Beauty and the Beast

I remember coming home after a physical hard day of work. Amy would ask me to help with something around the house or with Judah. And I would with a lot of huffing and puffing do what she asked of me while grumbling some kind of complaint under my breath. I could get so frustrated that she could not understand how tired I would be. She would say just a little thing and it would be the straw that broke the camels back. Oh how self-righteous I would feel to have her serve me. Like I had earned her devotion. The groveling fool that I was.
Just today Judah was laying in bed and Amy sat down on the couch with the computer. Judah yells from his room I want some water. Amy looks up at me and asks me to get it for Judah. I had just sat down with excitement to see a co-parent from Judah's school to whom we are getting better acquainted perform on tonight's episode of 'the Beast' (A&E). My reaction was all but right. I didn't want to do it. I said that I didn't want to miss him, and that she should do it. Her reply was simply "This is the first thing I have asked of you all evening." I will have you know that this was the first thing that she has asked of me since she came home because I had a team meeting online that I attended earlier in the evening."I was doing some work on the computer for work, but I'll go." And as she is taking care of Judah I feel smaller than a pea. Well not litteraly, but I do feel rotten. I came to the conclusion that 'the grass is always greener on the other side'. No matter on what side of the fence I find myself I will always react like I am the one who is shorthanded. Like I deserve something.
Reality is Amy is nothing but grace in my life. I do not deserve her or Judah for one split second. It is nothing but grace . Now I don't want you to think that I am a self loathing kind of guy. I do realize that this works both ways. Yet I wouldn't dare to write this kind of story about anyone but myself. I would just be trashing Amy if this was about her fence, and believe me she has one too.
My point is that once in a while you have these moments where the window is not fogged over and you can see clearly to the other side of the window pain. You see that your frustration has no ground to stand on and that you cause exactly the same. It is like you see clearly into a mirror and everything is the same except for you. In this case I was Amy. I saw that my shallow emotion caused the same frustration. And all this over some water.
I was wrong.

One Shot #20, #21, #22 & #23

I had some days where I did not post any One Shots. So I went out tonight to make up for lost times.

Potbelly:
Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/125
A: f/5.6
F: 231mm (231 * 1.6 = 369.6mm)
Exposure: -0.33
WB K5400
Parameters: Contrast 0 / Sharpness 0 / Saturation 0 / Color Tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0985.JPG

Lighting: Direct sunlight.


Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/15
A: f/4.0
F: 30mm (30 * 1.6 = 48mm)
Exposure: 0
WB K5400
Parameters: Contrast 0 / Sharpness 0 / Saturation 0 / Color Tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0986.JPG

Lighting: What you see plus the surrounding street lights.


Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/6
A: f/5.0
F: 18mm (18 * 1.6 = 28.8mm)
Exposure: 0
WB K5400
Parameters: Contrast 0 / Sharpness 0 / Saturation 0 / Color Tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0988.JPG

Lighting: What you see plus the surrounding street lights.


Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/5
A: f/5,0
F: 38mm (38 * 1.6 = 60.8mm)
Exposure: 0
WB K5400
Parameters: Contrast 0 / Sharpness 0 / Saturation 0 / Color Tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0991.JPG

Lighting: What you see plus the surrounding street lights of which one lit the tree up really well.

One Shot #18 & #19

As requested by Michelle:
Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/30
A: f/3.5
F: 18mm (18 * 1.6 = 28.8mm)
Exposure: -0.33
WB K5400
Parameters: Contrast +0.5 / Sharpness +0.5 / Saturation +0.5 / Color Tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0895.JPG

Lighting: over head and one freestanding room light.

And our youth sanctuary:
Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/10
A: f/5.0
F: 43mm (43 * 1.6 = 68.8mm)
Exposure: Manual (-2?)
WB K5400
Parameters: Contrast +0.5 / Sharpness +0.5 / Saturation +0.5 / Color Tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0887.JPG

Lighting: Only what you can see




I do have to say once more that these colors are just a whole lot more flat than those on my computer.

