It is a crazy journey and a crazy life. I think many people believe in a fairy tale life. I think that many Christian's even believe in a fairy tale lifestyle. As I set down with a friend of mine last night, he could not fathom that I would even consider the idea that my marriage is over. He came up with all kinds of reasons why it couldn't end, why it shouldn't end. I wondered why he was so adamant about this. I realized after a few pointed questions that he felt this way because he believed that if I could not make my marriage work how could he make his work. I don't have an answer to that accept to say that he is not me. My problems and issues are not his problems and issues. We all go through different things in our life. We have different experinces. Each couple is unique in their own way. The sad fact in life though is that not every story has a happy ending. Not everyone lives happily ever after. Does that make it right? No, not necessarily. I think there are a lot of things that we see everyday on tv and in movies that have led us the believe that the couple always works things out and the is always this happily ever after. Walt Disney build an empire on this concept. I think that it is so ingrained in society that people who should know better, they just want that to be the way that it goes. I wanted it to be that way. I wanted to be married till death do us part. Did I think that less than a year into it I would discover the things that I discovered, did I think that these things would happen to me? No way. Not in a million years. My friend was talking to me last night about his marriage, which was semi arranged, and you know what he said about it? He said, "It looks good on paper". What does that even mean?
As Christian's I think that we need to pull our heads out of the sand and stop listening to the fairy tales that the world is giving us. I believe that we need to look around, there are issues out there. There are issues that we are confronted with every single day, but so many times instead of dealing with these issues we sweep them under a rug. We think that if we ignore an issue that it goes away. That simply is not the case. Sin cannot be ignored. If God, who is the soveriegn ruler of the universe cannot ignore sin, how can we. We try though, I think one day it will be a problem for the church. I think that the church will be judged for it.
So I say this to all of you out there, I am not saying that divorce is right, I am not saying that it is wrong. I would certainly not counsel anyone on whether or not they should get a divorce. I am saying that a decision to end a convenant that was made before God is a decision that each individual must come to on their own. It doesn't matter if there are 1000 people out there telling you what you should or shouldn't do, ultimately whatever you do is between you and God. You and only you will have to live with the consquenses of your actions.
In short, God doesn't promise us fairy tale endings. He does promise to love us and take care of us. There are many promises made to us by God and he will carry through on them, but he never promises happily ever after.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
New Highlights Video
Good Morning All!!!
What an awesome and exciting morning this is. I have been talking a lot lately about the new highlights video that Black and White Productions is going to be releasing soon. Great news! It is in the final stages. I have a few people screening it now. I willl make some final adjustments based on feedback this evening and then tomorrow evening we will launch it worldwide. I am very excited about this particular video because it represents something that I have wanted to do for quite a while, but I have not been able to because I did not have the right footage to make it work. I think that this video has the potential to be a huge marketing tool for us. When we release it, if you like it, share it. Put it out there with pride knowing that you know the Director/Producer and the camera crew. Or something like that. Anyway, the goal is just to blast this video out as fast and as far as we can, and then wait to see what happens.
What an awesome and exciting morning this is. I have been talking a lot lately about the new highlights video that Black and White Productions is going to be releasing soon. Great news! It is in the final stages. I have a few people screening it now. I willl make some final adjustments based on feedback this evening and then tomorrow evening we will launch it worldwide. I am very excited about this particular video because it represents something that I have wanted to do for quite a while, but I have not been able to because I did not have the right footage to make it work. I think that this video has the potential to be a huge marketing tool for us. When we release it, if you like it, share it. Put it out there with pride knowing that you know the Director/Producer and the camera crew. Or something like that. Anyway, the goal is just to blast this video out as fast and as far as we can, and then wait to see what happens.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Texas Country
There have been a lot of times over the last three and a half years that I have missed the scenic beauty of Michigan. Texas does not have a lot of scenic beauty, but when you are blessed enough to find some, man is it beautiful. I was out west of the DFW metroplex on Saturday. I saw some truly beautiful country. One of the things that you will hear me say if you are a fly in my car when I am out taking pictures is, "I have to get off this road". Yes I do talk to myself when I am driving and its not just in my head either. The true of the matter is though, if you want to shoot amazing landscapes, beautiful sunsets, or nature, you aren't going to find it driving along the highway. My rule generally is, I can't start taking pictures until I am lost, until I have no idea where I am. And so I found myself driving almost 100 miles west to get out to "where the blacktop ends".
