Spring's Flowers

Well not to rub it in to those of you looking at more white stuff this evening, but look what was in my yard today!

Two weeks ago we had an ice storm.  This weekend we had springlike weather, flowers, and our first baseball practices with the boys.  

Walking the yard today, I think the big tragedy may be my gardenia bush near our deck.  The frost just ravaged the leaves.  It is mostly brown now, and I don't know if it will recover.  We also took some damage to the shed, and it needs roof repair now.  Hopefully I can teach myself to fix it without too much trouble.

This all just reminds me life is so precious, and our journey in the world so tenuous.  

See we're still praying for a lady our age who after having her fourth child in December collapsed in the parking lot at our children's homeschooling music group.  Her husband, knowing she was not feeling well that day was with her and immediately started CPR.  The ambulance came and she went off intubated to the hospital.  All this while her four children sat in the van...again a little miracle since friends nearby swooped them up and took them home for safety.  70 minutes later .... yes 70 minutes later.. her heart started working again on its own.  At first there appeared to be no brain activity...and they they tested again the next day....and found some hope.

By the third day she moved her feet, hands and made sounds.  She even wanted to know if the baby was hungry.  A little over two weeks later she is teasing her husband, who still sits at her side.  She knows her children and family.  She thinks it is 1996...but she is alive (and with children who were not born yet in 1996) and moving towards recovery.   Three doctors already said this is a miracle, even compared her to Lazarus more than once.

I told told my wife I was satisfied a miracle occurred when her husband was at her side that day...and even though feeling queasy she went along to help him get the kids to music. (probably knew Dad would get the times messed up...I know the drill because  my wife writes down everything for me and tells the kids they are my alarm clock).

The cause?  An extremely rare injury to an artery resulting from childbirth in December.

When told about the cause...she said without hesitation the child was worth the cost.

This my friends is a miracle we should all take note of.  We are witnessing a husband and wife who gave all without question to each other, and a witnessing their faith journey with us out here on the outside of their family.

For my wife and I it reminded us to love every moment of our lives.  They could be us.  Our children could be theirs.  It reminded us we need to be living our lives the best we can, because in a flash we could be meeting Jesus.

If you can, add a Marrietta family to your prayers .  They have a long way to go before the healing is done.

If you envisioned the scene, and you shed a year of sorrow and joy just hearing this love story...let this miracle help you be better than you were before for the rest of your lives.  I think the Lord will be pleased, and help his family even more.

-ehw

P.S. X-E1 with 60mm macro.

Roswell, Georgia snowed in!

The last month flew by like a whirlwind.  Sorta like that football flying past Manning on the first down...still hurts to see my team get crushed like that...

Well last week we had the second big storm of the season here in Atlanta.  I have no illusions about driving on ice...did that before...did not like the results from an ice storm when I was 16, and respected them ever since.  So we tucked into the house early, and never had an intention of leaving.

So here is our home covered in snow and about 1/2 to an inch of ice in spots eight days ago.  I think I was the only person on my street who owned a shovel...leftovers from living up north.  I really don't blame people down here for not owning a snow shovel.  You'd use the darn thing once every few years.

While public school kids rejoiced, the homeschoolers here drove on with their lessons.  Live continued to go on normally in our house as the worst of the storm went south and messed up the electric service down there.  I was tangentially part of their day at school...and it was interesting for all of us.

Well the loss of work for me resulted in longer days since then to catch up, and that is how you pay the bills!  So sorry for the absence...but feeding kids comes first.

This photo is from good old Mr. Pentax K-5 with the 16-50mm.  I had a lot of snow and water falling all over me, so no lens changes here that's for sure.  Since the whole combo was weathersealed, life was easy and fun as long as the front element stayed dry.  Pentax RAW files, like most RAW files, are flat.  You must process them to get what your mind's eye wants to share with the world.  So for this shot I did the edits over in Perfect Effects 8, with a final crop in Aperture...done.

