a fun game of tag Friday, January 30, 2009 | 2

As for the tag part of today's post, I was tagged by Sharilyn with a fun little challenge which I want to share today. I have been tagged with the 7 random things you supposed to share about yourself on your blog, and the 25 random things going around on facebook, and I still plan on doing those too. But this one is quick and easy to do, so I will do this one first.

The rules are simple:

1. Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on the computer
2. Select the 4th picture in the folder
3. Explain the picture
4. Tag 4 people to do the same

I have pictures in a couple of places, so you get two pictures. The first was from a Ruidoso trip, and the second was just taken as an experiment. As part of the experiment, I did have to do some altering (tons of brightening, etc) to even get it postable. The top one is straight from the camera after resizing.

I like river branches Thursday, January 22, 2009 | 5

Okay, just to make sure you heard me right, I said I like river branches, not riverdances. As a man, I felt the need to make sure this was good and clear.

declaring the glory Wednesday, January 21, 2009 | 4

I remember the first time I ever saw the moon through a "telescope." I mean that word very loosely. I think it was the third or fourth grade when my school was selling candles as a fundraiser. I remember that prize booklet they gave us showing what we could win, and the first thing that jumped off the page to me was a little red telescope.

I needed it.

So, I started selling candles with the goal of earning that telescope. Being the old man that I am today, I don't know if this is true or not, but I think my twin brother and I combined forces and candle sales in order to have enough money earned to get it (Dan? Mom? Am I way off here?). When it finally came in, I fully expected to be able to see long last planets and to be the first to see comets that no one else on earth could because, after all, I had a telescope and they didn't. That night we went outside knowing we'd be able to see men walking around Mars and find out that the moon really was made of swiss cheese. This thing was probably only 6 inches long, but to me, it was like the Hubble was perched in my front yard.

Of course, there was nothing that could be seen with such a cheap thing like this, but I do remember seeing the moon that night and loving the site of it. I have always been fascinated by astronomy, and this was my first foray into that world, albeit very little and red. I still have a telescope today (nerd, I know), and I still enjoy looking at the moon and everything God has created in this seemingly foreign world I'll only know through glass lenses and plastic tubes.

The theme verse of this blog is Pslams 19:1, and so I'll end today by quoting part of this chapter. This is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible because it tells why mankind has always been so fascinated by this world which points to the glory of God.

Psalm 19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

a ketchikan totem Tuesday, January 20, 2009 | 2

A few months ago, a friend and I were having a talk about totem poles. These things have always fascinated me, and it was nice to see some in person this last year when we went up to Alaska. I kept babbling on about how much I loved getting to see totem poles when my friend said a quick little comment that made me fell horrible about being excited about totem poles.

"It's too bad that they're false idols."

False idols. While he didn't mean I was being a moron, I sure felt like one. That's because he's right. This particular totem pole tells the story about the creation of salmon. While I have no idea if this talented carver actually believes in the story he reproduced in totem form, I know there are many who do. And there are far more who are searching for the truth.

There is so much evidence for a Creator that we cannot ignore it. There is one God who created salmon and that same God also created you. The God who threw the stars into place also knows how many hairs are on your head. The God that created weather patterns also puts you in places where you can be touched by and touch other people. The God that inspired someone to create spray cheese also has a plan for your life. And that's a cool thought.

thanks to the greatest painter ever Thursday, January 15, 2009 | 3

(excerpt from the song, Waiting to Shine, by Building429)

God, I’ve always wondered what You look like
Lord I’ve always waited staring at the sky
But the heavens remained quiet
As they drift along in peace
Sometimes they’ve turned to thunder
Still the echoes always cease
How I long to get home
Lord I hope it won’t be long

Till You
Let the skies open wide
Let Your child see Your eyes, iris to iris,
I will be waiting
Let the skies open wide
Let Your children be like
Diamonds reflecting
We will be waiting to shine
Waiting to shine

quiet shores Tuesday, January 13, 2009 | 8

A quiet peaceful shore like this reminds me of this quote from Tozer:

"If there's anything necessary to your eternal happiness but God, you're not the kind of Christian that you ought to be. For only God is the true rest." -A.W. Tozer, Attributes of God

vbs games Sunday, January 11, 2009 | 1

I did some altering including making her nametag unreadable.

Alaska fish house Friday, January 09, 2009 | 1

To alter this picture, I used the exact same steps I used on the B25 tail gun picture from last Sunday.

fun with lights Thursday, January 08, 2009 | 1

You can go here (click me) to see how to create an effect like this.

Isaiah 1:18 (New Living Translation) Wednesday, January 07, 2009 | 1

“Come now, let’s settle this,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
I will make them as white as wool.

something different - taken with a camera phone Tuesday, January 06, 2009 | 1

Here's something from my phone (which evidently gives everything a blueish tint in a sunset like this). I was planning on saving this one for a week of camera phone sunsets, but I feel like posting it instead of the one I had planned.

early morning foggy docks Monday, January 05, 2009 | 3

something different with a b25 Sunday, January 04, 2009 | 1

I normally don't do any altering on pictures (other than raw formatting). But, sometimes I get in a mood where I feel like doing some post production, so I sat down and messed with a few pictures. All of what I did was just to make pictures look better, but not to drastically alter them. When I saw this picture though, it was screaming for drastic altering. This is the look I was going for, and it was surprisingly quick and easy to do:



And in case anyone was wondering, here is the original unaltered picture:

a tree and a building, well, part of a building Saturday, January 03, 2009 | 1

I added some high pass sharpening to this one (and some brightening since I forgot that my camera was set to underexpose by 2 stops).

An exciting Carlsbad night Friday, January 02, 2009 | 5

In this town, we just sit around and watch the cars drive by. "It's for fun."

I'm actually posting two pictures today taken right after each other. That's because Alison likes the bottom one, and I like the top one.

big view for a big new year Thursday, January 01, 2009 | 4

Back in September, Alison and I ended up down in the Guadalupe Mountains (an hour south of here) with my inlaws and Will and Sarah and their two kids. The light that day was perfect for taking pictures, and the colors really popped with the polarizing filter I was using. I didn't care much for this picture at first, but on a second look, I really love it. This reminds me of the second verse to Shawn McDonald's song, Beautiful. If you don't listen to Shawn's music, YOU MUST START. It's awesome. Start with his cd, Ripen; it's the best.

As I look off into the distance
Watching the sun roll on by
Beautiful colors all around me,
Oh, painted all over the sky
The same hands that created all of this
They created you and I
What a beautiful God
What a beautiful God