the tale of life...

the tale of life

I've passed by this scene several times
but just never had the time to stop
and capture the image.

Yesterday I took the time.

"So much to do, so much to learn,
so much in which to share!
With twinkling eyes and minds alert
some brave both time and care.
And this I've learned from other men,
that only they are old
Who think with something that has passed
the tale of life is told.
For age is not alone of time,
or we should never see
Men old and bent at forty
and men young at seventy-three."
- Edgar A. Guest
(“Old Age”)

at the door...

at the door

Wednesday I had the wonderful opportunity
of visiting a small church,
and meeting the pastor, of
Shope's Bethel Church of God,
not far from where I live.

It was a mini photo shoot
to gather images and information
for a project I am attempting.

I have never attempted anything
quite like this before
but to fail or succeed is not the question.

As with Paul, God will direct me
where He wants me to go
and through the journey
will present me with opportunities
to do His will for His glory.

Along the way I will learn and grow,
meet interesting people and see
wonderful images.

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with that person,
and they with me."
- Revelation 3:20 NIV

touch the spirit...

touch the spirit

Sometimes flowers (and other subjects)
contain an inner glow.
I find myself particularly drawn to these images.
For a moment at least,
they radiate a bit of their inner spirit
that have a profound effect on our spirit.

"I do believe strongly in photography
and hope by following it intuitively
that when the photographs are looked at
they will touch the spirit in people."
- Harry Callahan

what one feels...

what one feels

This flower was taken a few years ago

with an older point and shoot camera.

I was struck by the beauty of the lighting.

This flower is far from the “perfect”
flower that many seek to capture,
but the way of the light
and the form of the unfolding petals
conveyed to me a feeling of peace.

I keep returning to this photo...
perhaps that is the surest sign
of its significance to me.

“... A great photograph is one that
expresses what one feels,
in the deepest sense,
about what is being photographed,
and is, thereby,
a true manifestation of what one feels
about life in it's entirety...”
- Ansel Adams

live at peace...

live at peace

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil.
Be careful to do what is right
in the eyes of everyone.
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you,
live at peace with everyone."
- Romans 12:17 NIV

decisions...

decisions
photo by Lee Keefer

“Decisions become easier
when your will to please God
outweighs your will
to please the world.”
- Anso Coetzer

idealized past...

idealized past

"The world is full of people
whose notion of a satisfactory future is,
in fact, a return to the idealized past."
- Robertson Davies

more or less beautiful...

more or less beautiful

photo by Ronnie Benner

"Stieglitz would never say that
certain objects of the world
were more or less beautiful than others -
telegraph poles, for instance, compared with oak trees.
He would accept them for what they are,
and use the most appropriate objects
to express his thoughts and convey his vision."
- Ansel Adams

built for...

built for
photo by Ronnie Benner

"The ship is safest when it is in port,
but that's not what ships were built for."
- Paulo Coelho

encourage one another...

encourage one another

"I admire machinery [technology]...
and am as thankful to it
as any man can be
for what it does for us.
But it will never be a substitute for
the face of a man [or woman],
with his [her] soul in it,
encouraging another [person]
to be brave and true."
- Charles Dickens
(The Wreck of the Golden Mary)

hero worship...

hero worship

Be careful not to set your earthy
hero worship above the Lord.

It is too easy to find someone you admire,
someone you want to follow,
someone you want to read about,
someone here on earth that becomes your hero.

The danger is that you become
so obsessed with that person
that you lose sight of He
who is worthy of all your
admiration, your praise, your worship.

Follow Him...
not some easily lost hero
who diappears, fades,
and eventually lets you down.

"Since Genesis 3 we have been addicted
to setting our sights on something,
someone, smaller than Jesus."
- Tullian Tchividjian

fallen asleep in Him...

fallen asleep in Him

"For we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus
those who have fallen asleep in him."
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14 NIV

sense of security...

a sense of security

"Nothing can bring
a real sense of security
into the home
except true love."
- Billy Graham

confidence and simplicity...

confidence and simplicity

"'It always grieves me,' I observed,
… 'to contemplate the initation of children
into the ways of life,
when they are scarcely more than infants.
It checks their confidence and simplicity -
two of the best qualities that Heaven gives them -
and demands that they share our sorrows
before they are capable of entering into our enjoyments.'"
- Charles Dickens
(The Old Curiosity Shop)

Larry and Faye

Larry and Faye
photo by Erin Doyle

"The great use of life
is to spend it
for something
that will outlast it."
- William James

Physical Therapy...

