These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness

And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

Psalms 145: 7

For this last blog post of 2015 I went down memory lane.  I looked back at 2015 and selected my favorite images.  I narrowed it down to 18. That was not an easy task.

Each image below, while not neccessarily the best photograph, is one which emotes memories for me.  I was so blessed to travel across this great land and see some amazing things.  As I looked at each of these photos I remembered the place and the wonderful people with whom I was allowed to share them.

I shout joyfully of the goodness of God!

Sparks Lane, Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains NP

Sunrise from the Foothills Parkway, Townsend, TN

Tremont, Great Smoky Mountains NP

Gettysburg Battlefield, PA

Amish farm, Lancaster, PA

Bennington, VT

Bar Harbor, ME

Sunrise, Bar Harbor, ME

Nubble Light, York, ME

Window sill, Ogunquit, ME

Ogunquit, ME

Perkins Cove, ME

Cadet Chapel, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY

Roaring Fork, Great Smoky Mountains NP

Baptist Church, Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains NP

Acadia NP, ME

Acadia NP

Sunrise, Newfound Gap, Great Smoky Mountains NP

 May 2016 be filled with blessings, joy, and His peace for you all.

What's It All About?

Ohh! It's almost Christmas. The decorations are all in place. The cards are all sent. The gifts are all purchased, wrapped and under the tree.  The kitchen smells like the most wonderful restaurant ever!

Soon families will gather, eat too much, laugh a lot, exchange gifts, and pretend that that awful tie from Aunt Zelda is just the perfect fashion accessory.

Ohh! It's Christmas.

But wait! Haven't we forgotten something?

For a child has been born -- for us!

the gift of a son -- for us!

Isaiah 9:6 (Message)

Ahhh! Now I get it! I hope others do too.

Reflecting

When I saw, I reflected upon it;

I looked, and received instruction.

Proverbs 24:32

Here we are at the end of another year.  This is always a good time for us to look back and think about all that has occurred in our lives.  This is a time to reflect.

But, just looking back and remembering is really not very helpful. The questions I  must ask: "How can I learn from what has passed?"

How can I make sure that I eliminate those things from the past year that were not pleasing to the Lord? I need to strive to not repeat behaviors which are not according to His will for me.

How can I continue those thoughts and actions which caused me to grow in a positive way? How can I become more of a man of God?

Good questions upon which to reflect!

Playing Games

It is almost a year until the next election for President of the United States. I am already weary of hearing the politicians make their promises.

They are playing games with us!  They often say what they think we want to hear, or they say what they think will  do them no political harm.

One in particular reminds me of Sandra Bullock's character in "Miss Congeniality".  The message is constant - "I'm going to do this and it will be great!"  However, there is never any substance to back up how the great thing will be accomplished.  I keep waiting for him to say, as Bullock did, "world peace".

We must not let those empty promises deceive us.

As I have been thinking about the politicians' games, I began to think about playing games on a more individual, spiritual level.  And, of course, eventually God led me to ask myself, "Am I playing games with my Christian walk?"

Tough question.  I have work to do!

For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites;

and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

Romans 16:18

Maintaining the Temple

Do you not know that your are a temple of God

and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 3:16

I have photographed a lot of homes across this great nation.  Homes on the prairie, homes in the city, big homes, little cabins, abandoned homes, and great mansions have all been at the other end of my camera lens.

As I was looking at some of those images today I began to think about the verse above.  Our body is a home.  It is the place where the Holy Spirit chooses to live.

That made me think.  Am I doing what I could  and should to maintain that home?  I think I have some cleaning to do.

Tomorrow

At the end of the Great Smoky Mountains Photography Summit the leaders shared with us their plans for the 2016 Summit.  We were encouraged to make our plans now to attend.  All of us make plans for the future.  We plan careers, we plan families, we plan vacations, we plan menus.  We are planners.

We think often about tomorrow, or next week, next season, next year. But we should be thinking more about how we will live today. What path will we walk today? Who will we touch today and what difference will it make?

As I listen to the news I am constantly reminded of the fragile nature of life.  Vehicle crashes, disease,  planes being bombed - all bring me to realize once again that tomorrow is far away. None of us know what is down the road or around the curve.

Think today about today.  Live it, love it, use it to make a difference.

Yet your do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.

You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

James 4:14

Cleaning Up the Little Things

Photographers are taught over and over again to keep clutter out of our images.  Simple is usually better.

Sometimes you do that before you take the picture.  How you set up the composition can help.  The angle, the light, the distance from you subject can all affect how "clean" your image is.

Sometimes you can clean up your image in post-processing. There are many programs that will help you with this.  Many people are familiar with Photoshop.  It is one program that photographers use.

