All Alone….
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
Sometimes in this world, we feel so all alone. But then we come to find out that someone was watching over us.
The other day there was a thick fog all around so I knew I had to get out shooting. But I only had about 30 minutes to do anything. So I called a neighbor to see if I could shoot in their backyard because they have the most interesting backyard. Well these are some of the things that I found.
Thanks Martha and Dean.
A very good friend of mine (find Elsa’s work here) shared with me this piece that she had written. I was so blow away by it that I had to share it with you. I hope this touches you like it influenced me.
———-
Who I am is a small part of the creative process; not a shaker or a mover but a still, small, hopeful voice in a great big room of dreamers. To understand what it is like to create something so wonderful that the love returned would reveal my intent, my heart…this is more than I can fathom.
I am the created, an imitator. The choices that I make define who I am. No amount of the genetic pool from which I come can sway the vote. If I were known before the conception of my parts occurred, then why do I strive to be me? So flawed I am despite my likeness to the Creator.
Is it possible that the pounding of those nails made the intangible understand so well this tangible being? To be returned to that once innocent, pure creation took the bleeding of my maker. Does red run white after it’s freed?
Can I be known from start to finish and loved for all that is between? The dawn to sunset emotions I cast on others, the swaying of my boat battered back and forth across the waves, my stedfast foot upon the shore… all are written in the only strand of DNA that really counts-His.
I must lose my small voice so that the image I bear can be heard. If I do, then all that I was purposed for will be complete. I won’t just be a hope, a dream from someone else’s making… the grace of living life at all will be the most important part of being me.
~Elsa
The City Comes Alive…
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
This is a view of the Minneapolis skyline including the historical Stone Arch Bridge. For this particular image I used a relatively new technique called HDR or High Dynamic Range.
HDR,or HDRI stands for High Dynamic Range Imaging. It consists of taking several pictures of the exact same frame, each frame moving from a dark exposure to a light exposure, then combining the pictures. This allows for a photo in which the darkest and lightest parts of the picture have detail, where a single photo of normal exposure won’t have detail in these areas.
Not everyone like this technique. Some people think it is not real or it makes a shot look too fake. Well, for my two cents, I love this technique. It makes many pictures look fantastic and magical.
The software I use is Photomatix. You can find more information here
Caribbean Sunrise
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
This is a view of the beautiful Caribbean Sea off of Cancun Mexico. This glorious sunrise is just a small hint of the beauty of this place.
A Time Gone By….
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
A shot of a old barn found very close to the big city of Minneapolis or St Paul Minnesota. It is great to find little hidden treasures like this so close to the metropolis. I guess it was a great day for shooting.
Check out more great photography at the flickr site.
Wine and Light
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
For this photo I was attempting to work on the skill of lighting and also the skill of setting up a scene. While I like the wine the scene itself was not that good….
Kite Boarding II
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
Have you ever heard of kite boarding? This is snowboarding by being pulled by a big kite.
I went to a park to try to get some sunset shots and this is what I found.
BTW this is all the proof I have of snow in our area.
"The Heavens Declare the Glory of God…"
Musical Dreams
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
I dropped my son off at guitar lessons and I had to do something…
This is a must read book. I heard an intervew with the author on Dennis Prager today 1/2/07. This is a great example of truth that you will not hear at the university or on regular television.
Radical social agendas have taken over campus health and counseling, and it’s making students sick. Dr Anonymous should know: she’s treated over 2000 students at a prestigious university, and seen first hand how the anything-goes, women-are-just like- men, “safer-sex” agenda harms our sons and daughters. After years of hesitation, she’s speaking up.
