Virginia Farm Sunrise

I received a quite a bit of grace last week visiting my parents...

Great family times, great children, extended family visits and quite a lot of photo opportunities.

Of the five days we spent on the farm only one gave me good morning light.  It was a chilly morning, but don't those always seem to be the best?  The chill making you remember you are alive and better move quick?!

Well my mother was feeding my youngest and said. "I love sunrises."  So I grabbed my camera, and a final sip of coffee, before I jumped out the door camera in hand.  My mom did not know I was out the door until my 10 month old spotted me out by the barn working the scene trying to find a shot.

I hope it brightens your day!  It sure did mine! It ended up being one of my favorites from the week.

(For the techies: In Camera HDR, supported on a makeshift bean bag of potting soil, edited by a quick trip through iPad Snapseed. Pentax K-5 with a Sigma 18-50 EX F2.8 OS)

-ehw

Chasing Dreams

My Dad had a dream all his life to own a farm and a Model A. He's worked hard and planned well so he now has both. He's finishing his fourth year out there the wine and horse country of Virginia on a farm. He grows his own vegetables, and hay for lambs now while still working his day job. This fall he finally found a Model A. All weekend long he had guests to the farm riding around in the little 1930 Model A truck. I of course recorded each visitors ride. It was fun to see their smiles and amazement at how different travel would be if we went back 80 years to that small little truck.

Today on our ride back to Georgia my wife and I discussed the value of dreams. We see their benefit in providing purpose to our frenzied lives. We see the dispirited nature of those without dreams, just waiting to be lead by others to a promised land. We also discussed that sometimes our dreams need to change because who we are does not really line up with what it takes to get make the dream reality.

In the end we determined for us achieving dreams by leaving faith in God and family behind were just too much for us to bear. We also examined our own lives, and realized how by listening closely to whispers of the Holy Spirit, we changed course several times to bring us to where we are today. We agreed that it is very good for us that we did acknowledge and discern what those whispers had to say. Our current dreams are very good ones indeed, and have our little family in their circle.

So chase your dreams, but don't be afraid to look and see if other chapters may be a better fit for you!

-ehw PS If any photos on this site touch you, please let me know. I am now able to sell them as part of my photographic dream!

Let angels guard your way home!

A lot of traveling this weekend...so here is a little angel from my Roswell walk last week...to hope you have someone else looking out for you on your trip home.

A bit about the photo. This was an exercise in depth of field for me. I took two photos at two different apertures to see the effects of depth of field on the angel. It turned out I used the one with a slightly larger depth of field for two reasons.

1) I had more of the angel in focus...but not the whole angel. I wanted to focus eyes on the details you see here. It was a conscience decision.

2) The smaller aperture also created a harsh octagon shaped bokeh. I knew this might happen because it is a know characteristic of this lens. In certain conditions when used below F2.8 you can create octogons instead of pleasing round dots in the bokeh behind your point of focus. I learned one situation when it happens. You can still see some it behind the angel to the left.

We'll be safe going home...and I hope you enjoyed the photo.

-ehw

Happy Thanksgiving

God bless you on this holiday of thanksgiving to God for all the bounty of the year and our fruitful lives as Americans.

Signs of Thanksgiving

This downtown Roswell attraction is where I might go to celebrate finishing my healthy weight correction strategy...and I go into maintenance mode.

This might be a good time to explain one of my thought processes and creative exercises.

I used a 43mm prime on and APS-C body for most of my walk through of Roswell this weekend. This gives me about a 63mm equivalent, or mild telephoto, lens. I used this one lens for 90% of my shooting that day.

Why shoot with one lens? Why leave the standard zoom behind? The answer is to enhance my creativity. I know this sounds contrarian, but it works when I have the mission to be creative.

If you put a prime on, you are forced into looking at the world from a fixed focal length. You give up the versatility of a zoom, but you normally get a stronger optic at one focal length. The way you change the photo becomes limited to aperture, shutter speed, ISO and foot powered perspective change. Ok there are other things but you get the point...focal length is fixed. So you have to contemplate image creation with a limitation, but hopefully a stronger optic at that specific focal length than a zoom would provide.

It is this limitation that ignites my imagination. It forces me to examine options I would probably miss by taking an easier route with a zoom.

