Essay #79: Red & Ripe

The farmer's market is open for the season! And it seems the outlook is very rosy indeed.

Essay #78: In loving memory

"In our grief, we know that death must be liar, when no goodbye is ever good enough."

-Jason Gray

 Rachel Hecker Kirchner, 8/3/1983-1/24/2011

My dear friend Rachel went to be with the Lord yesterday after a nine-month battle with cancer. Rachel was an amazing woman filled with life, love, laughter, and joy. We lived together while I was in grad school and she was finishing her bachelor's degree, and she was the sunshine of our house, always warm and welcoming. I will always cherish her friendship.

I had the immense honor to photograph Rachel's wedding to her husband Matt. My favorite shots from their wedding are actually not the pretty portraits that I gave to the couple on the CD, but all the tiny, sparkling moments that are just so very Rachel.

Rachel was also an amazing woman of faith, with great confidence in the God she loved. To read more about her prayer-filled journey with cancer, please visit her blog, For the Warriors.

"As I wander the streets of gold,

Talk to all the friends I've known

We'll go adore the Master King

Then, only then, I'll be breathing in."

-Downhere

Essay #77: A book by its cover

Another thing I love about used bookstores: Rows and rows of beautifully bound old books.

 

Spine artwork is making a resurgence, but publishers insist on covering it with dust jackets. But I think there's a real beauty in an embossed volume, and it only grows with age and wear. 

 

A well-loved book is a story in itself. I look at this worn set of "Popular Travel" and imagine a child spending the long, snowy prairie winters sprawled in front of the fire, poring over tales of far-off places and dreaming of becoming a world traveler.

Essay #76: New Start to Start

Happy New Year!

"Blank page, clean slate, new beginning, paths to create.

Let's get a move on, we've got a new start to start." 

                          -Hark the Herons 

A new year. A fresh start. Time for resolutions, goals, evaluations. Perfect for an introspective overthinker like me.  2010 was a year I wouldn't care to repeat, but I'm glad I lived it.

I'm not much for resolutions - they're usually broken nearly before they're made - but I am a goal setter. My goals for 2011 are pretty simple: Take more photos, get in shape, actually use my vacation time and not feel guilty about it, travel just because I can.

What kinds of thoughts does the new year inspire in you?

Essay #75: So this is Christmas

"Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth, pace, goodwill to men on whom his favor rests."

Peace and goodwill? Have those angels ever tried to find a parking spot at the mall in December?

But as I sit here surrounded by family, snow falling outside, Christmas brunch in the oven, all of the stress and craziness leading up to this point are overshadowed by the simple truth of the angels' statement. Peace on Earth. Emmanuel, God is with us. Arise, shine for your light has come!


1/125 f/5.6, flash bounced of walls behind the camera

Essay #74: Christmas concert

I haven't updated this blog in a while. Sorry about that. I promise I'll have a holiday-themed post or two, but for now, I'll give you this merry little photo from the downhere Christmas tour.

Essay #73: Concert drama

I think that one of the reasons I love concert photos is that they're so dramatic. With all the lights and fog and showmanship, there are easy ways to add drama to the shot.

If the lights are bright, lens flare can be nearly inescapable, so you might as well work with it

The extremes of light and shadow can be a bane for metering, but high contrast makes for high drama

And then there's my personal favorite: the camera tilt.

The third photo is downhere (yes, again); the rest are of the band Rush of Fools. Taken at a concert last weekend.