"I look up to the mountains..."

After checking the weather forecast and learning that there would be a lot of fog early this morning, I got up at 5:30am and headed down to the Red River Gorge for a sunrise shot. It was very chilly and very dark! As I got closer to the Gorge, the fog increased and I was excited, but by the time I arrived to my destination, the fog was so heavy you could hardly see anything.

Waiting for the sun to shine through, I began to shoot some of the spider's nests that were crystallized by the frost. They were everywhere! Finally, the sun broke through and I could see that I needed to drive to another location to get a better shot. Fortunately, it was close by.

I arrived just in time! As I set up my first composition and waited for the sun to break through a little more, I heard a sound. It was the sound of the Red River below. Immediately a classic hymn came to mind and I began to sing it in my head. "When peace like a river, attendeth my way, my when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well, with my soul." There is an amazing story behind this hymn written by Horatio Spafford in 1876 and I would suggest you check it out.

Still waiting for the sun to appear, I began to think about my friend Jim Foster. I had received an email from him a couple of days ago and through his struggles, he had found that Psalm 121 provided a lot of comfort. Thank God for the You version of the Bible on my iPhone! I turned to it and began to read......

1 I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there?

2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!

3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

5 The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. 6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.

7 The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. 8 The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Finally, the timing is right to capture the image. As I started out the day with my agenda, I am thankful that things worked out just exactly as they did. Otherwise, I would have missed this shot. Funny how those “coincidences” occur, isn’t it?

My friend Jim, struggles with A.L.S., more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. He and his wife, Barb, are two of the mostly godly people I have ever known. Recently, they moved to Nashville to be closer to one of their two sons as they face this challenging season. Please say a prayer for them. In addition, I pray that I will continue to be more like Jesus, and them with each passing day. “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!”

I am grateful. Grateful for the provisions of this day and for those of the past. At least, the provisions that I can remember! I rarely forget faces, but I am not that great when it comes to remembering things and places. Fortunately, I have a camera to record the events and can relive it later. When I look at the images, I can recall what I was feeling, what the weather was like, and the picture brings back memories. One Thanksgiving (about 15 years ago), we had the opportunity to visit some friends who had moved to Wales. Once I looked on a map and saw how close we were to Ireland, we left our friends after a short visit, then took a ferry over to Ireland.

We did not have that much time, but headed over to the western coast near Galway. As we got close to the Cliffs of Moher, this rock structure was in the middle of a field. I had never seen a dolman before and found this “mini Stonehenge” fascinating. As I began to set up the tripod and the panoramic view camera, a storm began to blow in. The skies grew dark and took on a dramatic appearance. That moment was such a gift and I will never forget it. The adrenaline was really pumping!

I love the writings of John Ortberg and read this selection earlier today after a friend emailed it to me. “Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It opens us up to wonder, delight and humility. It makes our hearts generous. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation. Gratitude is not something we give to God so we make sure He knows, that we know, how much trouble He went to over us. Gratitude is more than that. It's the gift God gives us that enables us to be blessed by all His other gifts, the way our taste buds enable us to enjoy the gift of food. Without gratitude, our lives degenerate into envy, dissatisfaction, and complaints, taking what we have for granted and always wanting more."

May God richly bless you this Thanksgiving.

This image of Portal Dolman was created with a tripod mounted 6x17 panoramic view camera and medium format color transparency film.

One of those days...

It had been one of those days. Nothing particularly exciting or noteworthy, but just being able to spend time together was such a treat. We were in the panhandle of Florida, celebrating our wedding anniversary where we had exchanged vows just one year earlier. The day was spent enjoying the simplest of things; hot cups of tea in the morning and just easing into the day, taking a long walk on the beach and being able to read with the beautiful white noise of the ocean’s waves in the background.

Daylight savings time had just kicked in so the sunset would be at 4:45pm EST. We arrived with little time to spare and pulled off the road overlooking a popular area called Grayton Beach State Park. There were a few clouds in the sky, which reinforced our hopes that it would be a pretty sunset.

