Mercy at Ground Zero

On August 11th of 2003, the OBCC high school mission team to Philadelphia took a trip to the former site of the World Trade Center, Ground Zero in New York City. This was probably the most humbling experience of my life.

I was standing on a sidewalk that nearly 2 years prior, was covered with the remains of two of the tallest buildings in the world, the wreckage of two jet planes and countless deceased. It was as if time stopped for me when I stopped to think about how many people died in that exact spot. Of course capitalism had taken over the area by that time. Street vendors were selling every manor of chachki that related to the disaster. As a matter of fact I bought a laser etched acrylic block remembering the event.

All around the site there was still evidence of the devastation. The face of a near by building had been sheered off, there were cracks in the sidewalk and there were boarded windows and construction fences blocks away. But dead center in the middle of it all there seemed to be hope. There was construction happening in the "bathtub" foundation of the site, and at the south end of it all was an i-beam framing structure in the shape of a cross. As if God was in control. The fence in the picture was built all around the site. A sturdy, permanent fence around 12 feet high. Not really the kind of fence you can climb. There were signs every 20 feet or so that said "Do not write on fence." But no one obeyed, not even our team. We all had something to say. We felt that somehow we owed it to those who died to remember them somehow.

"Please Lord God, in your wrath, remember mercy. " Habakuk 3:2. Such a statement in such a place. This stood out to me more than any other bit of graffiti on the fence. There were thousands of names written, and much profanity to those who caused this. There were words of remembrance and consolation, but this was the only one I saw that spoke true Christianity. Jesus is all about love, forgiveness, and mercy, and as hard as it may be to share those feelings here, this is what it is like to truly be like Jesus. Please don't get me wrong, I want to see justice served to those responsible, but Jesus died for all.

A simple message scribbled on a fence said so much.

Kentucky Kitty 2010

When in Kentucky this past summer we helped a lady out by building a few handicapped ramps for her. She was to have surgery on her ankle and needed to keep all weight off of it for a few weeks and would end up using a wheel chair. She was very friendly and had a passion for stray animals. She had 2 ducks, a whole bunch of chickens (and a rooster) at least 2 dogs and who knows how many cats. In the week we worked there she actually took in another kitty. The cat here in the photo was only a few weeks old and wasn't afraid of anything. She (I'm assuming a she) would stand under the miter saw while we were cutting boards. Wasn't afraid to walk around us while hammers were swinging and 2 x 4's were flying all over the place. Any way she was only about 8 inches long and really a cute kitty. Nearly every one who worked on this project wanted to take her home. One of the young ladies decided to buy a bag of cat food and bring it out to the site. Unfortunately she placed the food right where we were to be working. You know how hard it is to dig a hole with a cat looking into it? The sad thing about the animals of this area is that they all end up with fleas and tics and other ailments almost at birth. You can see that she already has goobers coming out of her eye. This is the nice thing about a photograph of a cat. No mess to clean up, or food to buy, but with all the benefits of looking at a pretty kitty. This was shot with a Canon Powershot SD 1100 is at 1/320th of a second f/2.8

Woodridge Red Sox 2008

There is something comforting about little league baseball. So much of it is intangible. Not like a major league park with the smell of the fresh cut grass and hot dogs, or the sounds of the organ playing with the vendors yelling "beer here". But things like seeing parents working as first base coaches or scorekeepers. And trying to find a spot in the parking lot where you don't think your car will get hit by a foul ball. Or, cheering for that kid who is just awful and seeing him finally get that first hit after 30 strikeouts.

Both of my kids have played little league ball, and Joey was the last to play in 2008. I think it was Bronco league for Woodridge. The season starts in the spring with evening games where the temperatures drop into the 40's by the end of the game, and by the time the season wraps up temps are in the mid 80's. For as much as you have to deal with, these were some of my favorite nights of the year.

I wanted to try to get some nice shots at one of his games. but I didn't want the typical wide shot. It sounds funny, but composing a good shot for sports is really tough. So I asked my sister in law if I could borrow her 70-300mm zoom to get some nice close-up shots. This was my favorite from this game. I love the action in this shot, especially the dirt and stones spraying up from under the base runners legs. Neither of these children are mine. Joey didn't like to slide.

This was made with my Canon Rebel XT and a 70-300mm zoom.

Cloudgate - April 2010

I decided to spend sometime by myself in the city (Chicago) the other day. Just me and my camera... and a few million other people. It was a beautiful day. Temps were in the mid-sixties and not a cloud to be seen. So late in the morning I decided to head downtown. I left my truck at my parents house in Westmont and took the Burlington Northern Metra line in. I haven't been on a train in close to twenty years and wasn't sure what to expect in prices. Surprisingly cheap. The first thing everyone does when they leave union station is look straight up. The Willis Tower looms over the Chicago River like a giant about to take a drink. It's Chicago's biggest celebrity and people like up to take pictures of it. Including me. I walked down Jackson St. heading toward the lake, taking pictures along the way. Interesting architecture, people, or even an occasional store sign. When I got to Michigan Ave. I turned north toward Millennium Park. There was a large crowd assembling at Millennium Park so I stood around for a while to see what was up. A scene for the upcoming movie "Source Code" was being filmed and a portion of the park was closed to the public. After a while I took the long way over to "the bean" to grab some nice reflection shots. Unfortunately they had just shut down that exhibit. So I positioned my self as close as I could get and shot the picture you see here. It didn't occur to me until later that a shot of the sculpture with no one around it is pretty rare. Seems to be a blessing in disguise.

