove these two problems a dozen fold.
Despite these threats, traditional Catholics and christians cannot retreat from society. We must continue demonstrating, even to those who hate us, we respect the image of God embodied in each person. We hope and pray one day, all will celebrate in full communion with our faith as children of God. We must in word and deed demonstrate the faith Christ taught us through the apostles. This is the daily witness of the faith required by all, and the most effective means to evangelize one person and moment at a time.
As a father I often find myself challenged when faced with worldly threats and my calling as a Catholic man. Instinctively I possess a built in desire to protect my family from all evil. I also have a desire to remove threats at their origin. (I've had St Michael the Archangel as my working patron for 25 years, so yes I do mean protect from and root out all evil! ) Despite this, I am a practical man. I recognize one day my number will get called, and I'll be walking with St. Joseph towards Jesus for a little talk. If I do not prepare my children to assume the mantle of defense of the faith and evangelization, I failed my grandchildren's grandchildren a hundred fold.
The solution is easier to conceive than walk. We must maintain the protection of children and families to permit evangelization of our successors in some type of safe environment. As adults we must continue to engage the world as Christ-bearers everyday, no matter the cost to ourselves. This is our cross to bear as we evangelize in word and deed. As the generals of our households, we also must do what all great combat generals do. Be willing to sacrifice the things we love most in this spiritual war. This means slowly introducing our children into the conflict. As their intellect and faith allow, our children must replace our tired bodies standing watch at the gates of the city of God.
In the spiritual war, can we offer no surrender and no retreat. For this is simply how it is in the real world.
-ehw
Today we're taking a family day out to grow in faith at the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama. It is also the shrine Mother Angelia led the development of for the Sisters of Poor Saint Claire. We are blessed to have three priests from our diocease lead the retreat for the Regina Caeli Academy community.
The domestic church is a central link between God and Man for salvation. Throughout the entire Old Testament God builds his plan though families. When Adam and Eve fall, God proclaims there will always be enmity between the offspring of Eve and the devil. It prefigures the birth of Christ through a new Eve, we now know as Mary. The creation and nurturing of the covenant relationship between Abraham, Moses, and David reaches its fullfillment in Christ the son of Joseph of Nazareth.
Joseph was an heir of the of the covenant, and a decendent of King David. He lived the law handed down for thousands of years. When Joseph adopted Jesus, he did so under Jewish law. In Jewish law there was no step-father status, You were a father, or just another man to a child. Jesus became entitled to everything Joseph had through adoption, to include his birthright as an heir of the King. It also bound Jesus, our savior, to the same covenant relationship that each of his earthly forefathers lived under. Joseph taught Jesus the ways of Jewish life to make aliving and as spiritual as head of family.
Mary, was the daughter of a temple priest. Ancient legends also say she also played her part in the temple sewing the sanctuary veil. As a child, Mary possibly worked on maintaining the physical barrier between God and the people of Isreal. As a young woman, Mary broke the barrier by nurturing the Son of God from conception to death. Through Mary, Jesus Christ inherited the bloodline of a priest of Isreal.
In Jesus final moments of life on the cross he also used his role as head of family to make this circle of family ties complete. As the family high priest he offered himself as the sacrifice for our salvation. As the head of household, put his earthly affairs in order by ensuring his mother was cared for. Christ turned to the disciple he loved, and told him Mary was his mother. Jesus then told Mary the disciple was her son. Jesus adopted the disciple, and as such Mary was the disciple's mother too. In this act, Jesus passes the new covenant he set forth and the Queen Mother on to his church family for all eternity.
Through the language of family, Christ completes the circle the covenant relationship. From the family cornerstone our parishes, diocese and universal chruch obtain their form. It will be a day well spent to contemplate means to strengthen and nurture this critical institution ordained by God himself through natural law at the dawn of the world. I hope you can find time in your day to do the same!
-ehw
We had a wonderful set of school plays this year, and this is a collection of images from the wonderful evening with the Musicman!
It also serves as a test for embedding video..so bear with me while I work out the details! If you have any problems viewing or enjoying the video stream let me know so I can try and work out a fix with my service providers, Squarespace and Smugmug.
Enjoy the work of a wonderful cast, crew and production team! As always I try my best in these types of parent shares to get as many participants seen as possible.
If you enjoy my work please help support my habit and mission of Capturing His Glory in the faces and places we live. If you see anything here on this site you like, please contact me and I can help you take it home! I remain available for assignments in a wide array of photographic missions! Please contact me using the button above and let me see if I can help you build a piece of art!
-ehw
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
The crops are in, and working towards their harvest this fall. This leads me also to wonder what are we doing with the talents God put in each of us. Are we tending to the harvest as we should? Sounds like a good thought for prayers and meditation tonight!
Tonight I caught a moment with my lens which says we are going to be alright somehow in the big picture of life. It took a lot of work from everyone to make Mom's day nice, but it was worth it.
Moments of joy like this are what we need to pray for, live towards, cherish and be willing to sacrifice for. Moments like this are what we need to thank the Lord for when they come, since they can be few and far between in this imperfect world.
-ehw
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.
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
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
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 greatest gift of motherhood, and femininity, is the the gift of building communities. The most important community women form is their family. In almost all homes, our mother teaches us the traditions we will remember into our adulthood. It is to our mother that we cry when in need, or desire to share a success.
It is no different that Catholics should turn to Mary as our Christian mother. Mary dutifully spent everyday of her life working God's will, and as a reward received God's graces. She carried Jesus to birth in her womb, guided Jesus through his youth, helped him start his ministry, and wept as his lifeless body came off the cross. It was to Mary the angels first announced Christ's resurrection, and then Mary became the mother of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. In the tradition of King Solomon, Christ's mother Mary became the Queen Mother of the church and heaven in due course of time. Everything she did continued to lead others to the teachings of her son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
In our domestic churches, mothers deserve no less respect and admiration. In my home, my wife is the heart of the family. After months of severe morning sickness, today she was able to spend great amount of time and energy with her children. They responded to her voice, her requests, and felt her love anew. It formed many wonderful new memories. I found myself reminded of why I knew on our first date almost 18 years ago she would be a wonderful mother.
So today I hope you were able to pray for and share a moment with all the mothers in your life.
-ehw
P.S. Capture One Pro 8 is a wonderful editor....and one I find better each time I learn another trick!
Something happened on the way to her fourteenth birthday...see found grace, beauty, poise and calm. You see here a little lady making her Daddy proud for her dedication to rehearsal, and making the most of every opportunity she gets to dance. It is with gladness I see a strong Catholic woman growing before me, and sadness when I realize how fast my time with her is drawing to a close. I also find touch of humor when I find a grey hair or two popping out after a night like tonight. I just hope it means I will get a crown of glory like proverbs promises!
-ehw
P.S. Yes this was done on my Fujifilm X-T1. Mirrorless has come a long way with autofocus and sensor tech. It is still one of the few nights a year when I long for a 35mm sensor DSLR on a tripod with a good F2.8 lens....But after looking at this I really cannot complain...I got a few great shots and that is all I need.