Day 178 (26 June 2012) Silence, or The End

At the end
There is silence
Silence in place of all that was
What does the silence say?
It echoes the voice of the past
Forever lost to Earth
Forever singing in Eternity

Ok, so I’m not a poet, at least not when I’m trying to put thoughts down at a quarter to eleven at night 🙂  The inspiration for today was the photo challenge hosed by Shannon and Nick.  When I read the list provided for this photo scavenger hunt and saw silence, my first thought was of death and the earthly resting place of our bodies, and how it contrasts with the eternal resting place for our souls.  As a Christian, I believe in both Heaven and Hell; and in neither of those places will one’s soul be quiet.

30 mm, 30 sec, f/4.5, ISO 100 (Silence)

This photo has some good color in the sky, but I felt that it distracted from the image and the story it’s supposed to tell.  For me this shows that while our bodies may be buried under the Earth, out souls exist in the Heavens 🙂

Here is the list I’m shooting from for the photo scavenger hunt.  I’m supposed to “find” 15 of these, 10 down, 5 to go!

• Chuck Norris Was Here
• “Big Foot Footprint”
• Reflected Love
• Abstract Self Portrait
• Framed Moon
• “Whats your sign”
• Anti-gravity
• Unusual Perspective
• Abandoned
• Silence
• Pride and Joy
• Emerging Star
• Buried Treasure
• Sparkler fun
• Clownin Around Upside-down
• Lyric Quotograph
• Summer
• Patriotism
• Night

Day 80 (20 March 2012) Macro Lens

It finally came!  My Canon 60 mm macro lens (EF-S 60 mm f/2.8 macro) arrived!  So I spent  a little time learning how to use it.  I quickly realized that it requires a lot of light, and since it’s dark out and my house isn’t the brightest inside (low wattage CFLs), I realized I had to use a tripod.  I created an ad-hoc studio (kitchen table covered in white printer paper) so I could shoot some macro shots 🙂 There are a lot of photos posted here, more than normal, anyway. I invite all critiques and criticisms and tips to do better. This goes for all posts/photos (including if I’m too long winded in my write ups). I can’t improve if I don’t know where I need improvement 🙂

My favorite from tonight is the first one; can you guess what it is?  I have the answer in the “alt text” so if you hover your mouse over the photo it will tell you.  I will give you a hint: the photo is severely cropped.

I can already tell that this may become my favorite lens.  I’ve always loved looking at macro photos, now I get to make them!  I’ve also heard it is a great portrait lens, so maybe my gf will let me practice this weekend 🙂

60 mm, 1/25 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100, EF-S 60mm macro (What Am I?)

60 mm, 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100, EF-S 60mm macro (Redemption)

60 mm, 1/8 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100, EF-S 60mm macro (No Pressure)

60 mm, 1/5 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100, EF-S 60mm macro (Fool's Gold)

60 mm, 1.3 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100, EF-S 60mm macro (Old Brick)

Day 39 (8 Feb 2012) The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

There are those to go through this life always striving for more; more pay, a bigger house, a nicer car, more ‘power’, higher social status, that legendary pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  When they do finally do reach the end goal, and find that pot, this is what they end up with:

18 mm, 4 min, f/3.5, ISO 100 (Pot of Gold)

They end up dead with nothing to show, except a tombstone and an empty, broken, rusty pot.

And yet, “Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.” Ecclesiastes 4:6

Remember what is important in life: God, family, friends, and helping others.  Don’t forgot to take time to enjoy life, this is where you will find your true treasure!