In Unprotected you will learn:
* About an Ivy League university’s health website that okays risky behaviors including S&M, “swinging”, and bestiality
* How campus health centers hound students to stop smoking, eat right, get enough sleep, and wear sunscreen, but tacitly approve of promiscuity, and whitewash the consequences of sexually transmitted infections
* How HIV education is distorted, causing hysteria among students who are at no risk for infection
* How campus counselors focus on sexual orientation, abuse, molestation, cigarettes and caffeine, but neglect to ask students about abortion
* How ideology-driven health services lead young women to believe they are just like men – and to pay a high price for it.
* How, despite strong evidence of significant health benefits of church attendance and faith in God, psychology remains anti-religion — an irrational, out-dated prejudice Dr Anonymous calls “theophobia”
Parents, educators, and health providers are all disturbed and mystified by the epidemic of sexually transmitted infections on our college campuses, as well as the rampant depression, suicidal behavior, eating disorders, and cutting. Dr Anonymous has seen it all. The solution, she contends, is not Zoloft or condoms. Instead, she urges her colleagues to stop feeding students platitudes about diet and exercise and misinformation about “protection”. What campus counselors and health providers must do, she argues, is tell uncomfortable, politically-incorrect truths, especially to young patients in their most vulnerable and confusing moments.
About the Author
ANONYMOUS, M.D. is a psychiatrist at the counseling center of a major American university. A campus atmosphere of intolerance forces her to conceal her identity.
Note: The author is now know. She is Dr. Mariam Grossman, M.D. Psychiatrist, UCLA
On the show today, they were talking about the terrible consequences of the "Friends with benefits" type of relationship especially on girls.
No normal way to get "health" information on campus is often very sick like this one from Columbia University Go Ask Alice . Wow is the world turned upside down.
A Frozen Fence Runs Through It…
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
The quiet desperation of winter.
My family and I went to the new movie "The Nativity Story" this weekend http://www.thenativitystory.com/
First of all getting four kids, two of which are boys in high school, to go to a movie that is not filled with action and killing is a big feat (that is another whole story in itself). Anyway with a little bribing and arm twisting we got them all there but it was not in vain.
The movie is a beautifully, artfully told story of the birth of Jesus.
The things I loved.
The only negative thing about the movie was that the movie theater was not packed. So, I will do my part to tell everyone I know to get to the movie.
I highly recommend it. It is a must see for getting you in the right Christmas spirit even during this very busy season.
Boy I have not posted on here in a really long time. My life tends to move in cycles and during a particular cycle I can sometimes be consumed by my current focus or direction.
Anyway, let me tell you a little about a current activity. While at work, I actually have to do real work most of the time. This is awesome because I stay focused and the day goes by very quickly and I also stay out of trouble. But one thing I can do is listen to scripture being read on-line.
You may or may not be familiar with this service or capability. If not, let me introduce you to it. There is a really wonderful web site http://www.gospelcom.net that has all kinds of resources for spiritual growth. One of the resources is the Bible on-line at http://www.biblegateway.com/ But there is even a more wonderful resource than "Just the Bible" (said with tongue firmly in place in cheek), This resource is a Bible reading plan that actually helps you get through the Bible at whatever pace is right for you. You can find the reading plans here http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/ . Now the best thing is, you can chose a reading plan and then actually listen to the Bible being read to you by a person with one of the most wonderful voices I have ever heard. The readers name is Max McLean and he is actually a professionally trained theater type person with a ministry to record the reading of the Bible. He has actually memorize the entire Bible as part of his work so he can live what he is reading.
With all that being said, I ran across Psalm 19:14 and with Max reading it and the Spirit moving it hit me deeply. This verse could become a complete philosophy to live by… The verse is…
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
I know you have probably heard this before like I have but I want it to be a major focus of mine. Lord, help me to have a mind like this all the time.
You can also find Max in other convenient listening options.
… … …
Finished day, Finished Summer….
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
This was the end of a fabulous day of family, fishing and fun…
Morning Fog
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
This shot was captured on a recent camping trip to Tylors Falls MN on the St Croix River.
It was captured pretty early in the morning before anyone was up. To me, this is almost a sacred time of the day.
