Abstract

Have I ever mentioned that I love the rain?
I can sit and listen to the rain any day of the week.
Anyway, these aren't the happiest clouds to see above your head, but they are still my favorite.  I feel connected to them somehow. Maybe because there are days when these kinds of storms are brewing on the inside...
I try to imagine what it looks like from above, from an airplane window seat, because you know, someday I intend to fly everywhere I go...in and out of clouds like Peter Pan minus the corny green tights... (that's just not how we roll)
From down here though, when the sun is just setting and the storm is just brewing, and these little puffballs start to weave in and out like moguls on some kind of double-black diamond ski slope, I get excited. Like just before the firecrackers on the Fourth of July excited. Because you know it's coming.
Still I am just an ant, looking up at what feels like the underbelly of a mushroom. Thousands upon thousands of feet above me the top is billowing and pushing up to the heavens...

Heaven, By Abby and Jenna

My daughter and a good friend of ours named Jenna drew me a picture this morning.  It was a true labor of love.
They don't know this, but as they were pointing out all of the special places, bees getting honey, Hello Kitty driving up the mountain to see God, the ladybug getting gum out of the gumball machine, back flipping dolphins, the winking face of Night blended with the happiness of the Day, and within them both pointing out the glow-in-the-dark Glory of God, with all of us standing next to the lake.... i almost began to weep.


It reminded me at just the right time that He loves me. It was as if He'd sent a love letter through these girls and their creative imaginations. Saying, Hey, no matter the mountaintop or the valley, from our highest high to the belly of the whale, Jesus cares.


Today, on this side of Heaven, it seems so very far away, almost untouchable....yet this is possibly the most beautiful piece of art I've ever seen. It's their idea of Heaven, it's where I hope to find myself with them someday, and I have to put it here for the world to see. To hope and to believe that Jesus has gone ahead of us to prepare such a beautiful paradise.

Click on the image to see it best. You can zoom in to a higher resolution.  Enjoy.

Jon & Allison

Here's some shots from a recent engagement with Jon and Allison.
It was a beautiful night and these two were so easy to work with.  The hat and the dress were outstanding accessories and really made for some of my favorite shots.

Rough Lumber Music Now Available

http://listn.to/RoughLumberMinistry
Our band now has all of our music available free for download.
Hope you enjoy and share it.
:)

Sprout the Fairy

So Sprout the Fairy stopped in the other day, and began getting into her character.  Wings, boots, leafed crown, feathers, flute, and all.  But there was still a touch missing.  It was on her arms and face that we just needed to take things up a notch, to make her more believable as a true Woodland Fairy.

This one definitely goes in the books as one of my favorite shoots.... wanna know the secret?
Body-painting.  Yep.  First time in my life I've ever had the chance to actually draw on someone, and it was alot of fun.  Granted, I'm not a pro with all the different makeup, we were just using crayola washable markers (from my kids' collection) and different eyeliner pencils, but wow.  It was like taking years of a 2 dimensional artistry with Photoshop and making it real world.  Something about the body as a canvas was really inspiring to me.

I think another reason I really enjoyed this session was the fact that we were dealing with the world of make-believe.  I could let go with colors, with creating fairy dust, with making the world around Sprout this canvas of an almost surreal dream.  I was allowed to break all of my own rules in regards to what's natural and what's over the top, because in this case I wanted to stay on the outside of reality looking in.  

Sprout the Fairy may be bookable soon for a childrens party near you.  She's just now getting her wings....no really, literally, so look for her soon as she develops her niche.    www.sproutthefairy.com

Ma Bo-ah (My Boy)

Yeah, I gotta say it like that,  Ma Bo-ah, with a little ownership and a tinge of fatherly pride.  I just love this kid, and this smile, just looking up at me and giving me this unabashed grin when he sees I've got the camera on him, it's my favorite smile.   This kid has a heart of gold.   Helps me weed the garden and mow the lawn, swept up the whole parking lot with me on the 4th of July without me having to ask, does his chores and does them with a sense of work ethic, and he watches out for kids littler than him.  

Yesterday I asked him if he'd mind sharing his room with his sister for awhile while a friend stays with us.  He didn't even hesitate, just agreed without a single complaint, and this morning I found him in his room, cleaning out half of his closet, AND half of his drawers, so he could make room for his little sis.  Yep, and he's giving her the bottom bunk. 
That's right.... that's Ma Bo-ah!  I'm grateful to the Lord for the time we've had to grow together as a father and son.  Another couple of months and he'll be 11. Then I'll blink and he'll be moving out.  I can tell you right now, on this side of the teenage years, that's gonna leave a big hole.  Hope he won't mind his old man showing up out of the blue from time to time....

Firecrackers and Red-Hearted Cowboy Boots: Could It Get Any Better?

That really depends.... if you add in a homemade bomb-crazed buddy, Blaze the Incredible Jumping Dog, the Marshmallow 2000 invention, and an extremely undeserved marshmallow fight afterward... you might be on your way :)

You Know it's Summer When...

you just can't eat your fudgesicle fast enough...

Cucumber Smiles

Just wanted to make sure I posted this one from the 4th...my daughter and her friend pickin' the first cucumbers out of the garden during firework intermission, you know, that period of time where you need to distract them so they can come down from the crazed frenzy of lighting off pyrotechnics....so they don't blow eachother up :)

Monica

You know, I haven't been much of a writer lately.  I apologize for that...
Ever since Haiti I've had a difficult time.  I haven't been able to put Haiti into words, and that's the first time in my life I can't remember not being able to relate my thoughts.  It goes very deep.
I've had the opportunity to photograph amazing moments this year, weaved between the weddings and family portraits. But these were things I've always wanted to capture.  Twice I was in Haiti, falling in love with the people there while taking their pictures.   In May I got to travel to Wyoming with my daughter and shoot a branding.  In June I photographed the funeral of a boy whose dad is a very close friend of mine, telling an entirely different story that we never document, because in life we all will come to deal with death.  All of those things, yes, I plan to write about, to post, but for whatever reason, I'm just not there.  And I don't think I will be until I face and deal with Haiti.
I still don't know how to process that part of my life yet, so instead of doing nothing I've decided I'm going to start posting the images from every week that I'm passionate about.  Since I've decided today that I'm going to do this, I'm starting with the most recent shoot.  Monica was out tootling about with us at Glory Bound Stables as we were trying to find out more about horses for my horse-crazy little girl.  I saw her in the light of the barn and thought, like I often do....'I have to capture that....that's a picture...drats!!#!%$ why don't I ever have my camera when I need it?' (to which the only real answer is that if I had my camera every time wanted it or saw something beautiful, they'd have to surgically implant it somehow)

So, long story very short, she was gracious enough to let me bring my camera the next time we were out there, and I got to do what I love, shooting what I can see in my mind, bringing it to fruition, transforming the idea into a natural reality.  And so here is Monica...doing what she loves, just hangin' out at the stables :)