Marisa & Chris

To me, the most memorable thing about Marisa & Chris was that they were genuine.
The time we spent with them was casual and from the heart, and the words spoken of the day from family and friends only seconded that notion of authenticity.
During the ceremony they took the time to symbolize their love and humility by washing one another's feet, in remembrance of that same, simple act performed by Christ on the night he was betrayed.
Remembering to put your husband or your wife before yourself...
Committing to be selfless, instead of selfish...
What better way to bind such a promise.

Iowa Paint

Coming home from a wedding this weekend in Iowa, we came upon this quaint old barn, that was just begging from someone to tell its story, to capture the lines and the lost era of it's character.

I wrote a song once, with a barn just like this in my mind....

I've been driving this old highway,
so long I could drive it blind.
Another crazy day and I swear,
I'm gonna lose my mind.

There's a deadline on Friday,
enough work in my breifcase
to keep me goin' all night long.
How am I gonna find the time
to right all I have wronged?

There's a tune on the radio,
a song I used to know,
but I can't remember yesterday,
let alone how it goes.

And there's cars all around me.
Everybody's in a hurry to pass.
Lookin' in my rearview mirror
and don't you know I'm out of gas.

Grab everything I own
and start walkin' on down the road.
The problems in my head
make this breifcase an easy load.

And off to my right, somethin' catches my eye,
there's a woman standing in the field
with her hands upon her thighs.

And this old red barn
with the doors falling down.
The shadows strike acrossed the grain
and fall down to the ground.

And there I am home again,
this window to my past.
Never have I seen this place.
I guess I always just drove too fast.

Dad's comin' down the old dirt lane
in his beat up, ran down Ford.
My brother's playin' Old John Wayne,
and me, with my wooden sword.

And Momma's on the front porch swingin'
beneath the backdrop of the western skies.
Lookin' deep into our souls,
she's got the love of Jesus in her eyes.

And I'm Home again.
I don't know where I've been,
but I'm Home, Home again.

As the twilight fades
I realize what I've learned today.
It's not where the road goes,
it's what you find along the way.


Dan Elliott.

Funny, I wrote that song years ago, and the words are still there in my mind, waiting to be unlocked....by the picture of this old, red barn. :)

Chelsey

These are just a very few of my favorites from the final segment of Chelsey's senior session. Somehow I think we captured a small piece of her strong will and determined spirit. To a dancer, I think the studio is a sort of sanctuary. It's a kind of proving ground of possibilities, a practice in pursuit of perfection.
I used darker tones because they seemed to bring out the form and the grace behind her smile.

Imaginations....

I had this imagination in my mind this morning...
Care to take a sidebar with me, apart from the regular blogging? It's just my imagination... how bad could it be? ;) Yes, you'll actually have to read a little, no pictures...sorry. :(

We're in a dark arena, pitch black and smoke filled.
There are dancing images of spirits in fantastic red and orange hues, like the colors of the sun just before it sets. They are there, swirling around in the arena by the hundreds, yet they give off no real illumination. They are dark and fast, and the only sounds they make are whispers. You can feel them moving by the winds they stir, and they are accord with one another, it's just something you can sense. They have a battle plan, and it is being executed systematically.

Suddenly from the center of the arena there is this streak of light that pierces through the dark, reaching high up into the sky above the stands, and then this amazing sound like a lightning strike. All the winds and the whispering are instantly hushed, and wherever the light slices through the darkness, there is only this magnificent column of brightness. No dark, no spirits, just this still, white light, knifing a path through the blackness as it flashes around. It is a kind of search light, able to stretch for what seems like miles. The sound it makes as it slices through the sky are like that of rumbling thunder.

In the blink of an eye there is a spotlight of the center stage, and a little boy, about my sons age, stands there with an open bible in his hand, and a flashlight, and he reads... "'Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.' Psalm 119, verse 105..."
"Hmmm...so God is like my flashlight." He says. "Cool."
With a smile he clicks the flashlight on and off a few times, while this giant searchlight of a light flashes on and off in perfect synchronization, into the darkness and acrossed the sky. He turns and walks off the stage, this amazing brightness lighting his path as the scene fades.

Wouldn't that be cool to make a video out of that?
Wish there was someone out there had the abilities to produce that.
It reminded me of when I was a young boy in the mountains back home, and my brother and I would stand over the campfire late at night with our flashlights pointed into the smoke and floating embers, dueling as if we had light sabers in our hands...in perfectly timed slow-motion of course, to add dramatic effect. :)

My mom sent me this link the other day, to a short video that really made me think about priorities... see what you think?

Salvador & Robyn

These are a few of my favorites from Robyn & Salvador's wedding.
I first met these two last year, and we had a connection right away.
Salvador is from Wyoming, so we talked quite a bit about home. He's a very calculated man, direct and to the point, and yet, when he looks at Robyn, there's another side. Something softer...
He's going to be looking out for her, because it comes natural.
Robyn is at home in his arms. Her smile is soft and comfortable when she's with him.
I'd never seen some of the traditional Mexican rituals that made this wedding special, but the most intriguing part to me was the Trece monedas de oro (the 13 gold coins), which represented Christ and his disciples. Salvador pledged his possessions, his trust, and his responsibility to provide for her, and Robyn accepted with total dedication.
I was humbled seeing the way Christ was honored.
Putting God in the center, living with Him as our highest measure, that's what it's all about.

Gracie and Dawson

We got the pleasure of photographing these two rascals just a short while ago. Dawson in really sprouting up, and with mom's help he's going to be walking before you know it. He's is a mover and a shaker, just like his daddy. :)
Gracie showed us a new side this time too. She's usually very reserved and soft spoken, but now she's beginning to slip into the big sister role, and her smiles are brighter and more giggly, and she's running around faster and faster. Right now, Gracie is big into the hugs she gives little brother, whether he likes them or not, while Dawson's interests lie in the funny feeling trees and the leaves that are starting to show up on the ground.....fall is just around the corner :)

a 10 cent masterpiece :)

I'd like to present the first ever paid work my son has ever produced. I paid him 10 cents, and he took this picture of his mom and I....
For a six year old boy...not bad, not bad at all. :)

The Strawns

This is the Strawn Family. The two little ones are sprouting up, getting strong and definitely becoming brothers, and Justin and Janel look the same as they did over 10 years ago, when we first met.
We go way back, you know, to the college days, when everything and nothing made sense in the world, amazingly at the same time. Life was about paying the unbelievably small bills we had and making sure there was enough time for having fun, lots of it, as much as could possibly fit into 24 hours. Somewhere in there, was also some schooling. I was never very good at that part.

Remembered

This September 11 we were supposed to cover the events planned at Huset's Speedway, but they were completely shut out with the rain, so I thought it would be nice to post a few of the images from last year's event.

The 2 for 1 Special

What could be better than 2 firsts in 1 day?
My little girl's very first day of school, seeing her starry eyes bubbling with excitement as she dreams of the friends she'll make...





...and my boy's first ever soccer game, cheering him on from the sidelines as he sprints past us, testing his strength and skills with other boys of his age for the first time in his life.





It was a good day... :)

LifeLight 2006

I didn't get my camera out very much for the Lifelight Festival. We were too busy fighting the mud, rain, cold, flat tires, stuck cars and tired kids.
This is a quick panorama of the main stage on Sunday night. These were just some, and I mean SOME, of the hundreds of thousands of people who attended the event.