Hoarfrost

It's getting perilously close to the end of the month and since I haven't taken many photos yet in 2012, I dug up a few from 2010 to post here.   I believe in honesty in the media, so I have to disclose this kind of information.

HOARFROST

Delicate snow lace

Fragile and fleeting sculpture

Like icy breath mist

Fashioned in heaven

True ephemeral glory

It's untouchable

On the technical side, all three of these could have benefited from a better background, one that would serve as a contrast to the frost.  I'll keep that in mind for next time.   

Psalm 147: 16-17 (KJV)

He giveth snow like wool: 

he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.

 He casteth forth his ice like morsels: 

who can stand before his cold?

Happy

I haven't taken many photos yet in 2012, in spite of some thought ripples that gave rise to vague ideas that I should take some photos every day.   I'm a victim of my own expectations.   I don't think I'm alone in this (you know who you are). So rather than wallow in the muddy murkiness of unexpressed goals, let me just say right here and now: I will not be taking pictures every day in 2012.  Not even close!  And my photos will often disappoint me by not living up to what my mind's eye had conjured up before I picked up the camera.   There's something perverse about having to lay groundwork like that in order to be happy, but there you have it.

However, I do like goals.  I like News Year's Resolutions, too (shhh...don't spread that around.  New Year's Resolutions have fallen out of favor).   But how about goals that are in some way attainable, goals that challenge, but don't intimidate, goals that inspire, but aren't so lofty that after one day of non-compliance one must crumble in despair?  (I really wrestled with whether or not to end that complicated sentence with a question mark but in the end determined that I had set myself up and must square my shoulders and let it stand.)

With that in mind, I do solemnly set forth the following goals for 2012:
1.  I will learn how to use my electronic flash attachment, even in low light conditions.
2.  I will learn how to photograph silhouettes.
3.  I will make a cheat sheet for my camera (something I've been intending to do for about 2 years now).
4.  I will continue to post in this blog 2 times a month.  Or more, depending on...well, just depending.  Don't count on the extra blog(s).  This means I should probably be using my camera at least twice a month.  I hope that's not too lofty.

Here's a couple photos I took before removing all the vestiges of Christmas from our house.  There's nothing really special about them, but they make me happy.  If I could have some music playing that you and I could listen to while reading this, it would be "Peponi" by the Piano Guys.  Because that makes me happy, too.

Here's the final word on happy:

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
         Whose hope is in the LORD his God...  Psalm 146:5

God is my help and my hope; what more could I ask?

Noise

Phoebe

Hark!  What's that I hear?   Some kind of obnoxious visual static is ruining my groove and it's so loud I really can almost hear it.   When I saw the tiny version of this photo on my camera (and all the other tiny photos that showed on my tiny LCD screen that day), I thought it was lovely.  When I downloaded it and saw it full screen, I had to put my hands over my ears.  NOISE!   I checked the properties of the photo and discovered that my camera did an end run around my intentions and bumped the ISO up to 1600.   When I take an indoor photo without flash in a reasonably well-lit room with the aperture set at F/2.4, I don't expect to be confronted with the number 1600.   The shutter speed was 1/45.   All my photos that day (Christmas, actually) were lousy with noise.   What went wrong here?

Must calm down.   (Breathing deeply...breathing deeply...)  

I've allowed a fair amount of noise in my life, things that take away from the clarity of my thoughts and add static to my brain.   I'm sort of like Counselor Troi when it comes to picking up emotional static from all around me ("Captain, I'm sensing a feeling of loss, of anger...")    There are times when emotional sensitivity comes in handy, but there are lots of times when it becomes NOISE.  I'll let you know if I figure out how to resolve the noise issues in my life.  (Rats!  I should have said "I'll keep you posted.")  It might revolve around taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.  And as for the camera noise?  There's probably a setting deep in the labyrinth of the menu that I've ignored somewhere along the way, or that I set incorrectly, forgetting to leave a trail of bread crumbs on my way out so I could find it again.  

It's the last day of 2011.  I'm posting today mostly because I set a goal of doing two blog posts a month as a discipline.   Before you look at my blog post schedule for this year and see the glaring inconsistencies, let me hastily point out that I made this resolve in September.   (Ha!)   My goal at the beginning of the year was to do one a week, but let's not get caught up in the messy details of my failures.  

Depth of Field

All right, class, it's time for a little lesson on depth of field.  I have a new lens to play with, the official title of which is "smc Pentax-DA 35mm F2.4 AL."  Most of that doesn't mean much to me.  The key piece of information is the F2.4, which means that I now have a wider aperture setting for low light conditions.  More light!   I'm still experimenting with it and have discovered that lower aperture setting requires more care with focusing, since the depth of field (the field in which the camera will focus) becomes smaller with a wider aperture.  (I can almost believe that I'm starting to understand this stuff!)  Here are a couple examples:

In each case the first photo was more focused on the body of the snowman, rather than the face.  There are times for unfocused faces, but this was not one of them.

