Blossoms

I was out this afternoon enjoying the sun and the flowers that are finally in full bloom. Fabulous peonies, both in full bloom and their tight little globes; glossy poppies; and intricate buds that I've never seen before. It was a great opportunity to play with my macro lens and capture all the tiniest details (the smallest buds were the size of kernels of popcorn.) Wide open the macro lens also gave me great control over the depth of field, allowing me to choose what would be in sharp focus, and isolating it from the background. 

The big event

BMX tricks, rock bands, and an inspirational message—all part of a youth event I was shooting for the Billy Graham Association in Moncton, NB, this last weekend. I love the big event. Which is odd because normally I'm a fan of more laid-back environments, but this is all chaos, noise, and adrenalin—between the crowd and the band, or up to the highest vantage point I can find. And throughout, all those kids hear about God and His purpose for their lives. That's the best part.

Uganda Part 2—A lesson in beauty

I saw this beautiful little boy in an Internally Displaced People's camp in Northern Uganda. I didn't think he was beautiful at first. In fact, he was kind of annoying me. Every time I turned my camera back on the crowd of kids following me through the camp, he was always front and center with his messy face. I found myself wanting to somehow crop him out of the picture, wishing he would give up and drift off to the side. But then I really looked at him, with the eyes of my heart. He was a curious little boy, with bright eyes and a sweet smile, who just wanted his picture taken. It was a dangerous thing to do, and I knew I'd have dozens of tugs and taps for me to do it again, but after I took a picture of him I turned the camera around and showed him the tiny little preview picture on the back of my camera. It was that moment that I wish I could have caught, but it was just for me to enjoy and remember. His eyes got bigger, his smile got wider, and he danced away like a hero. I was completely convicted about my idea of beauty. Sometimes I can get so caught up in the surface stuff. But my prayer is always that God would reveal Himself to me in the subjects of my pictures. Even in the messiest, ugliest situations, we can find a glimpse of Him.

Return to Uganda

I saw the movie War Dance this weekend. This is a beautiful film about children regaining their dignity and hope in the midst of the instability of Northern Uganda. I highly recommend this film.

In 2005, the same year as the music festival featured in War Dance, I had the privilege to go to Uganda and to visit some of the Internally Displaced Peoples' camps close to Lira, where we observed large scale feeding projects, HIV/AIDS ministries, education projects, and a rehabilitation centre for children who had been rescued from the Lords Resistance Army. It was a terrible place, full of people in desperate circumstances, and yet hope and faith shone through. (You'll know what I'm talking about if you watch the film.) Here are a few pictures from that trip (there are more in the Journey gallery on the website.) Look for more in the coming days—I think this will be a multi-part post.

One of my faves

I love this picture. I love it so much that I put it in one of my website galleries, posted on my Facebook group, and used it as my blog link photo. I think it's obvious why it's one of my favorites. I caught this little guy at the perfect moment. Nobody was trying to make him laugh, but I do remember what he found so hilarious. I was in Vietnam with a group visiting some of the floating villages in Halong Bay. Hundreds of islets rise straight out of the water and fishermen and their families live in floating villages moored to the rocks—each tiny house lashed to its neighbor.  The children play in small boats the way kids here play on their bicycles. In order for us to get from our large boat to a floating school, we had to be ferried in small, round wicker boats sealed with tar. Dozens of kids rowed out to meet us and offer their services. I had just planted myself precariously in one of the little boats, when I looked over and saw two large men perched in one small boat, and a tiny girl at the helm. Just beyond her was the subject of my photo—her brother—killing himself laughing! I'm not sure what he found more hilarious—the impossibly small girl working the oars, or the two giants nervously clutching the sides of the boat. 

Keeping up with the times

Six years ago, I traded my 35mm for a digital SLR, and I haven't developed a roll of film since. I work with my camera and computer every day. Perhaps that has tricked me into believing I was part of the digital generation. But if anything could shatter that illusion, it's been getting myself on the web. Between Facebook, my website, and this blog, I've felt a little behind the times. And I've realized, yet again, that there's always more to learn.

While all this has made me feel my digital age, there's nothing like a kid's birthday party to make me feel my chronological age! A couple of weeks ago I was at my niece's 7th birthday party. Imagine 15 kids running around a gymnastics club; jumping on the trampoline, running and leaping off springboards, and swinging from bars and rings. They had a blast. And so did I...with my camera! Although I didn't try any fancy routines on the balance beam, I did practice a cool trick—panning. To capture movement, you set the camera to a slow shutter speed, and follow the subject with the camera. When it works, the main subject will appear sharply focussed against a streaked, blurred background. It takes a while to get the hang of it. But even if you don't get it exactly right, you can still get some pretty interesting shots—just call them artistic.