Peptobismol

"What a huge Harvest! And how few the harvest hands.
So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to sent harvest hands."
(Luke 10:2 MSG)

Today I had a real 'Pepto' moment.
Amy and I like to go the the Saturday evening service of our church. And since today is Saturday we found ourselves out in Barrington once again. We came in fashionably late, after dropping of Judah in Promisland, and enjoyed the remainder of the worship time. I love worshiping God, there is nothing like being in his presence together with Amy. Anyway, we are in a sermon series called enough. Dave Ramsey will close this series next week, but today Bill preached about giving. It was great to be challanged once again to surrender our finances over to God.
Yet today it wasnt the worship or the preaching that God used to speak to me. No, it was these, what most would consider 'boring' 15 minutes where Bill went over some business aspects of being a church. He talked about some of the ministries and the leadership involved etc. Really, come to think of it, it has to be boring if you are not interested in that aspect of a church.
I am married to a wonderful and patient wife that supports me in all my moments. She really supports me, yet I am also married to a very, very accomplished women. Who has a very strong calling on her life. This is very humbling and sometimes even depressing when I focus on myself. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't trade her for anything.
The thing is...... I have been struggling with a sense of purpose for the last months if not years. I think my greatest struggle has been in the fact that I have all these interests and talents that don't really lead in a specific direction and so I don't seem to go anywhere. To be honest I have struggled with God many times just to have him point me in one clear direction. Like Amy had when she heard him say that he had called her to be a doctor. Yet I never seemed to get it right. I still don't know what I will be when I grow up. So in all this unrest in my soul I am learning to rely on Him and on His faithfulness. I am learning to remain peaceful and greatful for where ever I am and will be in life. Yet I struggle. I struggle weekly, no daily, with a longing to have clarity over my future. Hanging out with all those moms everyday isn't the easiest thing for a man, at least not for me. I don't mean this disrespectful but I simply am not wired for having just that. So I want more, or something else. questions like 'Where will i be in four years?' or 'What am i going to do these four years?' or even 'What do I want do do in live?, and 'Who do I want to be?' hovered in the back of my mind. It was eating me.
Today while Bill was doing his business talk I heard it as clear as I have heard Him speak to me "You are created to minister." Now don't get me wrong, nothing changed in my life, but there is this peace that came with it. You know, that moment where nothing really changes but all the unrest is settled Just like a Peptobismol to a stomach. I know that I have always done a lot of ministry and knew that I always would, but this was different. This wasn't about something I would do this is about who I am. I haven't got a clue what this means in the near or far future. I don't know what I need to do next. But I do understand now better than before that everything in my life has led up to this as preparation. And I am sure that I will need a whole lot more of preparing. I just find it nice, no soothing to know that I belong somewhere in that plan of His. It finally traveled the longest distance in the world, 18 inches or so. From my head to my heart. As I am sure it will have to do a dozen times more. Thank God for His faithfulness.

One Shot #16 & #17

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/50
A: f/36
F: 55mm (55 * 1.6 = 88mm)
Exposure: Manual
WB K5400
Parameters: Contrast 0 / Sharpness 0 / Saturation 0 / Color Tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0885.JPG

Lighting: A bright clouded day



Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/320
A: f/5.6
F: 18mm (18 * 1.6 = 28.8mm)
Exposure: Manual
WB K5400
Parameters: Contrast +0.5 / Sharpness +1 / Filter effect Or:Orange / Toning effect N:None
Photo ID: _MG_0881.JPG

Lighting: clouded but bright

Irony

Today I had the pleasure of watching Nate. Nate is our two year old neighbor. He is very high energy and a pleasure to watch. And as any two year old he is also strong willed. A perfect fit for me. I took the opportunity to take some photos of him and Judah as you can see in my One shot for today. And as I made the mistake of not paying attention to him and Judah while I uploaded the photo's to the blog. I heard a crash and then Judah came running into the room "Nate broke it, Nate broke it and in his and he was holding two pieces that were once a beautiful black queen. As seen on the photo that I took the day before. It doesn't matter that she broke after all it is just a piece of soap stone. But I had been planning on taking this picture (see above) for a while now but 'never got to it.' So the irony of it all is that we have moved three times since we acquired this chess set. Moving is the perfect opportunity for a brittle stone to break. Yet after I finally get to taking a photo it breaks when it is knocked over for the, I don't know how many-est time.