One of the things that was so awesome about it was that as I got out of my car, I couldn't hear anything. No traffic noise, no people, nothing except nature. I think that it is in places like this and at times like this that we can truly hear God speak. The still small voice as it were. I saw longhorns, shorthorns, horses, and a snapping turtle. There were wild flowers. I drove through little country towns where everybody knows everybody. I saw people that had never been to Dallas before much less out of Texas. I saw a piece of Texas that I had not seen before, and it was awesome. I felt like a cowboy when the lady at the service station asked me what I was doing up there and I tipped my hat and said, "I'm just passin through, ma'am".
I was experimenting with a new kind of photography that I have not done before. It is called High Dynamic Range or HDR. The idea is that you take several pictures of varying exposures and merge them together into one image. This allows a much greater tonal range than you would otherwise be able to get in a single image. It is pretty facsinating. The results were a little mixed, but I will definitely put some up to show you later. The concept is really cool, it is just going to take some time to master it. We shall see what happens though.
Also, today is my brother Joshua's birthday, so a big happy birthday to him.
One of the things that was so awesome about it was that as I got out of my car, I couldn't hear anything. No traffic noise, no people, nothing except nature. I think that it is in places like this and at times like this that we can truly hear God speak. The still small voice as it were. I saw longhorns, shorthorns, horses, and a snapping turtle. There were wild flowers. I drove through little country towns where everybody knows everybody. I saw people that had never been to Dallas before much less out of Texas. I saw a piece of Texas that I had not seen before, and it was awesome. I felt like a cowboy when the lady at the service station asked me what I was doing up there and I tipped my hat and said, "I'm just passin through, ma'am".
I was experimenting with a new kind of photography that I have not done before. It is called High Dynamic Range or HDR. The idea is that you take several pictures of varying exposures and merge them together into one image. This allows a much greater tonal range than you would otherwise be able to get in a single image. It is pretty facsinating. The results were a little mixed, but I will definitely put some up to show you later. The concept is really cool, it is just going to take some time to master it. We shall see what happens though.
Also, today is my brother Joshua's birthday, so a big happy birthday to him.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
I am a Cowboy
For those of you who didn't know, I am a cowboy. Well I at least pretend to be. I mean let's face it, who doesn't like a cowboy. They represent everything that we good and wholesome about the wild west. Someone recently told me that I looked very Texas with my cowboy hat, my jeans and my boots. I feel like I was missing my six shooter and my pickup truck, but oh well.
Something that I would love more than anything would be to own a ranch. I would love to move out of the city and just have some land. Maybe get some horses and cattle to make it legit, but either way I would just love to live out in the country. In so many ways it is a harder life, but it is also a simpler, quitter, slower paced life.
I spent some time on a farm while I was growing up. It was definitely hard work, but the whole pace of life was different. I miss the days when we would sit down to a big lunch and then sit back and relax for a couple hours till the sun passed its prime. There was no real reason to rush to get anything done. Oh there was work that needed to get done to be sure, but there was this unspoken understanding, that the work would get done.
I know I find myself rushing through life and sometimes not taking enough time out to enjoy it. I think that I get so caught up with getting to the next thing that I don’t take time to smell the roses.
Some of the happiest times of my life were hanging out with Rob Cook on his Grandpa’s farm. We worked hard, but we played hard too. I miss that. Maybe, God willing, someday I will be able to buy some land and go back to that simpler life and time.
Something that I would love more than anything would be to own a ranch. I would love to move out of the city and just have some land. Maybe get some horses and cattle to make it legit, but either way I would just love to live out in the country. In so many ways it is a harder life, but it is also a simpler, quitter, slower paced life.