Look around the world and I think you will find this is no different than the rest of life. It is also rather important when creating spiritual growth. Many of the best retreats take away something we are used to, external worldwide communications. This separation from the rest of the world removes the noise which often prevents us from contemplating what keeps us apart from God.

As we prepare for the wall of family, commercial marketing, and noise of this season figure out how best to put some focus on giving thanksgiving to him who gave us all things.

-ehw

Family Ties

Many things in life today take us away from splendid pleasures family's used to share. My lovely wife does a very good job of making sure our family slows down whenever possible to recognize such golden moments. This photo records one of those times.

My mother-in-law spent a year learning new techniques and searching out patterns to sew us a huge quilt. The quilt says little things about American history in a very lovely, folksy and informative way. It means a lot to us because we are an Americana loving couple.

So this photo records a moment where she took the time to demonstrate this quilt. Carrie explained stories, special sewing techniques and the small attention to details Grandma put into it. We are doing our best to make sure the kids can understand the difference between this work of art, and a Walmart import special.

We only put value on things we understand and experience. This is a moment we intend to repeat from time to time to make our children and family aware of the talents and values we hold dear..we'll pray it takes root and makes trees reflecting the best sum of their ancestors.

-ehw

Happy Fall Day

Today was a happy fall day in Roswell, Georgia.  I enjoyed company of visiting family, and the warmth of their love matched the warm fall day.

Roswell is a very nice town, just north of Atlanta on the north bank of the Chattahoochee River.  Originally a milling town for textiles and lumber, it grew into a quiet suburb of Atlanta over the last 35 years.

Our downtown has a little historical center, often used for movies and promotional photo shoots.  Today I was able to take a walk down the street and catch a few photos.  While we were walking back, the setting sun was too low to obtain any good photos along most of the steet.  I didn't put my camera away though.  Just a few feet short of the car the sun poked through a cloud and illuminated this cute doll.  Since my camera was still out and on, it took but a second to frame and shoot three shots with different creative settings.

Just like everything in life, we always need to be prepared.  The best camera you have is the one you have with you.  The best camera available is the one out and powered up.

It is a metaphor for us all as we face the many challenges of our lives.  When faced with an ethical choice do we have tools needed to negotiate them ready?  Do we have the background materials available to study the problem in greater depth?  Do we have our courage up and ready to defend what we know is right in the face of serious straw men challenges? Are we ready for deep cutting personal attacks rather than philosophical or logical ones?

We will never know the time or day of our greatest crisis, but we are all called to be ready to the utmost of our abilities.  God will help carry us though the rest, but only if we prepared for the test.

-ehw

PS Stand by for a few more Roswell photos over the next week!

Dance

[slideshow] Dance poses a photographer great challenges, especially if shot during a performance.

You have to choose action, pose or some of both.  You have to search for the decisive moment, and catch it in rhythm.  You often have to watch out for rapidly changing lights and exposure.

I love the challenge.  I love the excitement of trying to get "the shot."  After a year off from the recital circuit because of the move down south, I can't wait to see my little lady back up there though my lens.

After watching her practice a few times in the last few months I've been amazed.  She improved her dedication to learning dance, and now observes things about her movements she did not in September.  She is ready to join the "big girls" in her mind, and that means growing up in body and mind.

It also poses a lesson for me to follow as a photographer and as a Dad.  I cannot reduce my attention to detail because I am comfortable with my skills and gear, but to increase attention to detail in all things.  I have to pay better attention to my children, to my wife and the environment we live in.  I also have to continue to mature and grow in faith to be the best role model I can.  I'll never be perfect, but if I put in the same type of discipline to my faith life I will be calmer and more effective for them in all things.

I cannot take for granted that I am seeing more details in the viewfinder than I did a few months ago myself.  I must focus harder, an conceive my photographic vision earlier.  I must remember the fundamentals faster, and recognize them as they appear in the scene before me.

A lifetime of learning lays before not just before my girl, but each of us as well.

