Gabriel's Message

Those of you who know me pretty well (and judging by the fact that you're reading this, you do) know that I begin listening to Christmas music very early in the season. As in Autumn.

Or Summer.

About a month and a half ago I bought my first Christmas album of the year. Jars of Clay has long been a favorite band of mine, and while they have released a few individual Christmas songs before, they finally put out a full Christmas album this year, appropriately titled Christmas Songs. I can honestly say that it is not like any other album I own, Christmas music or otherwise. I highly recommend it. One song from it called "Gabriel's Message" keeps coming to mind as I write tonight, a lilting and ethereal conversation between Gabriel and Mary. I like the last verse:

Of her Emmanuel, the Christ was born
In Bethelem all on a Christmas morn
And lowly men throughout the world
Forever saved
Most highly favoured maid,
GLORIA!

Thanksgiving by the Numbers

Growing up in my family, all three of the kids would try to predict the date of the first snowfall of the season. Mom would write it down on the calendar and when the snow finally came down, we would see who was closest without going over, The-Price-is-Right-style.

A few weeks ago, the older and more cynical child in me predicted that the first snowfall this year would be the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, just in time to enhance the frustration of holiday traveling. For the first time ever, I predicted this event correctly, and awoke to find about half an inch of snow by Thursday morning.


As you can see, we were hardly snowed-in, so three of us (Allison, her friend Glenda, and myself) proceeded to travel to Allison's parents' house for Thanksgiving dinner. Like always, I had my fill of side dishes. They were delicious. I even tried a piece of the turkey with my stuffing, and it wasn't bad. That brings my list of "acceptable turkey products" up to five: Grandma H's turkey, mother-in-law's turkey, deep-fried turkey, turkey ham, and turkey bacon.

I also consumed a quarter of two different pumpkin pies (one 10" and one 12"). That's the equivalent of half of one 11.05" pie or a whole 7.81" pie. As an engineer, I almost feel obligated to make some sort of "pie"/"pi" joke here, especially given the title of this post. I'll spare you this time. (Now YOU have something to be thankful for.)

After dinner, Allison's dad (not pictured), brother, sister, and brother-in-law invited me to play a game called "Axis and Allies." It's a lot like the game "Risk", but recreates the major campaigns of World War II. I respectfully declined, knowing that this exercise would fill the better part of 4-6 hours. Approximately 4-6 hours after it began, I was saddened to learn that Japan and Germany had, in fact, succeeded in taking over the world.


I also carried out my own tradition of taking a picture of Bill, the cat, to capture the mood of the weekend. I think we were all thankful for the chance to relax and enjoy each other's company for the day.

Moment of Clarity

I've been looking for an "all-purpose" zoom lens for my camera, but finding the right lens is more difficult than it sounds. Pentax has manufactured hundreds of lenses in 14 different styles, all of which are compatible with my camera. Many third-party manufacturers have done the same. In some cases, the "same" lens will even be manufactured at several factories, each producing different results. How am I supposed to choose with such variety in style and quality?

Given this daunting task, I've located half a dozen databases where professionals and consumers alike have reviewed many of these lenses. They are rated on every aspect imaginable, from focal length and aperture settings to the Modular Transfer Function and "Bokeh" characteristics. (Don't ask. It's even more boring than it sounds.) In the end, it almost all comes down to the glass. The best lenses have perfect glass that allows the light to pass through clearly every time. Lower-quality lenses will subtly distort, exaggerate, or color the image. They will produce a picture, but it won't be as sharp or clear as the original object.

I wrote in my profile that "My goal is to be a lens that God focuses on people, places, things... all of creation... in order to see them the way He does." In light of all of this research on lenses, I realized that I need to ask myself the question, "What kind of a lens am I?"

How clearly do I allow the Light to pass through?

What kind of distortions do I add to His image?

Do I perform the same under all conditions?

How is my focus?

Self Portrait

There were so many good titles for this photo that I had trouble choosing:

"Double Take"
"Half and Half"
"Split Personality"
"Twin Peeks"
"Just the Two of Us"
"I Think I'm a Clone Now"

I wonder which side is my good side...

Homage

My new camera owes a debt of gratitude to its forefather, the ME Super, on which I learned to take photographs. This is the last roll of unexposed film that I own, and it will probably stay that way forever.

I couldn't help but note the irony that in order to get these shots "just right", I probably used more than 24 exposures. Even when I got the ones that I wanted, I went back and digitally corrected the images to balance the colors and fix some overly bright areas. I got it all done in less than an hour and didn't even have to leave home.

(In an unintentional but fun twist, the cloth that I used for the table top is only in focus at the bottom of the photo above, resembling the perforations along the edge of a roll of film. I like it when things accidentally turn out better than I planned!)

Veteran's Day

In honor of our nation's veterans, who have fought to preserve our freedom.

Theme and Variation

This tree is on the edge of Round Lake (which is, in fact, quite round). It is across the street from the first house that Allison and I were interested in when we started looking earlier this year. The location was great, but the house wasn't quite what we wanted.

I like the original version of this photo, but it's interesting to see how it sets a completely different mood by rendering it in black and white and changing it to a square crop.

Psalm 103

Psalm 103
Of David.

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.


As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.

Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.

Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the LORD, O my soul.

All the Pretty Colors

I love the fall when all of the colors change. I drove past this grove of trees this afternoon while running some errands. The red of the the trees stood out so brilliantly against the brown, dried brush that I had to return home for my camera. By the time I returned, the afternoon sun was shining down on them perfectly.

I used my camera several other times this weekend, and I hope to post a few more photos soon.

Also, congratulations to my brother, who ran THE marathon this weekend (Marathon to Athens) in a personal best time.