I spent some time on a farm while I was growing up. It was definitely hard work, but the whole pace of life was different. I miss the days when we would sit down to a big lunch and then sit back and relax for a couple hours till the sun passed its prime. There was no real reason to rush to get anything done. Oh there was work that needed to get done to be sure, but there was this unspoken understanding, that the work would get done.
I know I find myself rushing through life and sometimes not taking enough time out to enjoy it. I think that I get so caught up with getting to the next thing that I don’t take time to smell the roses.
Some of the happiest times of my life were hanging out with Rob Cook on his Grandpa’s farm. We worked hard, but we played hard too. I miss that. Maybe, God willing, someday I will be able to buy some land and go back to that simpler life and time.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Enough Talent to Win
“You think you can win on talent alone? Gentlemen, you don't have enough talent to win on talent alone.” Herb Brooks
As I was editing this weekend, I thought to myself “What does it take to win in this?” I was reminded of Herb Brooks quote to his 1980 gold medal hockey team. In video production I don’t have enough talent to win on my own. At some point I have to let go and let God step in and take over. I think the sooner that this happens the better off I will be. When I am working on a wedding, I am not and cannot be doing it for myself. It has to be for the glory of God. I think that so often it is easy to forget as Christians that every time we suit up for the game we go out there and represent God. We are on his team. I know in my own life it is easy for me to go out there and represent myself. What a selfish thing to do. It has been said many times to many teams, “there is no I in Team”. We cannot claim any victories in our life as our own. All praise and honor and glory go to God.
In life it is not always about winning or losing. I believe that score should be kept and results tracked. At the end of the day though what truly matters, is did you give your all, and more importantly, did you give your all for God.
Every team has two things, a coach and a playbook. It is the job of the coach to write the playbook. It is the job of every player to know the playbook inside and out, front to back. In that regard the Christian life is no different. I think that the Holy Spirit, as part of the triune God, can be considered to be our coach. We have been given the ultimate playbook in the Bible. It is our responsibility to know this book cover to cover.
In my work with the JV boys in AWANA this year I have been trying to impress upon them the importance of scripture memorization, of hiding God’s word in their hearts. Almost every single one of these young plays some sort of sport in school. They all have memorized their playbook for their sport. They can quote sports stats and player stats from every major league sport to you all day long. Yet, as professing Christians they do not see the need or have the desire to memorize God’s word. If they understood that there is only one game in life worth playing. The stakes to that game are eternal life for the winners and eternal hell for the losers. It is the game of life itself. There are two coaches. The thing is, there is a guaranteed outcome. One of the coaches most definitely will win and won most definitely will lose. We already know who will win and who will lose. All that is really left to determine is which team you will play for. Right now the losing team has far more players. Right now the team that will ultimately lose, they seem to be winning. Some of that may be because the winning team does not always act like a winning team. They don’t all know the playbook as they should. They are not teaching their fellow teammates the play book as they should be.
In order to win, I need to listen to my coach. I need to be studying my playbook every day. That is how we can be victorious. The battle is still raging, but the victory is sure.
As I was editing this weekend, I thought to myself “What does it take to win in this?” I was reminded of Herb Brooks quote to his 1980 gold medal hockey team. In video production I don’t have enough talent to win on my own. At some point I have to let go and let God step in and take over. I think the sooner that this happens the better off I will be. When I am working on a wedding, I am not and cannot be doing it for myself. It has to be for the glory of God. I think that so often it is easy to forget as Christians that every time we suit up for the game we go out there and represent God. We are on his team. I know in my own life it is easy for me to go out there and represent myself. What a selfish thing to do. It has been said many times to many teams, “there is no I in Team”. We cannot claim any victories in our life as our own. All praise and honor and glory go to God.
In life it is not always about winning or losing. I believe that score should be kept and results tracked. At the end of the day though what truly matters, is did you give your all, and more importantly, did you give your all for God.