Now before the photo purist start to rant, let me point out that Ansel Adams, one of the great photographers of the past, altered his images in the dark room.  He cleaned them up there, just like photographers do now with computer programs.

This is an image that I "cleaned" in post-processing.

Here is the before image.

There is a dramatic difference.

I just took out a lot of little things.

Our life is like that.  We let lots of little sins creep in over time.  After a while our life is cluttered with lots of little sins.  Are they less "sinful" than the big ones?  I think not.

While it would be better to take those sins out before they happen, like the photographer cleans an image before it is taken, we often don't do that.  So, let's examine our life and clean up all those little things we do that we know don't please God.

Wash me throughly from my iniquity

And cleanse me from my sin.

Psalms 51: 2

My Favorite Photography Gifts

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9: 15

Here are a few of the images that are fast becoming my favorite ones from my visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I am so grateful for these gifts!  "Close up" is my personal favorite style of photography to shoot.

#GreatSmokySummit

Be Grateful Even When

Yesterday I talked about the surprise gift of Charlie in the church.

Today I want to share about my last day in the Smokies.

I got up early Sunday morning to take one last photo trip. I wanted to see if I could photograph a sunrise over a foggy valley.  Photographers often go out with a preconceived idea of what they would like to capture with the camera.

I made my way to an overlook on the Foothills parkway. I had shot there before and I knew I could see the sun coming up over the mountains and casting light into the valley below. I hoped for two things.  First I hoped for fog in the valley.  Second I hoped for the sun to break through the clouds.  I got neither!

But, I did meet another photographer there.  She was a local resident.  And, after waiting for the sunrise that wasn't, she told me she was going to another location nearby that usually had fog.  Aha! I asked if I could follow her there.  I figured one out of two was a pretty good day.  She agreed so we drove the few miles to Look Rock.

On the way I thanked God for sending the lady to lead me to a new location.

Hurray! There was fog.  There was lots of fog!  In fact after I took two photographs the fog exploded and I could not see the valley at all!  I have learned that photographers must expect the unexpected and be ready to shoot what is before you even if it is not what you set out to do.  So, I began to look around.

My friendly guide suggested a colorful tree that was in the parking lot.  Nope. Too much fog!

Tomorrow I will show you what I photographed.  As I took those images, I realized that they may be my favorites from the entire week.  Yep, I had no intention of taking them, but because I accepted the circumstances that God gave me I have some images that I am very thankful for.

Life is always better when we look for what He gives us, accept it gratefully, and move forward!

Not that I speak from want,

for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Philippians 4: 11

#GreatSmokySummit

Surprise Gifts

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights,

with whom there is no variation of shifting shadow.

James 1: 17

I have been sharing this week pictures from my recent visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

On Saturday the group I was with went to Cade's Cove.  Now if you are at all familiar with the Smokies you know that they are the most visited National Park in our nation.  And you know that many of those 30 million annual visitors like to come in the fall.  You also know that Cade's Cove is one of the most popular places to visit in the fall.  Finally, you probably know that the road through Cade's Cove is a very narrow, one way road.  I have seen it take eight hours to make the eleven mile ride around the cove.

Our group did not have eight hours!  We had other things on the agenda.

What a relief to arrive early and find that the traffic was moving well through the Cove. Those of us who had been there before were grateful for the gift of easy flow through the area.

But, God had a bigger, better treat for us!

Our first stop was at the Primitive Baptist Church.  It was my first visit there in a long time so I was excited to have the opportunity to photograph it.  As I made my way toward the front door, I heard the most wonderful music emanating from inside.




On the front pew sat Charlie playing a bowed Psaltery.  Charlie comes to the church several times a week just to enjoy playing and sharing his music with visitors. He was more than kind to play for us.  He was even gracious to move to another location in the church to accommodate us photography nuts with better light.

Not one photographer in our group went to Cade's Cove expecting to photograph people.  We were, after all, landscape photographers!  In addition to the glorious colors of the season, God chose to give us what we did not expect.

If we look for them, we can find gifts like that from Him every day!  Keep your eyes open.

#GreatSmokySummit

Announce His Goodness

  All Your works shall give thanks to You,

O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You.

Psalms 145: 10

During this time of year, where I live, the earth puts on a magnificent display for all to see.  There are vibrant colors everywhere.  Acres and acres of crops are harvested. The whole of nature seems to be shouting about the greatness of God.

It is one of my favorite times of the year.  Autumn reminds me to do as nature does. I need to announce my gratitude for all the times in my daily life when God has been good to me.

I hope each of you will take the time this day to tell someone else how God has been good to you.

#GreatSmokySummit