Rock, Paper... Iron.

 Camera: Nikon D60

Aperture - f/5.6

 Exposure- 1/30

 ISO- 1600
Lens- 50mm

No Flash.

Tip: Don't just settle for indoor light if you don't have to. If it's daylight and you have access to a window, open up the shades and get some natural light in! Helps avoid that yellowy hue in your shot.

Friends- wonderful blessings indeed! There for us to celebrate the good, to help us through the bad, and everything in between. Like rock and paper, one can easily get carried away with any little breeze of obsession or feeling; it's great to have a friend who acts as a rock to help keep us held down from going crazy and being swept away.


Another great thing about friends is that they can cause us to see ourselves and the world around us in a whole new way. As long as you are careful to keep good friends, you can really learn a lot! Often we seem to have a problem though: there are so many means of entertainment these days, that we really don't think about trying to have meaningful conversations and to learn from one another.

Having a truly meaningful conversation with a friend (in most cases) is something that must be struck up intentionally. Some times one can have a great conversation by chance, but often it doesn't just come up out of nowhere. You have to ask the right questions. I am very thankful to have all my friends, but particularly thankful for the few that will suddenly pop out theological topics in conversation. Thanks to them, I have had the pleasure of talking of and contemplating things that I maybe otherwise wouldn't have.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another"
 - Proverbs 27:17


Like in the above verse, we need to make a conscious effort to talk about things that will 'sharpen' our friends. Things that will make them think, give them strength, and most importantly, things that will help them become closer with God!

Well, It's A Bit Cliche, but...

 

 Camera: Nikon D60

Aperture - f/5.3

 Exposure- 1/30

 ISO- 560
Lens- 38mm

No Flash.

Tip: Consider color contrast when you take a photo- it can really help things pop!

I know, this is pretty cliche- a post about being thankful just before Thanksgiving. What can I say? I couldn't resist. Might as well go with the seasons, right? But honestly, I might have written about thankfulness anyways, even if the holiday wasn't this coming Thursday, because I heard a very interesting point concerning the topic recently.

Everyone is thankful in their lives. This time of year especially. But the thing I am here to point out is this: When you are thankful, who are you thankful to? It is just in our nature to always have some one or something to give credit to. Why is this? Because we were made with the life purpose of glorifying God. We have Him to thank for everything; so, do we act accordingly?

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Out of Tune

Camera: Nikon D60

Aperture - f/5.3

 Exposure- 1/10
ISO- 1600
Lens- 44mm

No Flash.

 

Along with photography, I have a lot of other hobbies. One of which, is playing guitar. Sadly, since I usually have so much going on, I don't manage to find much time to practice, and therefore have not been able to get very good. So, while many folks who've played guitar for 5 years are able to tune them by ear, I still remain reliant upon my little electronic tuner.

While I may not be able to get my guitars back in tune without help, I can however, tell from strumming a couple of chords if they are out of tune. A similar (but much bigger) situation seems to often arise within people's minds, concerning the world in which we live. I think just about all of you could agree that society has a problem. You can watch, and listen, and you just KNOW things are not right- but why?

How come we are so sure of this fact? If everything is relative, as many like to say, why is it so readily agreed upon that there is a lot of evil in this world- and what defines evil? How did we get the idea of morals that civil societies uphold- like that it is wrong to lie, steal, murder, ect.? Even people who commit crimes often end up with a nagging conscience- what's up with that?

Like the musical absolutes that are programmed into my guitar tuner, there are moral absolutes programmed into us by God. "Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them." - Romans 2:14-15

*The law referred to may be found in Exodus 20:3-17.

Hotter Than A Pan Of Burnt Popcorn

Camera: Nikon D60

Aperture - f/10

 Exposure- 1/400
ISO- 100
Lens- 38mm

No Flash.

Oh, it's nearly here- Election Day 2012 is on Tuesday the 6th! This whole election has been hotter than a pan of burning popcorn. I have never heard so much talk of politics, nor heard so much derogatory speech aimed towards two individuals, as I have in the past year. Do you recall ever seeing a whole entourage of clothing bashing past presidents? Perhaps I only notice this stuff more now that I am old enough to vote, but I just do not recall seeing much of the type of thing pictured above in reference to presidents gone by.