In life, as in photography, we sometimes need to vary our depth of field, our focus, as it were.  Sometimes we need to see the big picture: F/22, where the depth of field is basically infinity (kind of an interesting concept when you think about it).  But if we spend all our time only looking at the big picture, we miss the individual, or the "particulars," as Francis Schaeffer was fond of saying.  The trick with both the camera and with life, is to have the wisdom to know the best depth of field for each situation.   Jesus saw the whole crowd of 5,000 and fed them.  Jesus also saw the one leper in need of healing and compassion, the one whose face was blurry and unfocused to the rest of the world.   He saw, He focused, He touched, He healed.   If you really want a good lesson on depth of field, go read your Bible and spend some time with the Master Photographer.

What Do You See?

What do you see?  Do you see an old man?  Of course you do, for that is what he is, an old man nearing the end of his journey.  He sleeps most of the time, rarely talks, doesn't remember much.  And that, if you don't know him, is all you can see when you look at these photographs.  That is the limitation of photography and, in fact, a limitation of our eyes.  We can only capture what is visible in that moment in time; we don't see the broad spectrum of what makes that person who he is; we don't see the rich and varied history of his life.

You see an old man. I see my father.  You see white hair, age spots and wrinkles.  I see the gentle, good-humored, kind and dependable man who helped raise me.  You see his current uselessness, while I see a gymnast, a musician, a band teacher, a fisherman, a handyman, a fellow who worked hard, dressed like Mister Rogers and was lovingly faithful to his wife.  You see a man who no longer interacts with his world; I see someone who read to his children, took them on endless camping trips, went swimming with them often every summer, told funny stories, whose knees creaked as he came running up the stairs at night saying, "you kids settle down up there!" and who much later quietly grieved the loss of his oldest daughter.   And even what I see isn't all there is to the man.  Think what his wife and parents could tell, what they could add to our understanding of his life.  Yet with all of that, our picture still isn't complete, for only God knows the deepest parts of a man's soul.

What do you see?  What can any of us really see?  Pray that the God Who Really Sees would open our eyes and give us compassion for those who can no longer tell us who they are.  

Me in my Dad's lap

More Light

When you can't understand "The Idiot's Guide to..." you know you're in trouble.  Such was the case when I started reading photography books, including the Idiot's Guide.  I realized early on that I didn't care about the mechanics of how digital photography works, the acronyms (CCD! SR! RGB!) and all their environs.  I started to skip those chapters in the hopes of finding useful information further on, but was dismayed to find out that in order to get the most out of my camera, I had to disengage the autopilot and engage my brain to make all sorts of decisions.  Is it good for me?  Of course!  Has it been a road filled with error, confusion and frustration?  Absolutely.  I kept large note cards beside me while I read and jotted down all sorts of information that I promptly forgot.  I'm not one of those people who learns by reading; I learn by doing.  Now that I'm older, real learning only takes place when I do it A LOT.  Nevertheless, there have been small triumphs along the way.

Recently I was visiting my mom and dad at the nursing home where my dad lives.  There was a  flower in a vase by the window that caught my eye.  I took the photo  and of course the light coming in behind the vase obscured the flower in darkness - not a bad effect, but not what I was looking for.

As I pondered this business of the light, some dim memory began to surface about different options with light metering.  Didn't I read something about that 2 years ago when I was making all those notes?  Spot metering?  I managed to find it on the menu (no small feat - it's a jungle in there!), changed the setting and took another photo.  Amazing difference!

Although there's almost too much light in this photograph, my usual cry is "more light! more light!"  I crave light.  Even in the winter when opening the drapes means letting in more cold, I don't hesitate.  I have to have it.   My soul craves it as well; my cry to Jesus is "more light! more light!"   Psalm 36:9 says

"For with You is the fountain of life; 

     In Your light we see light."

There you have it.  More light must come from the Source of light and life.  It is He who opens up the aperture, who spreads wide the drapes that darken our souls.  Hallelujah!

Imagination

Imagination allows us to pick up a weirdly shaped yellow pepper and "see" a pirate lurking in it.   In this case, Sam's imagination prompted him to make his idea a reality by adding the right props, as you can see.  

Vegetables actually provide a lot of "scope for the imagination," to quote Anne with an "e."   When I was cleaning our potatoes, I found one that was the spittin' image of a bare hiney.  Now why didn't I get a picture of that?  Probably a subconscious sense of modesty kept me from making a permanent record.   However, I did get a picture of these carroty friends sharing a sweet embrace (I can almost imagine that it is a joyful reunion after a long separation, or perhaps a last hug before one has to leave the other for an extended time).

I propose this definition:  Imagination is a function of creation: it is the means by which we create new ideas, for better or for worse, from that which we see and know in the real world.  Why on earth did God give us imaginations?  For certainly imagination has its dark side as well - those of you who have imagined fearful and dark things in the future, or who have created harmful fantasy images know of which I speak.  As far as I know, the Bible doesn't say much about our imaginations...or does it?  It is said "...we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ," and Paul's injunction to the Philippians is to let their minds dwell on those things which are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent or worthy of praise.  Thinking creatures must imagine.  Our imaginations will either be sanctified or sullied; true or tainted; whimsical or warped.   Thank God for your imagination and then ask Him to make it like His.   He came to make all things new.