One Shot #15

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/60
A: f/5.0
F: 18mm (18 * 1.6 = 28.8mm)
Exposure: -0.33
WB K5400
Parameters: Contrast 0 / Sharpness 0 / Saturation 0 / Color Tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0868.JPG

Lighting: two energy saving bulbs of 13 Watt and indirect sunlight

As you can see these two high energy boys were having a hard time to really pose for a photo.
So here is the retake with the boys somewhat participating.

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/60
A: f/5.0
F: 22mm (22 * 1.6 = 35.2mm)
Exposure: -0.33
WB K5400
Parameters: Contrast 0 / Sharpness 0 / Saturation 0 / Color Tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0873.JPG

Lighting: two energy saving bulbs of 13 Watt and indirect sunlight

Our neighbor Nate

And some shots for the family.

Here are some photo's of Judah for the Oma's.

And some of the latest funny things that Judah has been saying.

"Kiss the magic dragon".

"Thumbs up "
(or down)
at the best moments.

"I win, I am number one"

One Shot #13 & #14

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 200
T: 1/30
A: f/5.6
F: 25mm (25 * 1.6 = 40mm)
Exposure: Manual
WB K4800
Parameters: Contrast +0.5 / Sharpness +0.5 / Saturation +0.5 / Color Tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0821.JPG

Lighting: two energy saving bulbs of 13 Watt


Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 200
T: 1/0.4
A: f/10.0
F: 81mm (81 * 1.6 = 129.6mm)
Exposure: Manual (+1)
WB K5400
Parameters: Contrast +0.5 / Sharpness +0.5 / Filter effect: Or: Orange / Toning effect: :None
Photo ID: _MG_0856.JPG

Lighting: two energy saving bulbs of 13 Watt

One Shot #12

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/160
A: f/6.3
F: 70mm (86 * 1.6 = 137.6mm)
Exposure: -0.33
WB K4800
Parameters: Contrast +0.5 / Sharpness +0.5 / Saturation +0.5 / Color Tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0818.JPG

Lighting: Sunlight light


And on MJ's request:
Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/25
A: f/4
F: 70mm (70 * 1.6 = 112mm)
Exposure: -0.67
WB K4800
Parameters: Contrast +1 / Sharpness +1 / Filter effect R:Red / Toning effect N:none
Photo ID: _MG_0654.JPG

Lighting: Hotel hallway light

One Shot #10 & #11

Since I didn't get to post one yesterday I will post two today. I am glad I get to do this because I really messed up the first one and had to take retakes which you can see at the bottom.Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 200
T: 1/15
A: f/5.6
F: 76mm (76 * 1.6 = 121.6mm)
Exposure: Manual probably a good -4
WB K4800
Parameters: Contrast +1 / Sharpness +1 / Filter effect G:Green / Toning effect S:Sepia
Photo ID: _MG_0656.JPG

Lighting: Halogen spotlight in the Knowles kitchen

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 200
T: 1/30
A: f/4
F: 70mm (70 * 1.6 = 112mm)
Exposure: Manual -1
WB K4800
Parameters: Contrast +1 / Sharpness 1 / Filter effect R:Red / Toning effect N:None
Photo ID: _MG_0662.JPG

Lighting: Halogen spotlight in the Knowles kitchen

The retakes of the first shot (information only shows the difference compared to the hands photo) Many thanks to Johnathan Knowles for participating as my model.