Physical Therapy

"Ask yourself if what you're doing today
is getting you closer to where
you want to be tomorrow.”
- Author Unknown

"The reason most people give up
is because they tend to look
at far they still have to go,
instead of how far they have come."
- Author Unknown

perfect service...

perfect service

"The perfect church service,
would be one we were almost unaware of.
Our attention would have been on God."
- C.S. Lewis

keep striving...

keep striving

Serve a purpose and
strive to be the best you can be
under any circumstances.

"If you won't be better tomorrow
than you were today,
then what do you need tomorrow for?"
- Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav

hold fast...

hold fast

Vines cling to the side of buildings
by, what is sometimes called,
holdfasts.

"So let us seize and hold fast
and retain without wavering
the hope we cherish and confess
and our acknowledgement of it,
for He Who promised is reliable (sure)
and faithful to His word."
- Hebrews 10:23 AMP

dreamy feeling...

 dreamy feeling

     

"'True love' isn't so much a

dreamy feeling that you have
as it is an enduring commitment
to give sacrificially...
even, or perhaps especially,
when you don't feel like it."
- William R. Mattox, Jr. 

change in direction...

change in direction

"Forget about the consequences of failure.
Failure is only a temporary change in direction
to set you straight for your next success."
– Denis Waitley

spiritually driven work...

spiritually driven work

"What is right?
Simply put, it is any assignment
in which the photographer
has a significant spiritual stake...
spiritually driven work constitutes
the core of a photographer's
contribution to culture."
- William Albert Allard

the Light of the world...

the Light of the world

"I believe in Christianity
as I believe that the sun has risen.
Not only because I see it,
but because by it
I see everything else."
- C. S. Lewis

sharing the spirit...

sharing the spirit

First you must look,
then you must see...
then you must see beyond.

My goal in photography
is to share the spirit
I find within an image.

"I'm always and forever looking
for the image that has spirit!"
- Minor White

refined level of vision...

I am always thinking
how to move my personal expressions
toward a more artistic realm...
trying to achieve a refined level of vision
that translates into a body of work
worthy of attention.

Whatever I achieve along this path,
I put into the hands of God,
the ultimate Creator.

I trust in His plan for my life.

"And we know that in all things
God works for the good
of those who love him,
who have been called
according to his purpose."
- Romans 8:28 NIV
S.D.G.

awe...

awe

Two things awe me most,
the heavens above me
and God's Spirit within me.
(inspired by a quote
from Immanuel Kant)

cat pod...

cat pod

Koko in/on his soap box...
a soap box derby?

“Cats are connoisseurs of comfort.”
- James Herriot

hidden beyond...

hidden beyond

"Such... are the narrow views
of those philosophers who,
content with examining the things
that lie before them,
look not to the truths
which are hidden beyond."
- Charles Dickens
(The Pickwick Papers)

be not afraid...

be not afraid
photo by Lee Keefer

"Be like the bird that,
pausing in her flight awhile
on boughs too slight,
feels them give way beneath her,
and yet sings,
knowing that she hath wings."

- Victor Hugo

on the trail...

on the trail
photo by Faye Doyle

My wife took this photo of me,
recently, on a trip to Lake Placid, NY.

I think I may make this my new profile photo
on Facebook... after a year or two,
it is time for a change.

I love God's creation, love seeking His light,
and love quiet contemplation...
this photo says it all.

new friends, new days...

days and friends

Remember to make new friends
this new year.

You can never have too many friends.

"Old friends pass away, new friends appear.
It is just like the days.
An old day passes, a new day arrives.
The important thing is to make it meaningful:
a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day."
- Dalai Lama