This was shot with my Canon 50D and the 28-135mm is lens at 1/640 sec, f/8, ISO 200 in aperture priority mode. Converted to black and white in Photoshop CS4. Minor adjustments for contrast. Seagull atop removed with clone stamp. Darn seagull!

Two Become One

This past weekend I shot Lee and Kelly's wedding out in Crown Point Indiana. It was a beautiful wedding even though it rained most of the day. This was at a Lutheran church with incredible stone and wood work in the sanctuary. It had a very traditional look. The Lutherans have some odd rules about wedding photography during the ceremony which forbade me from entering the sanctuary to take pictures during the wedding. So even though I had to shoot from the foyer, I thought the pics still turned out well.

This shot is one I've been using now for about 8 months or so. As you can see, when the rings are stood up in the crease of a book, and you have a light source behind them, the shadow becomes a heart. I like to open a Bible up to

1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter) and make sure some of the chapter is visible. This is one that Lee asked for specifically. We were all in the foyer with bright overhead fluorescent light. There seemed to be no way to get the shadow. One of his groomsmen pulled out a cell phone and used the cameras flash. A pure white LED light. We turned off the foyer lights and after some positioning of the light on the phone, we got a great shadow.

This was shot with my Canon 50D and a Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 1/60sec at f/4 with an ISO of 250. Lens was at 24mm.

Congrats Lee and Kelly.

Praise - Alternate

OK, This is the alternate color scheme. Which one do you like better?

Praise

I've been trying my hand at graphic design lately and found that I have a knack for it. (I think) So after showing some of my work off my friend Sharron asked if I could do her a favor. She and a few other people from our worship team are putting together books with all of the lead sheets used for the worship services at OBCC. Knowing that I'm dabbling in graphics she asked me to design a cover for the binder. I love jobs like this because I learn so much about Photoshop every time I do one of these. It seems to be great way to develop my skills. she gave me a brief description of her vision and told me the verse that they wanted on the cover. Psalm 66:8 "Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard!"

I found the graphic of the hands on line, but I took a picture of some sheet music for the top of the page. The music is Prelude in C Major from the Well Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach, taken with my Canon SD1100 point and shoot. The idea here is that our praise is rising to heaven, or up to God.

After a little debate about the color, we eventually agreed on the original shown here. I'll upload the alternate color scheme too.

I Love My Truck

I have been a Chevy fan as long as I can remember, so it really surprises me that I love my Ford. After being laid off last year I quickly realized that I needed a vehicle. Ben needed the mini-van and Melissa drives the Blazer so I was stuck at home . I decided to check with my old company to see if they were getting rid of any of the old work trucks and wouldn't you know it, they were. This was the better of the two vehicles and it fell into a price range I could afford. Now I've wanted a pickup truck since I was a teenager and even though I still want a Chevy and for it to be a full size truck, this one fits at the moment. It is still an old work truck though. The body is covered with scratches and pits and other scars. The bumpers are rusted and there is still dirt caked into the carpet. The drivers seat is torn and the interior lights don't work, but I don't care. It's my truck and I love it. I've though about getting rid of the cap, but it works out nice for keeping stuff in the back dry and safe.

Yesterday it was 65 degrees out (in the middle of March) and sunny. I hand washed it and shined up the tires. Then I headed over to a local park to get some pics. Thus taking care of two of my favorite things at one time. Shooting pictures and my truck. This was taken with my Canon 50D and the 28-135mm is lens. Shot at 1/8000, f/3.8, ISO 500.

Did I say that I love my truck?

This is the 3rd incarnation of the baseball. Unfortunately there is no title. I recently figured out how to do reflections and I thought it would be nice for this. Eventually I'll get this one printed and framed. It'll go above the mantel in the family room.

Americas Game

This is my 4th of July version of the baseball. Joey took the picture of the flag. I used that and a stone wall effect to give it this look.

Baseball 2009

I love baseball. So, as a photographer, naturally I like to take pictures of baseball. I had bought a new lens early in the year and wasn't to sure about when I would use it. On a beautiful day in early May I set up a chair in the garage near the overhead door. I used my black hoodie for the backdrop and set up my tripod. With the big door open, it let in tons of great natural light. And with the new lens (Canon 50mm, f/1.8) I had a lot of freedom in lighting this ball. This was shot at 1/3 sec, f/22 with no flash. I did some minor levels adjustments in Photoshop Elements 6. The fun part of this whole picture is that being early may, my birthday actually, the bees were starting to come out and check everything out. So while shooting this baseball I was also chasing bees around my garage with a cardboard box. I found they were living in my overhead door, coming in and out of an old hole that was right above my setup. After a little bit of great stuff foam, the bee problem was gone. This has gone on to become one of my very favorite still life shots and has been used to create other images. I'll post those also.