Wishing time would stand still

On the way to the "House of Breakfast."




















Thanks to Stephanie Lyell Photography

Rascal

This has to be one of my all-time favorite pictures of Lydia. Not because it's that great of a shot (although I like it), but because it captures who she is to me.

I really love my daughter.

Goodbye Fall

I always miss it when you go.













More on Flickr

For Kevin

On the streets of Victoria, BC.

And yes, he was playing his own theme song.

I'm back

Well, we are back from our cruise. It was fun, restful... and a great way to celebrate an anniversary. And yes, Alaska is as beautiful as you imagine.

I'm posting pictures over on my Flickr account. I don't have internet at home for some reason, so I'm doing it when I get a bit of time during the day. They will unfold over the coming week or so.

I have a lot I would like to blog about this trip. I'm hoping when my internet gets fixed, I can do that. I will simply start by saying this: I'm glad my life is such that when I'm on vacation, on a cruise ship, touring Alaska, I can honestly say at the end of the trip, "Yea, this was wonderful, but I miss my life back home." I have a great family, job, friends, church...

All in all, I'm feeling pretty blessed.

My, how they grow.

Blowing Bubbles

I was out working on my car tonight and Lydia and Laura came out to blow bubbles. There is just something really funny/relaxing/captivating about watching a three year old blow bubbles. The light was bad, she was sitting in my garage (complete with garbage cans and my van in the background) so my angles were really limited... but the joy on her face is why I own a camera. For more of the same, see my flickr.

"Drama" and worship

This week a number of us from Central are going to a conference at Willow Creek Church in Chicago. I'm sure that some of my readers may have negative opinions about Willow (or lump them into all the others in the "church growth" movement), but as someone who has followed them for quite some time, I think they have a ton of integrity and I am always inspired to worship and to love God more when I'm there.

So, I have to confess, I have a love for the dramatic.

Now, I'm not sure that "drama" is the right word, but I'm going to use it and maybe you will catch on to what I mean. I have always been into lights, drama, the set up of the physical space...etc. This is what engages and connects me. In fact, it just hit me this past week: This is often why much of the worship done is "contemporary worship congregations" (especially smaller ones) leaves me cold. There is no mystery. No symbolism. Nothing to connect me with the holy.

For years I have been in a constant discussion with the different people who lead worship at our church to "read scripture, add some creeds, string songs together" and none of them do that. Not one. Years and years of asking. Begging! And really, one morning last week, I just figured out why. It's not that they don't love God (although I always have some questions about Patrick and Kevin)...it's that they worship God out of simplicity.

I worship God out of complexity.

I had this conversation with my current worship leader the other day. He kept saying, "People need to be able to worship God no matter what the band sounds like or if there is no band. I should be able to make sounds on my armpits and people worship to that!" (Okay, I think I said that line, but I will credit him.)

And the whole time I was thinking, "Yea, I agree. Great theology of worship!" And he does have a great theology of worship. (Yea, please don't read this post as an inditement of Patrick. Few people I know have greater integrity.)

He is right... we SHOULD be able to worship to nothing or anything.

But just because we should be able to... does not mean we ought to.

I was created as this multi-sensory being. I was given emotions. I was given an intellect. I was given a desire to connect to my past. I was given a love for art and beauty. I was told, by this God who created me, that I was to engage with Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. So why just sing songs... when we can create experiences to connect with God. When I can be engaged with my mind and emotions... my love for beauty and mystery? Not all the time (not everyone gets into this) but some of the time. Most of the time?

This post was inspired by this clip. This is from an Easter service... and unfortunately, the person who shot it had a bit too much coffee that morning and they didn't hold onto the last image long enough. But I found myself captivated by it. I honestly think it is beautiful. And it moved me to worship.

Happy Easter

The 7 deadly sins... and exactly who is committing them.

Well, not really.

I found this article interesting. It is obviously bogus as it would be impossible to measure this per city... but the concept is interesting. I think I need to do a series on the 7 deadly sins, as they touch of things we often want to overlook as sin.

But first I need to lose 100 lbs.

Dustin and Jennifer

Thursday I did a photo shoot of Dustin and Jennifer. Honestly, I was disappointed because it was raining. I had all these ideas for a fall/outdoor shoot. I even scouted some locations. Wrote some ideas down in a notebook.

Rain and cold.

And the light was terrible.

So we spent the majority of the time on the couch.

Which brings me to a question: You photographers out there... how do you choose your best shots? I am going to post more on my Flickr than most people would post... pretty much a series of shots I took. I like them for different reasons. I guess if I were a pro, I would given them all of them as proofs and let them pick, but as I look at the shots, I like them for different reasons: light, composition, expression. So I plan ask you to vote. Also, I don't process my pictures much... so any ideas on exposure, cropping, etc, fire away.

Sorry to be so photography oriented lately... I just find it relaxing. And I'm really at a point right now where I need a hobby. :)

If you are interested in this kind of stuff, surf on over to my Flickr account and tell me what you think.

The Laura S shoot, the sequel

Well, Laura was a real sport, I needed the practice, and I actually had an hour of time free...so I grabbed my camera, ignored the rotten light and we made the best of it.

I am learning more how to tell people to move... and although I gave one direction pretty poorly (which caused lots of laughter and will remain between Laura and me) I think I did better this time. I came up with some new ideas, tried some new things, and am feeling more comfortable giving direction.

And Laura did a fantastic job.

Maybe it will just take me shooting tons of pictures and working with lots of people.

Again, if you don't mind, surf on over to my Flickr account and tell me what you think.

The Laura S shoot

Surf on over to my Flickr account and tell me what you think. I'm still really new at taking pictures of someone other than my daughter or wife. And to me, most of my pictures look the same... like I'm shooting senior pictures! My goal over the next couple of months is to get more creative with posing people... to bring out more personality.