-ehw

Final 2012 Veteran's Day Tribute

I am always emotional on Veteran's Day.  This year even more so since I was not with my brother Knights of Columbus in Virginia executing a Flag Retirement.  In the past we hosted over 120-140 people.  We'd provide flags to veterans, police and fire flown around the world at memorials and cemeteries.  As I am now living in Georgia, I could not be a part of that great event this year.. Tonight my Cub Scout Den held a Veteran's Appreciation Ceremony for John 'Jack' Dehaven.  We sang him songs, I gave him restored photos of him in WWII, listened to his stories and made it as special as possible for him.  He sits behind my family at church, and is the most gentle guy you could meet.  I laughed when I realized how he crossed paths with my grandmother in the Boston USO, and my Mom's family in the Leigh Valley of Pennsylvania (He is from Allentown).  It really is a small world.

I've made it a habit to review my old photo collection and some old books every Veteran's Day.  I was taken back by the power of photography to be 12 watching my Dad at Camp Zama, Japan, a 17 yr old cadet at West Point, 23 yr old LT again in Germany, 25 yr old Executive Officer in Bosnia, 28 yr old Commander in Kosovo...and the memories of the men and women I grew up with came back as a tidal wave.  I love my life now with four children and a good job, but those days really helped me become the man I am today.  They made me dream, gave me drive to succeed, care for people and a life full of experiences to take with me on my next set of journeys.  I was blessed to serve, but never called to serve like my brother or recently retired Bradley crewmate SSG Thornburg of Phoenix City, Alabama.  They gave so much more than ever asked of me, and I am humbled when I tally up the days away from "normal" life they racked up over the course of their careers.  My commanders don't know how much I learned from them...I served under some pretty darn good men.

So here are some of the photos I shared tonight.  They are a fraction of the photos I reviewed.  A fraction of the memories and family history of service...a fraction of what is needed to keep us free.  Even though some may not be in uniform...know they served with honor and distinction.

[slideshow]

Perfect Suite 7

The family did some yard work yesterday and the Little Red Wagon was calling me to make a portrait.  I liked the rich fall light, and it just suckered me in.

I am testing the Perfect Suite 7 for editing.  It is a very powerful set of utilities, in a convenient package for round tripping in and out of Lightroom and Aperture.  The "unique" thing about Perfect Suite is that it is layers for the rest of us.  Photoshop is extremely powerful, as it is pixel level editing.  The terminology of Photoshop is that of digits, and not necessarily traditional photography. Some of us out here in the real world have trouble with the multiple languages required to think Photoshop vs Photography.  Perfect Suite is a lot more photo centric, and for me personally easier to grasp. For others who are new to editing maybe it does not matter as much, but it does for me.

I used Suite 6, and I am finding a number of the new Suite 7 tools are easier to access and work with and visualize how they will make their effects.  Another thing those on a budget will appreciate is the loyalty program.  Perfect Suite updated everything at one time, and you just pay once for all the updated tools for the year.  I love Nik, but the incremental update policy means I am still spending more to updating the suite costs more than the initial purchase.

On average I can save a lot of time by using Perfect Suite when I need heavy editing.  I can do here in under two minutes what it would take ten or more in Aperture or Lightroom.  When editing my big assignments, this is a big deal.

It does have a 30 day free trial, so you can try it out for yourself.  Their information on the website explains everything in detail. Perfect Suite 7 Website

-ehw

God Bless our Veteran's

[slideshow] God Bless our Veteran's of past and present.  May this generation raise up a new and valiant set of defenders who will keep our honor bright.

A special thanks to those I served with across the world.  And another thanks to my immediate family who served:  Dad, my brother Karl, Sister Sonja, DjaDja, Great Auntie Josephine, Great Uncle Walter, Uncle Joe, My Father-in-law, Great Grand Dad (in-law), and of course the lovely Army nurse I stole from the ranks at Ft Benning...my wife.

[gallery]

Joy of Creation

Six months ago my family my wife an I intended to take some of the reduced cost of living in Georgia and devote it to music lessons for the children.  Little did we know we'd get a bonus, a complete homeschooling orchestra!  But wait there is one more deal!  A children's choir at church!!

The joy I've watched as my children learn to play and sing goes from my 11-year old through each of the four children down to the baby.  Big sis plays cello for the baby during girl's time.  Kalen is getting serious by asking questions, and in the last few weeks gained a basic understanding of "perfect practice makes perfect."  My youngest son is singing and liking percussion instruments at the introduction class for kindergartners.  Kalen wanted to sing as well, so he joined the children's choir and is growing into the role very well.