Most people go home or turn their attention away the moment the sun drops below the horizon. But, seasoned photographers know that the real show is still a few minutes away. So, we waited. The air was still and we just soaked up the quiet, giving us time to reflect on the gifts of a day void of busyness. As you can see, our efforts were rewarded with a beautiful display of the Creator’s palette across the sky.

“Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”

Psalms 36:5

Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? Why? Tell me about it!

This image was created with a tripod mounted, Nikon D300 camera and a 18-200VR lens.

144 mph at 50!

Do you have a "bucket list"? I don't even remember mentioning to Missy that I would love to drive a race car but she arranged for me to drive one at the KY Speedway in Sparta, KY. It was the gift for my 50th birthday. Missy and I drove up there to meet my cousin Rodney, who also got to drive too. There were a lot of other "drivers" there and registered for the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure.

After receiving instruction for about an hour we headed out to the track. They had 5 retired stock cars and one pickup truck that had been used in actual races. Rodney and I were outfitted in firesuits then assigned to the pickup truck. Seems that the larger guys were put in the truck and everyone else in the stock cars. At a little over 6 feet tall and little overweight (204 #), that was enough to secure me a spot in a truck not a car. Bummer, at least until a training instructor in the truck informed me that they were a lot more fun to drive than the cars. As I was heading toward the truck, a twentysomething, grabbed me by the arm and said, "Are you ready for a fun ride, old guy?". Thanks, Junior.

I hopped in the truck, barely got the helmet on and then they attached the neck support. After being strapped in I could hardly move my head. Fortunately, we learned hand signals so as to know when to shift, accelerate of change lanes. So, I never really saw the face of my co-pilot but for a second. There were a lot of gauges in the truck but no speedometer. It was easy to shift and drive, but needless to say, quite intimidating. Later, I learned that my first lap had a top speed of 115mph. My average speed for my 18 laps was 124mph and top speed was 144mph.

What a rush it was! I was glad we had the 18 lap package instead of the 3 or 8 laps. It took at least that long to get the hang of it and find a good "line" on the track. The only extra nervous moment I had was when my co-pilot grabbed the wheel and tried to keep me near the white wall on the outside through the straight stretch. Normally, I might be a little uncomfortable when a stranger in a firesuit continues to push my knee (which attaches to my lower leg and foot) to floor the gas pedal. This guy wanted me to have the ride of my life and he was risking his by making me go as fast as possible.

I will never forget it and thank God for life in the fast lane with such a wonderful woman to share it with.

Upward Gaze

Two years ago, a huge celebration was held and the church was literally filled. Filled with folks who had been touched by the life, love and dignity of suffering portrayed by the life of Sally. We had been married 20 years and three days. She passed from this life to eternity, with her sister, Karen, holding one hand and me holding the other. It is hard to describe the holiness that was present in the living room those four days. I did not know how I would honor this day until I got a phone call from my friend Sheri and she relayed a wonderful story that parallels this one.

Her neighbor and dear friend, MaryAnn, was about to pass away after a long bout with cancer. Sheri had received a call from the husband and he was concerned that MaryAnn would not be able to pass on from their home. Sometime later that day or night, Sheri had a vision but she did what many of us do, dismiss it because, "I must be crazy" or "God does not work that way anymore". Sheri told another neighbor friend about it and then the other neighbor got on the phone. That evening Sheri and the others gathered began to recreate the vision Sheri had "seen" previously. About 20-30 neighbors gathered around MaryAnn's house at dusk, making a circle around it and holding candles. They stayed for about 30 minutes and did the only other thing they could do - they prayed. Prayed for MaryAnn and her family. Prayed that the Lord would bring peace and stability to her body so she would not have to go to the hospital to die. MaryAnn's husband later shared that at the moment they had gathered around their home, peace began to fill her body. Her breathing was no longer labored and it stabilized. I bet he sensed the peace and holiness that was there too. MaryAnn did not need any more pain meds that night and was received into the arms of Christ from that house the next morning.