1/20 | f/5.6 | 70mm | _MG_0665.JPG

1/20 | f/5.6 | 100mm | _MG_0676.JPG

1/20 | f/5.6 | 100mm | _MG_0682.JPG

One Shot #9

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/133
A: f/4
F: 70mm (70 * 1.6 = 112mm)
Exposure: +0.67
WB K4400
Parameters: Contrast +1 / Sharpness 0 / Filter effect R:Red / Toning effect N:None
Photo ID: _MG_0651.JPG

Lighting: Hotel hallway light

Greedy

After I put Judah down for his nap today I decided that it was a good day for a pipe. It was 60F degrees and a sunny day, so why not? I am comfortably sitting and enjoying this wonderful weather with my pipe lit when I hear Judah crying on the top of his lungs. Some thing must have gone seriously wrong I think to myself as I run inside. Hoping he is not freaking out that I am not inside on top of everything. I see him standing in the hallway. His face covered in blood. I think that he has reopened his wounds on his lip. I pick him up and hold him as I walk to the bathroom to clean his face. He doesn't want me to clean him. "My lip hurts", he screams in terror. I wet some toilet paper and wipe down his cheeks and chin and then his lip. His lip seems to be intact so that's not the problem. He has a bloody nose. Come to find out that he was picking his nose and picked a little to much. As soon as I told him that it was his nose he became calm and said that he was ok. Calmed down and peacfully he was of to bed.

One Shot #8

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 800
T: 1/200
A: f/5.6
F: 190mm (190 * 1.6 = 294mm)
Exposure: -1.33
WB K4400
Parameters: Contrast +0.5 / Sharpness +0.5 / Saturation +0.5 / Color tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0643.JPG

Lighting: one 13 watt energy bulb spotlight

My goal was to capture the image on the Iphone. It is difficult to have good lighting and catch the display at the same time without a proper studio because the display projects light and the rest doesn't (and I don't have a light box to use as background).

Suffering

"He is no fool
who gives what he cannot keep
to gain what he cannot lose."
- Jim Elliot -

Today I read in Acts 16 the story of where Paul and Timothy are in Thyatira. In this story they are being followed bu a fortunetelling girl that followed them around screaming:

"These men are working for the Most High God.
They're laying out the road of salvation for you!" (Msg)

Then after three days when Paul cant take it anymore. (He is way more patient than that I would probably be, and I would probably get a big chip on my shoulder.) He turns around and casts the demon out of her. As a result the owners of this slave girl drag Paul and Timothy in front of the judges. They are condemned, their clothes are ripped and they are beaten black and blue and thrown into maximum security jail where they were clamped in irons. Then Paul and Timothy start to praise God, I honestly have no idea what they were saying because I would probably be complaining. God then lets the earth shake and opens all the doors and unlocks all the chains of all the prisoners. The guard wants to kill himself because the Roman tradition would have him executed anyway. Paul speaks up and says that all the prisoners were still there. This makes no sense to me because it doesn't say anything about Paul and Timothy's influence on those other prisoners. But it must have been big for them not to run and to stay there, I for one know that I would have run. The guard and his entire household surrender their lives to God. Paul is set free and he says:

"They beat us up in public and threw us in jail, Roman citizens in good standing!
And now they want us out of the way on the sly without anyone knowing?
Nothing doing! If they want us out of here,
let them come themselves and lead us out in broad daylight." (Msg)

The story continues to tell how the judges panicked, apologized, personaly led them out of jail and asked them to leave the city. So here is my question and this was the first time that I noticed this. Why did paul not say while he was before the judge we are Roman citizens? They would not have had their clothes riped, been beaten, and thrown in jail. Why did he choose to let all this pass them by? What could have possed these two men to suffer so willingly? They were falsly accused in the first place!

My desire is to one day rely on God with this much sincerity. To fully know that his provision for the outcome of every situation in my life is for the good of His glory and the furtherment of His kingdom. To be able to say to myself in full conviction that my life belongs to him and he may do as he pleases. To realize that a beating or even death is nothing he hasn't done for me already. I owe my suffering to Him.

One Shot #7

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 800
T: 1/25
A: f/5
F: 190mm (190 * 1.6 = 294mm)
Exposure: 0
WB K4400
Parameters: Contrast +0.5 / Sharpness +0.5 / Saturation +0.5 / Color tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0585.JPG

Lighting: natural light through the window, is was a clouded day.