Every team has two things, a coach and a playbook. It is the job of the coach to write the playbook. It is the job of every player to know the playbook inside and out, front to back. In that regard the Christian life is no different. I think that the Holy Spirit, as part of the triune God, can be considered to be our coach. We have been given the ultimate playbook in the Bible. It is our responsibility to know this book cover to cover.
In my work with the JV boys in AWANA this year I have been trying to impress upon them the importance of scripture memorization, of hiding God’s word in their hearts. Almost every single one of these young plays some sort of sport in school. They all have memorized their playbook for their sport. They can quote sports stats and player stats from every major league sport to you all day long. Yet, as professing Christians they do not see the need or have the desire to memorize God’s word. If they understood that there is only one game in life worth playing. The stakes to that game are eternal life for the winners and eternal hell for the losers. It is the game of life itself. There are two coaches. The thing is, there is a guaranteed outcome. One of the coaches most definitely will win and won most definitely will lose. We already know who will win and who will lose. All that is really left to determine is which team you will play for. Right now the losing team has far more players. Right now the team that will ultimately lose, they seem to be winning. Some of that may be because the winning team does not always act like a winning team. They don’t all know the playbook as they should. They are not teaching their fellow teammates the play book as they should be.
In order to win, I need to listen to my coach. I need to be studying my playbook every day. That is how we can be victorious. The battle is still raging, but the victory is sure.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Victorious or Victimized
“May we choose wisely and become part of the solution group of victors instead of the problem group of victims.” Chris Brady
What a world we live in. I don’t rant a lot, but this is going to be a rant. We need to wake up. Chris Brady recently wrote about a new job opening that we have in our country. This job grows in popularity every day, but don’t worry, there are still plenty of opening available. The job position that Chris was writing about is that of the victim.
I run into people every day who fill this position. I find people who are willing to blame anyone and anything for the situation that they are in. You know, it’s time for people to step up and take some responsibility for their actions. It’s not your parents fault, it’s not the fault of where you were born, and certainly the government is not at fault. The only person, who can take responsibility for where you are in your life today, IS YOU.
I was reading this crazy story on MSN the other day where some God professing preacher was instructing people to boycott BP because of the situation in the gulf right now. The ignorance that spewed from this guy’s mouth was utterly unbelievable. It is the same thought process that continues to keep the wounds of racism open and fresh. The accident in the gulf, its just another place where people are signing up to fill the position of the victim. There are two significant things that you should know. One, BP did not operate the rig that exploded leaving an open wellhead 5000 feet below the surface. Two, even if BP did own and operate the rig, there are such things in life as accidents. They happen everyday . That does not give anyone the right to become a victim. Certainly there are victims of accidents, there were eleven men killed in that explosion. And my heart goes out to their families. I can understand the financial hurt to the fishing industry right now. The thing of it is, it is not the people who work in the fishing industry that are spewing forth ignorance about boycotting BP. No instead they have taken jobs to work with BP to correct the situation. They are helping to clean up the spill so they can move on with their lives.
Chris wrote about another group of people as well. He called them the victors. These are the people who take the circumstances that they find themselves in and rather than blame someone else, they step up to the plate, they load their boats with oil booms and help clean up the mess. Is it what they would prefer to be doing? No. The victors do what needs to be done, because it needs to be done. They do it because they realize that another handout from the government is not going to correct the situation. Victors: Positions Open now.
We as American’s need to wake up. Every day we give more and more power to the government. Every day the government gets larger and larger. Is this what the founding father had in mind? I doubt it. As a nation we need to turn back to God. We need to go back to the principles that this country was founded on. There was a time when the rest of the world looked at the United States and they wanted to come to our country. They wanted to move here legally and become citizens. They believed in the process. They believed that this country was great. It is not our government or our military that makes us great. It is our people and our principles. Day by day we are fighting a losing battle. As Christians we need to wake up and pray.
What a world we live in. I don’t rant a lot, but this is going to be a rant. We need to wake up. Chris Brady recently wrote about a new job opening that we have in our country. This job grows in popularity every day, but don’t worry, there are still plenty of opening available. The job position that Chris was writing about is that of the victim.