-ehw

HDR Love

Here is a photo that is a little more than meets the eye.  It is another High Dynamic Range (HDR) photo I composited from seven clicks of the shutter.  Each click gives me information, and when I composite those seven shots I can do a whole lot of art with it.  I can pick realistic, surreal, structured, B&W you name it.  There is no "right" answer, it is just how I see it.  Over time I am also blessed because I can come back to the shoot with new lessons learned, and make a photo which takes those seven layers into a new and different direction.

Today is St. Valentines Day and he is the patron saint of marriage and love.  It will sound geeky, but marriage and love require HDR.  Our english language does not serve us well when we talk of love.  The church fathers knew there were four dynamics: Agape (Divine Love), Philia (Friendship), Storge (Affection) and Eros (Emotional).  Today our society outwardly values eros, and seemingly on purpose denies the others even exist.  This is of course a recipe for failure in families and human commitment.  We all know that emotional love fades, that when the hormones fade and age sets in...the pull of another set of hormones  or selfishness will tear the relationship asunder.  The self giving love flowing from Agape is the most important to emulate as it feeds everything else, yet to speak the name of the Lord in relation to being the example of human love will only get you scorn on the major networks and advertisements.

My love just read me a story about a couple married 65 years who said the secret they held was they grew up in a time when you did not throw a damaged item away...you fixed it.

That story says it all.  Just as I may find a new direction with my HDR next year, and could create a new version of this image...so must we adapt in our marriages finding the right mix of agape, philia, storge and eros as we advance through our lives. What was right for us as newlyweds, is not what will sustain us on our 16th anniversary this year or our 50th...I can foresee we have many a layer to examine and thrive with in the coming years.

I see the same example in the longevity of marriages by my parents, my in-laws and grandparents.   I pray St. Valentine and you will join me in asking the Lord for the wisdom to help us all down here to do the same.

-ehw

P.S. Fujifilm X-E1 with the fabulous 60mm Macro

Some fresh hot nuts!

New York has thousands of these street vendors across the city. One of my buddies really enjoys his fresh hot nuts...he likes cashews..but you could get peanuts and almonds too....

This night was very cold...and so when I saw the red in the photograph I thought I was seeing things. I was cold, but the photo seemed hot. Why?

Well the answer was one of those huge neon signs was active on the far side of the street. For just a brief moment it was on full red and helped make the hot nuts look red hot!

-ehw

A little flavor of New York

A quick shot of some very tasty tropic juices at a very nice hot dog shack. I went for the mango that day and two hot dogs! One chili and one with cole slaw!

The restaurant would make an really ice photo shoot for an hour or so. The colors were fantastic and the place was super clean...and the chrome was as you can see very nice and shiny!

-ehw

A Time and Place for Prayer

A few blocks from the hotel I found a Catholic Church called St. Micheal the Archangel. Every real job I've had since the age of 17 has St. Micheal as its patron. So it was very nice to see a church dedicated to his memory pop up in front of me...and draw me in.

I went in and found myself finally able to have a moment of silence in this big city. It was wonderful. In the silence I was able to prayer for my family...and as I left I saw the patron of fathers...St. Joseph in the back holding baby Jesus.

It felt great to remember that in a few days I'll be home with my kiddos and wife...where I belong.

It just went to remind me that art is very powerful at directing our thoughts...and like all things...the form of the art directed me to the message of my responsibilities to work and family even though they were not present or was I on duty at that time.

-ehw

Kids at Twilight Part 5

By the time you read this it will be five days since I found out a friend of mine from West Point died last year, right up the road in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Deirdre Sisson Etheridge was like my big sister when I was a Plebe at West Point, and a tremendous lady.   We snag in the Catholic Folk Group every week.  Without her support and encouragement life would have been pretty dreary those first few years.  She left behind a husband and two children.  I hope they are going strong, and she is in the arms of the Lord.