As the candidates have verbally dueled it out these past few months, I have began to notice that nobody seems to have any sense of respect anymore. I will not hesitate to say that I do not like a lot of what's gone on over the past 4 years, but that man in the White House is still our top governing authority, and as such, should receive the respect due to the office he holds. On top of that, he is human, and therefore like all other humans, created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."). 

When the votes are in on Tuesday, no matter who wins, just remember this:

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." - Romans 13:1-2

Getting Looks

Advice: Candid shots at events can be really fun! Get a camera with a good zoom (or a good zoom lens!) and hide out in the crowd, taking shots from a distance where you will not be noticed.

When Christians share the Gospel with people, often times they will get some rather unflattering looks; particularly from those who are known to be great scholars by the world's standards. Fortunately, despite the popular saying about "If looks could kill, I'd be dead", God does not seem to have ordained that any of His people be killed by a disdainful expression. At least, I have not heard of an instance where this has happened.

So why do so many people feel nervous to share the message proclaimed in the Bible? For those of us who live in America, where so far we still have the freedom to speak of Christ without being killed or physically harmed (in most cases), likely all we will receive are disagreeable words and expressions, or at worst, no longer be spoken to by the individual again. Isn't it a small chance to take when their lives are at stake?

Some may say that it seems a little over dramatic to say one's life is at stake just because they do not believe the Bible, especially when they can see no visible danger posed toward them. But here is the thing about dangers- it's the invisible ones you REALLY have to be worried about. If some one knew there was a deranged killer in the back seat of your car, wouldn't you want them to tell you? And to the one who knows about the killer- wouldn't you be doing a tremendous disservice to some one by leaving them to be killed without warning? Would you hold back giving them such important information just because you'd be afraid they might call you an idiot or become angry at you because they perceive your message as a waste of their time?


"Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." -2 Corinthians 9:13

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God..."
 - 2 Peter 3:10-12a

Brain Freeze

Well, I really wanted to post something meaningful for you guys to read today, but somehow I'm very brain dead! It's odd, cause I have taken a bunch of new photos this week, as well as had the pleasure of attending some really great sermons, yet nothing is clicking for a blog post. I guess all I can say is sometimes God answers my prayer for inspiration with a "yes!" and sometimes with "not today, Sarah". Whether He gives me something to write or not, either way, may the Lord's will be done.

"Our God is in heaven;
    he does whatever pleases him."
- Psalm 115:3

 Advice: When ever possible, do a portrait shoot on a day with storm clouds- it provides terrific lighting on your subject without distracting shadows!

 Also on a side note, this is a totally candid shot of me taken by Zachary R. I was trying to hold my hair down because there was a very strong wind blowing, but I thought it made for a good "Brain Dead" picture :)

Smoke Veils & Liberation

Camera: Nikon D60

Aperture - f/5.6

 Exposure- 1/1600
ISO- 200
Lens- 200mm

No Flash.

Advice: Don't always run on auto! For this shot, I had to do a LOT of experimenting with manual exposure for the lighting, as well as messing around with the manual focus- autofocus refused to allow the bridge to show up!

For quite some time we've been plagued with massive clouds of smoke where I live. Yeah, that's right, that isn't fog in this photograph! The day I took it, we had barely over a mile viability. Then on Friday (after 83 days of dry weather) we finally got some rain! Hooray! The veil of smoke is now gone, and we can enjoy fresh air and take in the lovely fall colors that have been rapidly appearing.

Looking at this picture, I think of how in the Bible things were spoken of as being "veiled". When the rain came, our veil of smoke was lifted, the beautiful fall colors could be seen & we could regain our liberty to breathe outdoors. Likewise, when we turn to the Lord, it is as if a veil is lifted from our line of sight. We begin to see the glory of God, notice His hand in the happenings of the world, and we become liberated from the bondage of sin! (That however is not to say we will never sin while still on this earth, but that we are no longer slaves to sinful desires).

"Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 16-18


"The creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." - Romans 8:21