I run into people every day who fill this position. I find people who are willing to blame anyone and anything for the situation that they are in. You know, it’s time for people to step up and take some responsibility for their actions. It’s not your parents fault, it’s not the fault of where you were born, and certainly the government is not at fault. The only person, who can take responsibility for where you are in your life today, IS YOU.
I was reading this crazy story on MSN the other day where some God professing preacher was instructing people to boycott BP because of the situation in the gulf right now. The ignorance that spewed from this guy’s mouth was utterly unbelievable. It is the same thought process that continues to keep the wounds of racism open and fresh. The accident in the gulf, its just another place where people are signing up to fill the position of the victim. There are two significant things that you should know. One, BP did not operate the rig that exploded leaving an open wellhead 5000 feet below the surface. Two, even if BP did own and operate the rig, there are such things in life as accidents. They happen everyday . That does not give anyone the right to become a victim. Certainly there are victims of accidents, there were eleven men killed in that explosion. And my heart goes out to their families. I can understand the financial hurt to the fishing industry right now. The thing of it is, it is not the people who work in the fishing industry that are spewing forth ignorance about boycotting BP. No instead they have taken jobs to work with BP to correct the situation. They are helping to clean up the spill so they can move on with their lives.
Chris wrote about another group of people as well. He called them the victors. These are the people who take the circumstances that they find themselves in and rather than blame someone else, they step up to the plate, they load their boats with oil booms and help clean up the mess. Is it what they would prefer to be doing? No. The victors do what needs to be done, because it needs to be done. They do it because they realize that another handout from the government is not going to correct the situation. Victors: Positions Open now.
We as American’s need to wake up. Every day we give more and more power to the government. Every day the government gets larger and larger. Is this what the founding father had in mind? I doubt it. As a nation we need to turn back to God. We need to go back to the principles that this country was founded on. There was a time when the rest of the world looked at the United States and they wanted to come to our country. They wanted to move here legally and become citizens. They believed in the process. They believed that this country was great. It is not our government or our military that makes us great. It is our people and our principles. Day by day we are fighting a losing battle. As Christians we need to wake up and pray.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Highlights
Well I have finally decided to do it. I have decided to get purple highlights in my hair. Just kidding…
No seriously though, I have the opportunity to do something really cool that I have wanted to do for a long time, with the highlights video that I am making from Megan and Michael’s wedding. The cool thing is that this is not part of the contract so I can use the footage and really take it in my own creative direction. Additionally, since there was some dancing at the reception that gives me footage that I previously did not have.
I want to take this opportunity to push my limits a little and try to make this highlights video be really there. It is definitely going to take some work, but I think that it will be pretty cool when I am done. At least I hope it will be. Of course there is always the off chance that once I get into it, I will discover that I do not have all of the footage that I need to make it work and it may go a completely different direction.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I hope this is the case. I find myself trying to re-create many different things that I see other people do, in both my video and my photography work. I see different effects and I try to figure out how to make them work. It is probably the way that I learn more than any other way.
Anyway, give me ten days or so and we will see what we shall see.
No seriously though, I have the opportunity to do something really cool that I have wanted to do for a long time, with the highlights video that I am making from Megan and Michael’s wedding. The cool thing is that this is not part of the contract so I can use the footage and really take it in my own creative direction. Additionally, since there was some dancing at the reception that gives me footage that I previously did not have.
I want to take this opportunity to push my limits a little and try to make this highlights video be really there. It is definitely going to take some work, but I think that it will be pretty cool when I am done. At least I hope it will be. Of course there is always the off chance that once I get into it, I will discover that I do not have all of the footage that I need to make it work and it may go a completely different direction.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I hope this is the case. I find myself trying to re-create many different things that I see other people do, in both my video and my photography work. I see different effects and I try to figure out how to make them work. It is probably the way that I learn more than any other way.
Anyway, give me ten days or so and we will see what we shall see.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Where do you stand?