During the week these photos will post we are also burying our pastor Father Austin at St. Thomas Aquinas in Alpharetta.  He too passed unexpectedly.  In just about a year he invigorated many efforts at our parish to reach out to many people and help them enhance their spiritual journeys though kindness, love, encouragement, and being a Father moving changes along.

This picture of my youngest is the type of moment I know I need to continue to enjoy, because in a flash we could all be history...and I may never get another opportunity to enjoy them.  Life is short, and it will be full of struggles.  I hope it is full of struggle, because nothing of excellence built for the Lord ever comes easy.  The Devil can't let us have too many free successes...it would ruin his reputation.

So here is to Deirdre, Father Austin and us...that we may all one day be able to enjoy such memories (and make new ones) together worshiping in heaven with the Lord.

-ehw

Kids at Twilight Part 4

Kalen is always fun to photograph.  He is always trying so hard to be a good kid...and like his Dad can lose it a bit.  Sorry son for the bad trait I handed off!  He gets very serious or very silly at the tender age of 10, not much in between.  Age appropriate for sure.

In this photo I opened the lens way up to f2.  I can go up to F1.4, but I wanted both eyes in focus, just like on Julia.  So if you did blow this up, you would see those eyes are both tack sharp, but I start to get bokeh pretty quickly thereafter.  Nice lens from Fuji at 35mm for sure.  I still am drooling over the 23mm and now 57mm though to give me a 35mm and 85mm equivalent fast glass.  Only got to save up a ton of money for those two!  But dreams are what we need to have to drive us forward.

-ehw

Kids at Twilight Part 3

Oh my my funny guy was a handful! All is good though!  He and Dad got to go out to lunch at the doughnut shop!  Cool beans huh!  Subway was way too crowded.  Then we worked on the yard while the other kids did more schoolwork.  He showed me a lot more focus than ever before today...3/4 a yard bag worth of pinecones all by himself with one hand!  He is growing up in his own unique way, and I am happy to see it.  Yep dirt does make this guy cuter.

-ehw

Two years of Joy!

How fast can two years go?  For child number four, my precious Kellie Marie it is like a stroke of lightening across the sky.  Here are just a few highlights....

Thank you God for every minute I have with each of these incredible people you graced my family with, and charged me to care for.  I can only pray I am doing right by them, and get to do it for a lot longer before you call me home.

-ehw

Return to Old Car City

My son and I braved the cold to visit Old Car City yesterday.  The temperatures started at 24 F and moved up to 41 F over the course of the day.  The owner greeted us and said, he could not understand anyone coming up to shoot on such a cold day!  We started the day with great winter light, and then had clouds come in to add one more challenge to the self-assignment.  Despite these challenges, the two of us had a great day together talking and walking several miles through the 4100 cars on the 600 acre lot.  Having my son along was part of his education, and the only way I can show him how I work with others...my day job just does not allow that.  It was my first return visit since last March when I toured the grounds with Bill Fortney and the His Light Crew.

This scene shows you the entrance to Old Car City.  The owner and his crew made a number of changes to the front part of the City, and it was nice to see the growth of the yard to keep it fresh.  I like this photo a lot better than the bicycle shot I captured last year.  I think it has a little more charm, and tells a better story of the environment of Old Car City.

For this adventure I went in only with my Fujifilm X-E1, my shoulder bag, and my heavy tripod.  I also made the test decision to take everything in jpeg, since I was going to make HDR photos with my captures.  The data in an HDR is massive just because of how they get processed, and I think it ended up working for me.

Over the next few days I hope to show you some of the work I did...and yes I already have them ready to order and grace your walls!

-ehw

P.S. X-E1 with the 18-55 Kit lens...the only shot in the series from the kit lens.  I switched over to primes for all but one other series for the rest of the day.