I was on a play date this morning and these people have two cats named Tom and Jerry. This is Tom. I found him laying on the bright red couch in the kids play room and this is the result.

I do have to admit that the blog dulls the photo's because the red is really bright. Does anyone else notice this about the blog?

Busted

Today we had a great day. We went to church and then out to lunch with our friends Tim and Amber and their son. Then Judah and Amy took a nap. After that Amy worked on her dissertation, again. at 4:15pm Amy went to work and Judah and I joined our friends Esther, Arthur and Ellen at the park. After which we walked to the papusaria, a Elsalvadorian restaurant. On our way there the three kids were holding hands with Judah in the middle. Then it happened. One of the kids tripped and they all stumbled and fell down. Because Judah was in the middle he didn't have a chance to brace himself so with his hands at his side he hit the pavement, face first. Judah had blood all over his face. Scrapes on his chin and upper lip. Two little cuts on the inside of his lip of where his teeth pierced the skin. And he cut the little piece of skin that connects your lip to your gums. I called Amy later oday and she said that the ortodontist cut hers when she had her braces so that it didnt matter that his was ripped. I now have blood all over my coat, and I wear it with pride. As we walk into the papusaria people look at us and kind of freak out because Judah has smeared his blood all over his face in an attempt to wipe the snot from his nose. Ofcourse I decide to take him to the bathroom and with some wet papertowels I wipe his face which in return made him scream and cry al over again. Once the papusas were served he forgot all about his pain and ate his papusa con queso with a litle snif here and there in between. I have to admid that I had to choose to nurture him first and once he wasn't thinking about his lip any more I was finally able to take a picture. In all honesty my thought process was as follows: "Lets take a look to make sure he is ok. Ok he is ok. I t would be so cool to take a picture of him right now. That would damage him for life and that is not worth a photo. Ok just hold him and calm him down." And then the rest of the evening I had to discipline myself to not take a photo until he was himself again.

One Shot #6

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 800
T: 1/2
A: f/4
F: 200mm (200 * 1.6 = 320mm)
Exposure: -1
WB K5600
Parameters: Contrast +1 / Sharpness 0 / Filter Effect R:red / Toning Effect N:none
Photo ID: _MG_0539.JPG

Lighting: 1 can light in the ceiling. I don't know the bulb wattage or type but the light was rather yellow so I think it must have been a 30-40 watt or (most likely)on a dimmer.

I took this picture during the sermon at church this morning. My friends baby had just fallen asleep (despite a great sermon) and I saw how the light hit his little had and realized that this would be my shot.

Combustion

Today it was 56F degrees. Amy, Judah and I, went for a bike ride to the library and to Lincoln Square. It is local little outdoor shopping area with lots of quaint stores - It has a very European feel to it. It is amazing to see how a dormant city, which Chicago is during the winter months, can just explode with life. Today it was hard to realize that it was 16 degrees with a windchill that made it feel like 1 degree (according to the weather channel) only last week. I felt like wearing shorts. People everywhere were jogging, walking, and just enjoying the outdoors. If this weather would stick like the snow has the last few months it would be spring. But the temperature is supposed to drop again next week and winter will linger a little longer. Enjoying the nice weather the playground was a happening place too.Here you see Judah and Amy jumping of the playground retaining wall.

One Shot #5

Today was a gorgeous day in Chicago. it was 56F and everyone was glad to be outside after being cooped up inside for the last few months. So was I so I took several One shot Photos The first one being my natural pick for the day. The information under the other ones is in the same order as the first but will be separated by | and will not have their description. All photos are shot on the same camera, ISO, WB Parameters. All photos also have Sunlight as lighting except for the one of the stairs the lighting on that one is incandescent.

Girl on the diamond.