Let’s Go Canoeing
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
The St Croix River divides Minnesota and Wisconsin north of the Twin City Metro Area. This river is a wonderful place to spend a day canoeing. The people that run the tours really know how to put people on the river. This shot will give you an idea of there ability to get people canoeing.
The Pastors Retreat Network is a ministry that has energized more than 3,500 pastors nationwide by offering free retreats to both them and their spouses. Their goal is straightforward: to glorify God and build His kingdom by strengthening Christian pastors for better ministry to the people they lead.
The United States is currently losing approximately 1,200 small churches and 1,500 pastors each month. One of the reasons is that the work of ministry often takes precedence over their personal relationship with God – the reason they entered ministry in the first place.
While a pastor’s job can be exceedingly rewarding, it also can be weighed down by the responsibilities and stresses associated with serving their congregations. Their ability to succeed and thrive in ministry is deeply rooted in the quality of their personal relationship with God.
That relationship can best be attended to and developed during times of solitude, prayer and reflection, and in company of others who share a similar calling. If you know of a pastor who might be interested in a retreat, will you please forward this information to him/her?
This service or ministry to pastors is free because the five-day retreats are supported through private, charitable contributions. That’s the beauty of this ministry. Now there’s a program available that cares for pastors and their spouses who spend so much time caring for others. If you have questions, please go to www.pastorsretreatnetwork.com or call toll-free 1-866-703-9544. Thanks!
Minneapolis Stone Arch Bridge
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
My brother commissioned me to shoot the historic stone arch bride in Minneapolis for him.
Here is the first of that series.
Enjoy.
Dramatic Sun Set…
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
This is just one example of the types of sunsets we get here in Minnesota. Man I love summer!!!
Morning Leaf
Originally uploaded by !!WaynePhotoGuy.
It is really unusual to have the remnants of fall this late into spring or almost summer. But we did indeed have it and this is how I captured it….
More on Gold…. Don’t put your trust in Gold, but if you are a real investor, you really want to consider putting some of your money into Gold.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures tapped the $700-an-ounce level Tuesday for the first time since October 1980, with the June contract last up $19.90 at $699.80. "It is not the fact that gold is close to breaking above $700 that has surprised us, but rather the pace at which it is expanding," said Matthew Parry, an economist at Moody’s Economy.com. He emphasized, however, that his company "does not … envisage the current bull-run having much further to go once $700 has been broken." Assuming the recent escalation of geopolitical tensions subsides going forward, and global inflation comes under control, the price of gold should return to negative territory, falling back below $600 in 2007…."
Complete Story: Gold futures tap $700 for first time in nearly 26 years – MarketWatch.
+ + + MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER
+ +
MRC NEWS REPORT FOR MAY 2, 2006
+ +
From the Desk of:
Douglas Mills
5/3/06
As difficult as it may seem, the media is getting the story
wrong in the current gas crisis. Just last Tuesday, media
outlets nationwide targeted ExxonMobil as a villain in
the current gas crisis–waving their collective fingers
at the conglomerate for raking in record profits for
shareholders.
However, what the media failed to report is that our
government is actually raking in far more profit from
a $3 gallon of gas than Exxon–and they aren’t assuming
any risk!
For the eye-popping, Cyberalerts report:
If you have not diversified into Gold yet… Read this again.
Gold Heads for a Second Monthly Gain, Buoyed by Fund Interest April 28 (Bloomberg) — Gold headed for its second consecutive monthly gain, spurred by investment fund buying and speculation the U.S. dollar will decline.
Gold has gained 24 percent this year, partly on increased investment by funds seeking to diversify their portfolios. The dollar is poised for its biggest monthly drop in a year-and-a- half against the euro and yen on speculation interest rates will rise faster in Europe and Japan than the U.S. Some investors buy gold as a hedge against declines in the dollar.
Complete Story: Gold Heads for a Second Monthly Gain.