Capturing a sunbeam

Yesterday afternoon I had a couple fun experiences with my girls.  First I got a hours of time with my big girl, we went out to lunch.  We talked, and talked and talked.  It was fun, and a good time to be a Dad.  After we arrived home, Mom had to depart for WalMart leaving me in charge of the house.  After a mere thirty minutes my little one found herself startled out of a good deep sleep.  When this happens you have two choices, let her go with a minimal nap and watch her feel ugly all night...or hold her as she tries to sleep.  Well this Dad scooped her up, and held her close.  She did what we all do when we want comfort, put her head down and listened for my heart to calm herself down.  After getting her calmed down and almost asleep, I put her in the big bed and she fell asleep on my arm.  This resulted in forcing me to get a good nap too!

Ok the point of this is that after we awoke, the sun was shining in the way only a winter afternoon sun can into out living room.  We both had energy now, and could really enjoy playing with the sunbeams.

Thankfully with my camera at hand, I was able to capture a sunbeam in the eyes of a happy little girl.

-ehw

P.S. X-E1 with 60mm Macro at F4.5, 1/150, ISO 800, -.5 EV.  Minor edits in Aperture using the RAW file.

Happy New Years Eve!

On this evening I found myself in pleasant company leaving work...the three people I said farewell to are headed the same place I am in a few minutes...to church. I felt warm in knowing, contrary to popular culture, that some people out there still believe the evening is about more than a simple drinking fest..it is about thanking God for another tour around the sun!

Today's scripture reading in the Divine Office from Colossians 2:4-15 hits that point on the nose: "See to it that no one deceives you through any empty, seductive philosophy that follows mere human traditions, a philosophy based on cosmic powers rather than on Christ." It is to God that we owe thanks...not the maker of Miller, Jack Daniels, or whatever else there is.

The homily by St Leo the Great reminded us, "For every believer regenerated in Christ, no matter in what part of the whole world he may be, breaks with that ancient way of life that derives from original sin, and by rebirth is transformed into a new man. Henceforth he is reckoned to be of the stock, not of this earthly father, but of Christ, who became Son of Man precisely that men could become sons of God; for unless in humility he had come down to us , none of us by our own merits could ever go up to him."

I'm not implying we need to forgo a nice glass of wine, but we need to forgo the culture and philosophy of worshiping those earthly things for the sake of themselves. In many ways, abuse of anything takes our eyes off the prize. It could be internet addiction, money, sports, you name it...anything pulling too hard will hurt our time we should rather be spending to build up the kingdom of God. Just watch a few minutes of commercials during a bowl game or the parties tonight and you'll see what I mean in spades!

So there is my resolution. Get control of things that distract and get God put back in charge.

I hope you have a noble resolution as well!

Happy New Years Eve!

-ehw

Lessons from the farm

So what does a farmer do when a baby lamb loses its mother hours after it birth? My second son's Godparents recently had this occur on their farm. A ewe carried her 10th lamb to term, and died shortly after the birth. If the lamb existed in the wild, it would simply be left to fend for itself immediately. No other ewe will care for it, preferring instead by instinct to care for its own offspring.

This farming family instead will feed the lamb ewe by hand until it can fend for itself. Extra work yes, but it is an example of proper stewardship of the world we live in. These Godparents let nothing go to waste if they have any say in it. I find it is also a little example of following the wisdom of God, and an example of what we saw from Christ. We are all fallen creatures, even if we have good genes we are all still flawed. Despite this problem of ours, he for came into the world as a child, and grew to become a man...the perfect sacrifice and example for us to follow so we too could be with him in heaven.

So as you prepare for the arrival of Christ tonight...remember that as hard as it is to fathom...he calls us to follow his example in largest, smallest and everything I between parts of our life.

-ehw P.S. Fujifilm X-E1 with the 18-55

Dinner with my sweetie!

Went to diner with my sweetie last night, sans kiddos. Of course we talked all about them though!

