Thursday, January 26, 2012

:)


There's so much to life that can make you


if you'd only remember to notice it.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

Why is it that people hate the snow!? Is it because it's cold? What's wrong with cold? It reminds you to appreciate warm! It awakens you to the fact that you're alive and can still feel! There's lots of cold people out there. I don't hate them. They remind me to appreciate the people I love. Haha, O.K.,  anyways. I digress.

Here's what the cold snow is like around my house this morning:




Reminds me of the woods behind the house I grew up in.


Nothing fancy here. But look close! Those spots are on my dirty lens! Agghh!!! How have I missed this? 





Abstract photography.


Ironic photography


Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Resolution Distractions


C.S. Lewis' book The Screwtape Letters is like no book I've ever read. Screwtape, the narrator of the story, is an experienced demon, high up in the ranks of hell, and he's writing to his demon nephew Wormwood. The goal of the demons is to keep humans away from God in whatever way they can. In this scene, he describes to his nephew how there was one man who was a strong atheist who liked to go read in the British Museum. One day Screwtape noticed the man starting to think about God. Screwtape didn't like where his thoughts were headed, so he decided to intervene. However, he wasn't so foolish as to get the man to argue in his head about God, he points out to Wormwood. No, rather all he did was put a thought in the man's head that, "Hey, maybe it's time for some lunch." The man went on to leave the museum and his thoughts of God to get some food. 

I think a lot of people believe that Satan (if they believe in Satan at all) comes to tempt you to do wild outlandish sins. As if he's some man with horns in a red onesy trying to hand you a gun, or telling you to take heroin. Yet in this story, which seems much more sobering, he shows up as a seemingly insignificant distraction. On the verge of something so great, so revolutionary, the atheist gives up on it. Why? Because he's hungry?


I have very specific life goals at the moment, as you hopefully do too. As I look back over 2011 I can see that I was distracted numerous times in many ways. From entrepreneurial ventures to members of the opposite sex, there always seemed like there was something jumping out for my attention which in the end, pulled me away from where I know I want to get to in my life. And subtle! Sometimes they were so subtle. One text message can change the course of your life!

As the New Year has come, I've listened to many friends' resolutions. I'm so proud of some of them! I've heard the common goals such as going to the gym more, or spending less time on the computer, to other more unique ones like wanting to gossip less, and to be more humble. Truly good resolutions. As I read the above story, I wanted to remind and encourage anyone out there reading this that if your goals and resolutions aren't coming to be, it's probably not because you're a terrible murderer. It's because you got distracted. You got hungry, so you quit. But press on! Keep going! And if that means cutting out some things or people which are distracting you from who you want to be, then do it! 


And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It's better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
                                                                                                           -Matthew 5:30

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Thing About Photography Is

A while ago I was at my old church sitting at one of the tables in the commons area. As I was people watching those around me, one of my favorite hobbies, I noticed two old men sitting near enough for me to hear their conversation. One was looking at the bulletin sitting on their table which read "We now have Wi-fi!" As he sat with a puzzled look on his face, he says to the man next to him, "Hey. Do you know what Wi-fi is?" The second gentleman squinted down at the words, sat up to look off into the distance, looked at his friend and said, "Nope." Neither caring too much, both went on to think and discuss other things, never finding out what Wi-fi was.

Although this may seem like a completely irrelevant moment to some, I took sustaining amusement in it! I just can't get over how funny it is. See, the way the future is looking, we will probably have internet anywhere we want it in a few short years. Life is changing so dramatically compared to all the generations in the past and we are on the cutting edge of it. Many of us think of how to profit off of new technology, while others only care how it affects their daily lives. Yet, for these two men, they were completely content with not knowing the vast movements in the world around them. I loved it.

I think many people believe photography is meant for the outstanding, beautiful, pillars and milestones of life. Weddings. Parades. Graduations. These are the moments in life when everyone knows to bring the camera. For me, the beauty of photography is not in these moments however. It's in the quiet, mundane, ordinary moments of life that my passion for photography flares. The ability to take something that everyone overlooks due to it being so common, and capture it like no one has ever seen it is the greatest thing about taking pictures.

The moment above is not an amazing moment. In fact, it could have very well gone overlooked. Two men having a conversation, just like any other two men on the planet. Yet, with the proper eye and an attentive mind, the moment could be appreciated. Same goes for taking pictures. Next time you have to run some errands, pay some bills, or walk the dog, grab your camera. See if you can't find something beautiful in the ordinary.


Here's some of my favorites that I've taken: