Sunday, January 30, 2011

365 Project -- #22-28




#22 -- January 22; juicing the limes in the fruit bowl

#23 -- January 23; Civil War books in my living room

#24 -- January 24; hiding in my front porch garden

To read the full story on the rabbit, click here.  For a rodent, he's pretty cute.  (But he's still a rodent.)


#25 -- January 25; crumb-covered pumpkin pie

#26 -- January 26; looking into the end of my flute

#27 -- January 27; Oreo Cookie Cake

To read the full birthday story--yes, I made the cake--click here.  :)

#28 -- January 28; Self-portrait with a macro lens (lol)

I think the photo is rather silly, but come evening I was desperate to find something to take a photo of.  I'd never tried taking my own picture (as today's teenagers are so adept at), and this was one of the first attempts.  At least I got the rule of thirds down!  And I had fun editing my eye.  :)

Living life; capturing life.

Christine

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Scripture and a Snapshot -- Eat Its Fruit



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Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:21 nasb

There are lots of Bible verses pertaining to fruit.  But since we studied Proverbs 18 last Sunday at church, this verse instantly came to mind.  Our teaching elder explained that the it refers to the words we are speaking.  There is a connotation that we can love our words more than understanding what we're saying, bringing all sorts of problems, strife, yes, even death.  But, there is also the connotation that if we speak wisely, our words can bring life, and healing, and comfort, and encouragement.

I posted this verse along with my pear--yum, yum--because I want the words of my tongue to be sweet, wise, and nourishing to others.

Living life; capturing life.

Christine

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Thursday, January 27, 2011

Going Deep

Photography is a reflection of life.  In both areas, I want to go deep.  I want to be challenged in life, knowing that the testing of my faith produces endurance, with the perfect result that I will be lacking in nothing (James 1:3-4).  In my photography, I also want to be challenged in what I shoot, and how I shoot.  So I spent some time this evening exploring the depths.

In photography, depth of field is the portion of an image that appears sharp.  A shallow depth of field means that a very small portion of my image is in focus, or sharp.  Conversely, a higher depth of field means that more of the image is in focus.  Since I was playing around with my flute and my camera this evening, here are some examples.

shallow depth of field (f2.8)

a little deeper (f5.6)

deeper still (f8)

final shot at f16

Did you notice the gradual change from image to image?  I can see just a trill key (for those who know flute!) in focus in the first shot, then gradually, by the last shot above, all of the keys are in nice focus.

The Lord uses this same concept in my life.  Sometimes He allows me to see narrowly, so that I can focus on just one area or issue in my life.  For instance, when He allowed my back to suffer injury, there was no other focus then, well, the pain at first.  But as I lay there, day after day, my focus narrowed to the point that the Lord and His Word were first and foremost in my mind.  I was able to focus on His Word, and to drink deeply from His well, and to meditate on His precepts.  It was a precious time of concentration on Him.

At other times, He allows deep, wide perception, so that I'm able to see the "fuller picture" of what He is doing in my life.  He renews my long-term sight for the multigenerational vision He has given to Fernando and me.  Sometimes He enables me to see far down the road, when our young men are grown, married, and raising and discipling children of their own.  I appreciate being able to see that long-term vision; it helps when I get bogged down in the mundane.

So, when I practice my photography skills, both shallow depth of field and wide depth of field are important to remember.  Just as each setting for depth of field gives a different perspective on the same image, the Lord allows these same "settings" to give me focus on what He desires me to see.

"Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
They are high as the heavens, what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol, what can you know?
Its measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea..."
Job 11:7-9 nasb

(By the way, the first image is my favorite.)

Living life; capturing life.

Christine

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Sunday, January 23, 2011

Scripture & A Snapshot -- Fishers of Men



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And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Matthew 4:19-20 nasb

I know they used nets, not fishing poles, but the reminder is the same--I have been commissioned to declare His salvation to all men.  :)

Living life; capturing life.

Christine

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Friday, January 21, 2011

365 Project -- #15-21




#15 -- Danny shoveling our driveway

#16 -- Sautéed vegetables with brown rice

#17 -- Sunny, Lori's yellow lab

#18 -- Butter pecan ice cream tonight.  Fruit tomorrow.  :)

#19 -- Morning snow [sepia]

#20 -- Thursday was allegedly National Popcorn Day

#21 -- Celsius (-20) sounds so much worse than Fahrenheit (-6)!!

This is my week in photos.  I'm usually a homebody during winter; that fact forces me to get creative with my camera.  I have pulled out my 100mm macro lens again, and rediscovered the joys of working close up.  It's nice to be warm when I'm shooting!  But just so you'll know I'm not a wimp, I did eat that ice cream (yum), and I went out onto my front porch in a skirt, sweater, and socks to capture the thermometer.  (I lasted about 45 seconds...)

Living life; capturing life.

Christine

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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

--- Sunny ---

I did it!  I used every ounce of knowledge I possessed.  Plus some stealth, a little cunning, and a lightning-fast shutter finger.  I captured the most elusive domestic creature known to man...Sunny.

Nah, not really.  I just fed her.  Then she didn't mind the camera.  Enjoy a few photos of Lori's dog.





Living life; capturing life.

Christine

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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Mommytography Project -- Diving In

For this year-long project, I will be posting a set of images each week (one image taken each day), to keep me active shooting, using my camera, and learning new things with it daily.

This is not an official Mommytography image; just one to get me in the mood!  :)


Living life; capturing life.

Christine

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Sunday, January 16, 2011

Scripture and a Snapshot -- Tree of Life



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She [wisdom] is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who hold her fast.
Proverbs 3:18 nasb

The vibrant sun shining through this tree brought this verse to mind.

Living life.  Capturing life.

Christine

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Monday, January 10, 2011

Scripture & A Snapshot -- Out of the North



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Out of the south comes the storm,
And out of the north the cold.
From the breath of God ice is made,
And the expanse of the waters is frozen.
Job 37:9-10

Sometimes the freezing temperatures cause ice and frost to cover the trees.  This happened a couple of weeks ago, and I was able to capture some of it with my camera.  This is one of my favorite shots.  :)

Living life.
Capturing life.
Christine

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Saturday, January 8, 2011

Frost




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My chauffeur (sweet Jacob) drove me to my chiropractor appointment, and he stopped for me at a nearby park so I could take photos.  Here is one of my favorites--detail from one of the frost-covered trees.  They were beautiful.


Thanks for visiting today!  :)

Living life.
Capturing life.
Christine

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Thursday, January 6, 2011

Free Advertising!

I was thrilled to have my local bank, First American Bank, offer me a free business display table for half of a month!  They offer this to their business customers, and I'm welcome to reserve the space again in the spring, just in time for outdoors and graduation.


I've also begun to participate in uploading photos at my hometown page of TribLocal, a division of the Chicago Tribune which provides local news coverage and stories of interest in my own community.  I tried just one photo I had taken on a frosty morning, and they ended up featuring it on their local home page!  Of course I took a picture of the page on my computer screen.  :)


Be sure to check out my special offer for January, either here or here; time is running out!

Living life.
Capturing life.
Christine

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Sunday, January 2, 2011

2010 In Review -- God's Creation

~My photo gallery~  Christine Anne at Smugmug  ~My photo gallery~


It has been so fun these past few days, looking back on my year in photographs.  Today I'm focusing on images of God's beauty that I have seen and captured all around me.  Without further ado, enjoy the beauty that only the Lord creates.

Sunset after a day of tubing

Spring chives

Summer daisy

Rainbow Falls, upstate New York

Sunset on my favorite lake in the world :)

Oswegatchie River, upstate New York

Autumn in the park

Frosted tree, just last week

May the Lord bless you this new year with renewed faith, with reverence for His creation, and an ever-growing passion to know Him better!

Living life.
Capturing life.
Christine

Visit my family blog: Indeed My Heritage


~My photo gallery~  Christine Anne at Smugmug  ~My photo gallery~

Saturday, January 1, 2011

2010 In Review -- Portraits and Candids

Since my professional photography business is still in its infancy, I don't have a full year of images to look back on.  But I would like to post some of my favorite images from the year, of portraits and candid shots.

I'm grateful to the Lord for pushing me through the door into this photography business!  It has been a privilege and an honor to photograph those who've hired me this year.  I'm humbled that they (you!) esteem my work enough to want me to capture their own families, and children, and events.  Enjoy these images with me as I look back on 2010!

Though this was from 2009, it is one of my favorites!

Father and daughter

Sweet sisters

Little guy, leaf, dirt

Mischievous!

Looking up to the older brother

Young protector

The Shepherd's shepherd--an amazing young man!

Smiles and laughter

Baptism, Father and Son

Precious Boston

Candid capture at an event--my camera, Ellie, is a baby magnet...

Happy New Year!

Living life.
Capturing life.
Christine

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