Lovely evening and some nice adult talk...of course about the family! After working for almost three weeks straight it was nice to have a short break, even if the holiday tidings are forcing me to figure out what I need to do next right away!

Nice restaurant...Chicago's in East Cobb County off Shallowford Road. My wife loved the menu, even with her restricted diet. The nicest thing was she said, "that was like a normal meal!" With her food allergies, it was great to see her enjoy herself. I'd recommend it if you are in the area.

-ehw P.S. This is an iPhone5s photo....edited in Snapseed on my iPad.

Wishing for My Someone

Last night I ran out with friends to grab a bite to eat and I was longing for my lovely wife to be with me. I knew she might enjoy the sights, sounds and a little treat...

Oh well just under 42 hours or so and I'll be with her and the four little people I love so much! Time does make the heart grow fonder...but that happens to me after 8 hours at work! I hope when I retire from my second career I can merge family and work a little better.

-ehw

PS X-20 with post in Snapseed. Fun composition. I did open up the shutter on purpose to get the movement of the cars. Snapsee continues to amaze me with fun tools and output.

Travelling Lighter

Going on a business trip, so I packed up my camera as I usually do...only to recognize some pretty big changes in my load plan. Now this is a business trip, and if I get to shoot and enjoy myself it will be a small miracle. I just feel unprepared without a good camera on hand...and being a geek I wanted my toy set with me. On my last big trip I toted my Pentax K-5 DSLR along. Great camera, outstanding quality from its 16mp sensor. I took the little bag you see below. Inside was the K-5 with a 16-50 F2.8 and either the 50-135 F2.8 or a trio of primes (usually DA 15 F4, DA35 F2.8 (or the FA43/FA77) and DFA100 F2.8 Macro). I could take either one flash, or store my batteries and charger in the top compartment. This was a great set of toys.

Over the last six months I traded out a lot of Pentax gear to pick up a Fujifilm rangefinder style kit. So this time I put the following in the bag: Fujifilm X-E1, 18-55 F2.8-F4, 55-200 F3.5-4.8, 14mm F2.8, 35mm F1.4 and 60mm F2.4 close focusing lens with a small XF-20 flash, XF-42 Flash, off camera flash cord and the battery charger. This is way more than I need...probably too much. The way I shoot though is opportunity driven, as such the better a set of tools I have on hand the better I can handle any situation.

What did I gain and what did I lose? Well the X-E1 displays much sharper image due to its lack of an AA filter, and in dim situations and almost no noise up to IO3200. Now I also want to point out that I have an early generation 16MP sensor in the K-5, and a later generation 16MP sensor in the X-E1 both probably made by Sony. Sony does continuous improvement on the sensors, and users of current 16MP K-5II and K-5IIS do have a better sensor. On the plus side I also had more room to carry some fill flash without exceeding my previous carry weight in the Fuji package. I used that a lot over Thanksgiving, and it could become useful here.

The style of the X-E1 is definitely a retro design with aperture rings and a shutter speed dial. It is simple and direct. For more complicated functions I can dive into the Q menu and handle the need quickly. It does force me to slow down in some situations to get everything set up the way I want it in terms of focusing point just because of button positioning and how my brain works. The AF is definitely slower compared to a DSLR, but it is very precise. I also can compose just as easily on the large LCD as the small Electronic Viewfinder (EVF). I am still working to use it as fluidly as I did the K-5.

I made the jump because quite frankly Pentax had not grown very far since I had purchased it. Now they made advances in the last year I would like to take home with me....but I was not sold on where the company was going and what their intentions were. Heck the company could not tell anyone what they their strategy was. My prize lenses were the FA43, FA77 and DFA100. They were dreamy...but out of place on crop sensors most of the time. I had hoped to use the crop sized zooms for sports, and the primes for deliberate work on a 35mm size sensor one day. With no Pentax FF on the horizon to waltz into at some point, I really had to make a decision about their usefullness. Fujifilm on the other hand had a coherent strategy of getting great APS-C quality with compact glass that was very portable (and when on sale relatively uber affordable). So for now when focus speed and weather sealing is of most importance, Mr. Pentax comes out to play. Other than that....it is getting aback seat right now. The Pentax primes are gone except for the macro....all to fund the new Fujifilm kit.