The thing I really enjoyed was not just music returning to the home, but the creation of music in the home.

It did get me thinking about what is so special about God.  God created everything including the laws of physics that give us music.  Yet with each new generation born there is no symphony with their name on it until that generation creates it.

Seeing and hearing my children strive and struggle to create music reminded me of our journey towards faith and communion with God.  Each of us struggle with wrong notes, missed codas, taking a note outside of the designated pitch, good days and bad.  Over time, and with great self discipline, we can create professional performances even on our worst days that will inspire.

I am looking forward to seeing their results at a beginning orchestra concert this Friday, after just three short months of work.  On Sunday I will get to see Kalen sing in front of the church, moving out of the family pew on his own spiritual journey as well.

The pride I have must be an fraction of the joy God feels when we create a life and acts moving us towards his plan.

It gives new meaning to the Prodigal Son, and the stories of the sinners turned saints, when you see and hear this creation with your own eyes and ears.  It also reminds me how much further and harder I have to practice my faith to be a good man in God's plan.

-ehw

PS I hope you like the photo.  I tried to make it as "timeless" as possible.

His Glorious Light

Over the last few days I've felt lost.  I literally feel like the country I was born into, and raised in is gone.  I can literally see challenges threatening what I once thought was universally sacred, my choice of religious expression.

I thankfully read a post from "the Pilgrim" Bill Fortney (www.billfortney.com) and my outlook changed a good deal.  He wrote about a tough old Pinon Pine tree he stood standing tall in very rough ground.  In a place where it should not grow, it stood steady.  A guide told him it was because it had a tough bark, or skin, to protect it from the various harsh weather threats in that part of the valley.

The passage, and bible verse that followed reminded me of a book I read by Scott Hahn called A Father Who Keeps His Promises.  It reminded me that while natural law always existed, and revealed God's plan, his explicit compact for our salvation started with just one man's family.  The one family wandered amongst the great nations of the world for a hundreds of years before it formed itself as a nation.  And it was hundreds of years after that before our savior came and spread the message to the whole world.

After reading Bill's words, the Bible psalm he selected, thinking of Scott Hahn's message, and counting the people around me who believed in the law of God like me; I finally realized the obvious.  I would not be lost if I followed God's plan and not mine.  God, thankfully, put me in a time where there are others who believe and live as virtuous life as possible.  I needed to reach out to people who are role models for the life I want to build.  If I work with those people, it can be a tough skin of friendship I'll need to keep my family moving towards God's graceful light.

So today at lunch I walked, and picked up a challenge to see what I could get in the harsh light of mid-day that would be somewhat reflective of that theme.  And yes, thankfully see some of his light came through and struck my lens and sensor with his glorious light.

-ehw

Time Travel at Home

This weekend I worked overnight Saturday to Sunday, and found myself forced out of the opportunity to capture the wonderful fall light.  I grew frustrated as I traveled from site to site, or took my nap since so many lovely photos were not being turned into digits.

This evening just before dinner I grabbed the P&S when these chairs started providing a silhouette and warm colors. I thought the chairs looked like something from a nice trip I once took to a historic residence.  It made me feel like I'd gone back in time.

I shot several frames, removing distractors...and messing up Mom's organization for the kiddo's home school classroom.  I got a nod of approval from my wife...and I kept working.

After a little experimentation in Perfect Effects 7 I got this result.  I hope you like it. (My wife did, so the disruption to her classroom was acceptable..whew)

The moral of the story, is that a camera can serve as a time machine in the hands of a crafty practitioner.  Even if you do not have the opportunity to travel the world, like so many of the fantastic travelers I've read recently, you can travel world wide in your own home with a little bit of forethought.

-ehw

EXTRA EXTRA!

EXTRA EXTRA! As of today I am in business!  Everything is in with City Hall and approved.   I can now take orders and provide photography services to you!

It is an exciting day.  I have a long way to go before I can quit my day job, but now I can grow in new ways!

So if you are looking for someone with passion who wants to tell your story...I'm available and ready to serve you!

-ehw

BOO!

[slideshow] Happy Halloween!

Shapes

For my homework lately I've been examining shapes. One of the hardest shapes to work with are triangles. Triangles are the strongest shape, they divide our rectangular frames and add tension to photographs. So I took it upon myself to try to create a pleasing photograph while on a walk about full of triangles.