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy"
Wow. That’s all that I can say about this weekend. It was unbelievably amazing. I can see God’s hand with us throughout all of our endeavors this weekend.
Megan and Michael’s wedding was amazing. She was a beautiful bride. I don’t know if I have ever seen two people more in love. You could tell by the way that these two interacted, the light in their eyes, that they love each other very much. Both Megan and Michael are God fearing Christians, this was publicly proclaimed during the ceremony. I have to say to that their ceremony was one of the most beautiful, God honoring ceremonies that I have ever been part of. Something I love about southern believers that I have run into outside of the assemblies is their genuine love for the Lord. It is really cool. The church was awesome, even though lighting left a little to be desired. We met and exchanged contact information with some cool vendors. It was awesome working with Lauren, Jared, and Heather while they were doing the photography. Jordan, did an amazing job coordinating everything and making sure that everything went really smoothly on Saturday. It is always fun to meet other people in the wedding business and exchange ideas and experiences with them. It was a double blessing because all of these people were Christians. It really made it an enjoyable experience.
I am really proud of Lydia and Josh for their efforts this weekend. They both did an awesome job. Lydia’s camera work was very good. She takes after her older brother in the handheld camera department. It really is a skill. Not everyone can do handheld camera and hold it steady and move with the shot. She has grown a lot in the past few months. Josh stepped in and really worked hard in a support role this weekend. A really big thanks goes out to him for fixing my glasses after someone sat on them. You know that is just part of the experience. Things happen out there and you just have to role with them.
I did a photo-shoot with the talented Julia Hamilton yesterday afternoon. It was a lot of fun. We did some motion shots. I have some images that turned out really sweet. I learned a few new things. All in all it was great though. I think that she is happy with the way that things went and I think she is going to be happy with the results. I know I was.
That pretty much wraps up the weekend. I spent the rest of the day yesterday capturing the wedding footage. Tonight I will sync it and edit it. I think it is going to be pretty awesome. Right now I am looking for inspiration in a highlights reel. I am not sure what direction that is going to go at this point.
Wow. That’s all that I can say about this weekend. It was unbelievably amazing. I can see God’s hand with us throughout all of our endeavors this weekend.
Megan and Michael’s wedding was amazing. She was a beautiful bride. I don’t know if I have ever seen two people more in love. You could tell by the way that these two interacted, the light in their eyes, that they love each other very much. Both Megan and Michael are God fearing Christians, this was publicly proclaimed during the ceremony. I have to say to that their ceremony was one of the most beautiful, God honoring ceremonies that I have ever been part of. Something I love about southern believers that I have run into outside of the assemblies is their genuine love for the Lord. It is really cool. The church was awesome, even though lighting left a little to be desired. We met and exchanged contact information with some cool vendors. It was awesome working with Lauren, Jared, and Heather while they were doing the photography. Jordan, did an amazing job coordinating everything and making sure that everything went really smoothly on Saturday. It is always fun to meet other people in the wedding business and exchange ideas and experiences with them. It was a double blessing because all of these people were Christians. It really made it an enjoyable experience.
I am really proud of Lydia and Josh for their efforts this weekend. They both did an awesome job. Lydia’s camera work was very good. She takes after her older brother in the handheld camera department. It really is a skill. Not everyone can do handheld camera and hold it steady and move with the shot. She has grown a lot in the past few months. Josh stepped in and really worked hard in a support role this weekend. A really big thanks goes out to him for fixing my glasses after someone sat on them. You know that is just part of the experience. Things happen out there and you just have to role with them.
I did a photo-shoot with the talented Julia Hamilton yesterday afternoon. It was a lot of fun. We did some motion shots. I have some images that turned out really sweet. I learned a few new things. All in all it was great though. I think that she is happy with the way that things went and I think she is going to be happy with the results. I know I was.
That pretty much wraps up the weekend. I spent the rest of the day yesterday capturing the wedding footage. Tonight I will sync it and edit it. I think it is going to be pretty awesome. Right now I am looking for inspiration in a highlights reel. I am not sure what direction that is going to go at this point.
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