I must admit the jury is still out on whether I made a good choice. Both are good systems, and a little off the beaten track. I almost picked up a Micro 4/3 Olympus OM-D5. Iit has incredible glass, better AF, and a good sound design except it was a little too small for my hands. The Fujifilm fits me well...and the system is growing by leps and bounds. So time will tell if I did the right thing...until then I just need to learn my craft until I get blue in the face! The gear today is very, very good...and the limiter is not the gear but rather me!

So if you are looking for something to lighten your load take a look at the growing number of mirriorless options. They are good cameras, and by design could save you quite a few pounds on your next all day excursion.

-ehw

Signs of Fall

A few signs of fall appearing around the town of Roswell, Georgia the last few weeks...and I finally got to enjoy a photo walk win town to capture a few of them. I particularly enjoyed how the leaves gave a sense of closure to the season as we zoom quickly to the dawn of winter. This bench was very interesting to me. I enjoyed the rich textures, contrasty color, and detail. So I tried to capture it faithfully.

If you've followed the blog for any length of time you know I enjoy shooting in the fall. The afternoon light is so warm and enticing. Funny thing is this photo does not get that full treatment due to placement of the bench! Oh well a few more days of this light before a business trip will take me for a spin way out west!

I've become increasingly self critical of my work. I think it comes with the higher expectations I have for myself. That is good because it drives me to improve my game, it is bad because it gives me greater pause before I shoot and share. I'm still learning the needed balance between shooting for fun, sharing and living. What a wonderful journey life is...who knows where it will take me or teach me in the days and years to come.

-ehw

Feel the heat!

The competitors lined up their forces and studied their opponent. They peered into each other's eyes Looking for weakness. In the last twelve months each grew in various ways, the younger one practicing each week with new sparring partners to take on his mentor. With hardly a sound the hounds of war slashed across the field of battle, slaying with precision cuts and discipline the enemy who was careless in his positioning. After fighting for twenty minutes and new sound crossed the battlefield....

A young boys voice said, "Is a horse stronger than a castle? Who is winning? How do you know?"

What fun to see one son dueling with his Uncle Steve, and the other loving on him as soon as the game was over to get his own special time. It is an annual event now each boy looks forward to. It is a special time to watch them bond, and see how my sons grow to appreciate, in new ways only a boy one year older could, the good man my Uncle is.

I've known for years how great a guy he is because he takes such good care of my Aunt, and my Dad's youngest sister who is only 10 years older than me. She and I were pals when I was a kid..and on Thanksgivings she often came home from school to find me sharing her bunk for the weekend! That is what happens when you have a family of nine and a whole lot of kids/grandparents pouring in! No space is scared! Well I only want the best for her, and Uncle Steve definitely is the best medicine God ever dropped on her!

Yes it is one of the best memories a man can have in life...the knowledge that good lessons and memories are now passing through three generations.

-ehw P.S. Fujifilm X-E1 with 18-55

Joy in Keeing the Faith

On Veteran's Day I took my family down to the Georgia Aquarium to enjoy some of the lovely things our country can do.  After participating in two incredible Veteran's Ceremonies the previous two days, this was the reward.

At the end of the day my wife asked me what was my favorite part of the aquarium.  I told my wife the joy in the eyes of the children.  I don't think she understood what I meant.  How could she?  These photos still were locked up in my memory card!  Me?  Well I knew what was there since I had seen it through the lens!

-ehw

P.S.  Fujifilm X-E1.  Polarizer brush in Aperture on the glass.  The JPEG was pretty much straight out of the camera other than that.