I this photo I played with the triangles, parallel lines, circles and implied rectangles to keep the photo interesting. With a little luck I made some edgy tension relaxed by implied rectangles.  I added the vignette to also create a rounded edge driving you easily and naturally to the focal point of my photo.

So on your next walk about see what you can make from the world around you!

-ehw

Sport Event Nightmare!

[slideshow]On Sunday I found myself blessed to watch my sister's college soccer team (she's an assistant coach) play soccer.  The weather was absolutely perfect up at Piedmont College in Northern Georgia. The ride was smooth and the family company wonderful.

The nightmare began when on this lovely, sunny fall day when I looked at the SHINNY WHITE UNIFORMS glowing in the 1PM sunlight.  I also forgot my mono pod.  So everything would be hand held 60-250 from the sideline stands.  When the ball started moving around I realized I had a lot to learn about the sport of soccer to identify the decisive moments.

I watched for a half, and then went to work.  To reduce the blown out highlight problem I activated the "highlight correction" feature.  I knew of it thanks to reading the manual.  Then I set my camera to shutter priority to keep the speed up enough to freeze action, and shot away.  I was happy when I came home to find most photos were exposed properly.  However having a ball in the photo or a good story was difficult to find.   The ball moved fast, and the geometry was sometimes difficult to predict to anticipate where to put my lens.  I also realized that this sport was a little harder to use my selective single frame shooting for.  Soccer, like football, demands a little machine gunning photos at a critical moment to get the elements you want in the frame.

In the future I'll bring a step stool so I can move around a fence line and hold the shutter release down a little longer. The other motto from the story will be read your manual.  In these fancy cameras you will find gems in the feature set which will allow you to capture the moment in some rather adverse conditions...if you know it exists!

I hope you enjoy the photos I selected!

-ehw

Beauty in the midst of our lives

Like most homes with four homeshooled children, and both parents involved in scouting leadership, life is a wild ride.  I am often wonder how I will grow as a photographer in the midst of all this "living." This weekend was no different.  I was at an all day adult scout training event, and I thought I would never get a chance to shoot something really nice.  Then I looked over and saw light streaking through the trees to a red bush being backlit.  It was like a fire alarm went off in my head...that might be the shot of the weekend!  I grabbed my P&S and started to crouch and follow light...frame the photos...switch to aperture mode to try a few creative visions.  Then I snapped away.

Meanwhile ten other adults looked at me with a grin and bewilderment.  I could almost hear, "What is that guy doing?"

Little did they know, I was chasing my dream while facilitating those of my family and friends.  It might be a road less traveled, but it is the one that has made all the difference.  It makes me who I am, and ever more appreciative of the beauty in the midst of our lives.

-ehw

Building Blocks

[slideshow] My next mission is to grow as a photographer using Picture Perfect Practice by Roberto Valenzuela.  (You can get your copy through Amazon here Picture Perfect Practice)

While at Skip's Summer School a few months back (wow time flies) I spent a whole day with Roberto introducing to his technique for photographic growth.  To make it simple to understand put this picture in your mind...take a classical guitarist and put a camera in his hands.  Now you have Roberto.

Perfection in music requires a combination of precision movement of your muscles, a metronome of a mind, technical competence with music theory, and enough comfort in your capabilities to let your soul's unique sound emerge through the music.  This process to make a top level classical guitarist takes years, and the same can be said of photographers.  Luckily for most of us, the age of digital photography made the growth process faster since we can advance and study our frames not only faster, but in far greater detail than during the age of film.

By the time I entered Roberto's class I was running on fumes.  A 12 hour car ride, 13-14 hour workshops two days prior...and then Roberto hits me with a tidal wave of his own making.  Luckily he has a book out and I will revisit his lesson through it.  If I am lucky in two years I'll have a mastery of this photography thing...

Until then I offer a few photos I took with his lessons in mind.  Unfortunately I have only two in here I attempted to pose, the rest were all opportunity shots during the wedding (basically street photography!).  I am now looking at them know how far I have to go to be great, and it seems a long long distance from here!

Fortunately I can begin my journey with but a single frame and single lesson at a time from Roberto (and some other notables along the way)!

(I already did rectangles...now I'm working circles...) -ehw