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?