As a kid growing up in the funeral home, I remember once asking my grandmother, while my brother Tim and I were in the room where the bodies were viewed during the layout, "How do people get to heaven?". Without missing a beat, Mimi said that "Jesus comes down to get them and He takes them there." It made perfect sense to this 7 year old with a burr haircut. One of Sally's favorite TV shows was a little too sappy for me but we rarely missed it. "Touched by an Angel" was all about what Mimi had told me as a kid, portraying how the "angels" would come and take people to their eternal home.

I am a pretty good photographer, but I am a terrible photo editor! I had narrowed it down to three photos of Sally and was going to do a collage until I noticed something about the image above I had never noticed before. Sally is not looking at me, but her gaze is upward. There are too many ways to describe her and the way she loved everyone she met, as well the deep love she had for the Lord. I am not sure I have ever met anyone who was more eager to be at "home" with Jesus. This was even before cancer and it was not escapism. She really longed to get to her heavenly home. May we all grow into the love of Christ that she had and let it be expressed in our love and care for others, balanced with an upward gaze. To my dear Sally, enjoy the dance!!

"I will sustain you"

Two Sundays ago, during a time of communion and mediation at a worship service, my thoughts were interrupted with the words, "I will sustain you". While I am familiar with this still, small voice and it is usually a pleasant surprise, but sometimes I don't understand the meaning. I was really unaware of the context until I woke the next morning. Normally, I am pretty much at peace and feel the Lord's presence all the time, however, this morning my heart was filled with fear before I even had a chance to think.

Today was moving day. The home that was shared with my former wife, Sally, still housed much of her grandmother's antiques and it was my desire that all of that went to our nieces. The house had been for sale and I thought it would be best for it to be furnished. It had been almost a year and yet no sale. In contrast, we listed Missy's house for sale in Andover Hills and we had a contract within ten days! We loaded up the cats and moved back to my house at Boone's Trace. (It is so renewing to be back out at the KY River.) I enlisted the help of an old friend so we could spend the day moving the antiques to Maysville.

So, I got out of bed and went into the other room to pray, thanking God for His promise and asking for the delivery of it. I shared with Missy what was going on and she prayed for me too. The depth of her unselfish love and understanding continues to amaze me, respecting my past yet enjoying this time as newlywed. We have tried to learn how to process grief, yet fulling embracing the present is still complicated some days. Grief is weird. She explained it a while back that just because we have lost a best friend, and gained another does not mean that we don't ever miss the old friend. Is she amazing or what?!! Maybe this is a way that we honor those who are no longer with us by simply remembering them. We all say that we will not forget but do we?

Anyway, one would not think that "stuff" and household items would mean so much but the thought of giving up what I had lived with for over 20+ years was painful. However, it ended up being a great day reconnecting with an old friend and the familiar drive up to Maysville is always an enjoyable one. Thanks be to God that He is such a Comforter and friend.

The image above was created on a 10th wedding anniversary at St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, after enjoying a meal overlooking the ocean.

not "Nekked"

This was one of several images created in the studio for a large insurance company's annual report. We hired some beautiful and young ballet dancers to use as models. Although the final use of the images were in color, I wanted to show one in b/w and added a little tinting for the warmer effect. Black and White photography was my first love. With the absence of color, the viewer has the opportunity to see the image without the distraction of color, thereby taking note of the composition, lines, tonality and contrast. This image was shot with one large light source to the right and a reflector for fill on the left.

Yes, all the models were clothed for this shoot of body parts including knees, feet, elbows and backs. My wife, Missy, is an ER physician who has probably seen most everything imaginable, yet prefers not to see "Nekked" people. ;) While working on my art degree at Transy, in classes I regularly sketched the human form with unclothed models. While I appreciate the beauty of the human form, I agree with one of my former professors, Joe Petro II, who regularly said that humans always look better with their clothes on!