PHOTOGRAPHY
Click here to view the photographs
For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by photography and the ability that a well rendered photograph has of evoking an emotion in the mind of its viewer. Just as I use my poetry to reveal the majesty of God through word and rhythm, I use the photographs on this site to reveal the majesty of God through colour and form. Our God is a God of wonder whose beauty is revealed in every blowing leaf, every singing bird and every child that calls "Mommy!" or "Daddy!" It is my hope that the images on the following pages will enhance your appreciation for our God. As everywhere else on this website I encourage you to use these images as you see fit as long as you honour God by your use of these materials.
Thank you Lord,
that Your world
is such a place of beauty
reflective of Your own
that the wonders that surround us
are mere echoes of the wonder
that is You
At one time I would get discouraged visiting various photographic sites on the Internet and knowing that I could never be as good as the photographers whose work I was viewing. Then I remembered that photography is for me like the poetry I write. Even though I'm not the best poet or photographer in the world I keep at it, knowing that as long as I'm trying to glorify God, enjoying and sharing the gifts He's given me, then I am doing well. It doesn't matter whether I stand alongside Robert Frost or Ansel Adams or someone who doesn't know semi-colon from an f-stop, as long as I please Him I am doing well.
These images are my gift to my visitors, shared in the hope that God will be glorified and you will be blessed through them. Enjoy!
Equipment & software used to create/manipulate these images include:
- Pentax K7 - 07/15/2010 - (17mm - 70mm, f4; 14.6 Mp; 4672 X 3104) - Not a single picture on this entire website was taken with this amazing camera...yet. However, my wife has given one to me as an early gift for my 50th birthday later this summer; along with the Pentax SMC DA 17-70MM F4 AL (IF) SDM lens. So far I am extremely impressed by the K7, its controls fall easily to hand and its images are beautifully rendered, accurate and relatively noise free to ISO 1600. Some noise is evident at ISO 3200 but it is not distracting and 8 X 10 images (or slightly larger) could easily be made. In some cases I may even use this noise for artistic effect.
- Canon PowerShot SX200 IS - 08/2009 - (28mm - 336mm; 12.1Mp; 4000 X 3000) - This was a gift from my wife who bought it for me after my Baby Nikon (CoolPix S10) was dropped and destroyed. What a lovely little camera, even smaller than the Nikon and much greater capability. I'm going to have fun with this one! Thanks honey!!
- Nikon CoolPix S10 - 9/2007-8/2009 - (38mm - 380mm; 6Mp; 2816 X 2112) - The Nikon S10 was bought as my walk-around camera. (I called it my Baby Nikon.) It had its permanent home in my computer bag and as such took pictures I wouldn't otherwise have been able to (the R1, after all, is quite large). For an ultra-compact, ultra-zoom the output is exceptional. At moderate print size (up to perhaps 8 X 10) there is nothing at all to be ashamed of. Noise and Purple Fringing are well handled and the quality of the lens is awesome considering what I paid for it (it was on sale at Best Buy for half price and I bought it in anticipation of a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law).
- Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 - 12/2006-07/2010 - (24mm - 120mm; 10.3Mp; 3888 X 2592; HVL-F32X flash) - I bought this camera because I really, Really, REALLY wanted a more capable camera (larger sensor, higher resolution, greater control & flash sync at any shutter speed) that would allow me to return to the type of photography I once did with the Minolta X-700. In my opinion the DSC-R1 is the finest fixed lens camera in existence. It is rugged, easy to handle, a delight to hold and because of its marvelous Carl Zeiss T* lens it takes some of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen from a 35mm format camera. Combining it with the HVL-X32F flash has resulted in some excellent portraits while helping my church, Westney Heights Baptist, create a new members photo-album.
- Canon PowerShot S1 IS - 12/2004-12/2006 - (38mm - 380mm; 3.2 Mp; 2048 X 1536) - I purchased this camera (with a Christmas bonus from my office) because I was unable to take the pictures I wanted to with the Panasonic. It became my wife's camera when I bought my R1 and has since been given to one of my nephews. It still makes wonderful prints up to 8" X 10".
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-F7 - 12/2002-12/2004 - (35mm - 70mm; 2Mp;1600 X 1200) - This was a Christmas bonus from my office and was a very delightful introduction to digital photography. It now belongs to a friend of one of my sons.
- Minolta X-700 SLR - 1985-2006 - (50mm, f2.4; 70mm - 210mm, f4; 360XP flash; Fuji 100 ASA film) - Now kept in storage and not used since 2006. Hesitant to sell it as I'll never reclaim much more than 1% of its original purchase price.
- Vivitar PS-35 - 1978-1985 - 35mm point & shoot (won in a high school raffle, here is the only picture from this camera on this website). My Mom has this camera now although she has also gone digital.
- Computers
- Dell Latitude D830 - 10/2007 - (Windows Vista Ultimate, 4Gb, 2.4GHz, 15.4" 1680 X 1050 display)
- Toshiba Satellite Pro M10 - 2/2004 - (Windows XP Pro, 1Gb, 1.5GHz, 15" 1600 X 1200 display)
- Compaq Presario 1700 - 5/2002 - (Windows ME, 128Mb, 700MHz, 13" 1024 X 768 display)
- Toshiba Satellite 2520CDS - 5/1999 - (Windows 98, 64Mb, 300MHz, 13" 800 X 600 display)
- Previously printed images have been digitized by one of the following methods:
- Acer 640p flatbed scanner
- Canon Pixma MP150 all-in-one
- Directly to CD at development
- Photographed with digital camera
- Image Processing Software
- Picasa
One Last Thing ~ Since the advent of digital cameras and the tremendous increase in their popularity, there has been relentless discussion on their merits compared to film cameras. All aspects of comparison (including print size, dynamic range and inherent noise) have been used as valid hooks upon which to hang the superiority of one medium over the other. All that really matters, though, is can the medium used enable you to take the pictures you like to take and that you and others like to look at. All I know is that I enjoyed photography tremendously back when I used film and spent a great deal of money, and I still enjoy photography tremendously now that I use digital and I spend a lot less money.
To those who claim that digital photography yields a less accurate representation of its subject than film photography I will say this: Photography at its very best remains a two dimensional representation of a three dimensional world, inaccuracies will abound regardless of the medium the photographer uses. (What's more, at my current level of skill almost every photograph presented here is the result of an emotional response to the world around me; something that no level of technology is competent to reproduce.) No photograph, regardless of the skill of the photographer or the perfection of his equipment, can ever convey more than a suggestion of what was before the camera when the shutter was released. The only question I can ask myself when evaluating a photograph is this: "Do I like looking at it?" If the answer is "Yes" then it is a good photograph, regardless of how accurately it represents its subject.
Each of the photos presented here make me happy. It is my hope that they will make you happy as well. It is an incredibly beautiful world we inhabit and no camera can do it full justice, all the camera can do is echo its beauty as that beauty is itself a reflection of One far greater.