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/500
A: f/11
F: 300mm (300 * 1.6 = 480mm)
Exposure: -1.33
WB K2800
Parameters: Contrast +1 / Sharpness 0 / Filter Effect R:red / Toning Effect N:none
Photo ID: _MG_0469.JPG

Lighting: Sunlight

This is our local park here you see 3 baseball diamonds =)

1/640 | f/16 | 18mm (28.8mm)| -0.67 | _MG_0471.JPG

1/500 | f/7.1 | 214mm (342.4mm) | -0.67 | _MG_0474.JPG


Amy and Judah on the diamond.1/1000 | f/10 | 300mm (480mm)| -2 | _MG_0482.JPG

Between the dugout and home.

1/400 | f/10 | 300mm (480mm)| -0.67 | _MG_0483.JPG

Library stairs

1/10 | f/7.1 | 18mm (28.8mm)| -1 | _MG_0467.JPG

1/200 | f/7.1 | 251mm (401.6mm) | 0 | _MG_0476.JPG

One Shot #4

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 1/40
A: f/16
F: 238mm (238 * 1.6 = 380.8mm)
Exposure: Manual (I tried to under light it 2 whole steps)
WB K2800
Parameters: Contrast +1 / Sharpness 0 / Filter Effect R:red / Toning Effect N:none
Photo ID: _MG_0466.JPG

Lighting: Only the tea lights that you see.

Competition

Everyday I find myself amazed by Judah. Sometimes this means laughing out loud because he said or did something that just cracks me up. Sometimes I am caught off guard by his whits. I have found it really hard to discipline him when he makes me laugh. Anyway today he ate a big lunch and he ate it fast. We had pasta alfredo leftovers from yesterday. He looks up at me and with a mouth that is covered in sauce and still half full he asks me "di ey in?" "what?" I ask him. He swallows his last bite and asks me with a look of pride on his face and excitement in his eyes. "Did I win?" A little astonished by his competitiveness and remembering our dinner table growing up I realize that he finished his plate before I did. I answer "yes, you did." As climbs of his chair and runs to his room.

One Shot #3

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 400
T: 6"
A: f/13
F: 70mm (70 * 1.6 = 112mm)
Exposure: Manual (I tried to under light it by an exposure of about -0.66)
WB: K6400
Parameters: Contrast +1 / Sharpness +1 / Filter effect R:red / Toning effect N:None
Photo ID: _MG_0462.JPG

Lighting: one 13 watt energy bulb and three candles. See set up photo ==>

City driving

So I have been without Amy all week. She is working nights and sleeps during the day. And we all know that that doesn't really work when you have a three and a half year old that demands all your attention. So Amy sleeps at the hospital in a call room. Anyway this morning Judah and I had breakfast at the hospital. Poor Amy called me at 7:40am and woke me up. The alarm had failed to do so at 6:30am. She asked me where I was and in my dazed state I answered her "in bed." Then it hit me that I was supposed to be at the hospital around now. I had said that we would leave at 7am. So Amy decided that it was worth staying up a little longer for her to have breakfast with us. It is a 18 mile drive from our house to the hospital. It took me 50 minutes to drive the first 5 miles. That is an average of 6 miles an hour. I love this city. Then traffic broke free and it took me another 25 minutes to do the rest. Only being slowed down a little more while passing an little accident (a little more than a fender-bender). Judah and I were lucky, it was waffle Wednesday. Belgium waffles with strawberry syrup and whipped cream. A good cup of coffee and a plum green tea later it was Amy's bedtime and Judah and I left. On the way back right after I got on the interstate Judah had to pee. so I get of the next exit and stop t a Burger King. Then I got back on the interstate, or so I thought. The on ramp never reached the interstate but led to a bypass to a different interstate(I55). So I get off and find my way back. This should be simple after all there are signs everywhere. I follow the signs to the right interstate (I90/I94) and guess what as I follow the on-ramp the signs change from (I90/I94) to (I290) I had had it I decided to take the streets and made it home in a mere 1.5 hours. I love driving here.

One Shot #2

My neighbors house.

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
ISO: 200
T: 1/20
A: f/36
F: 55mm (55 * 1.6 = 88mm)
exposure -1
WB K6400
Parameters: Contrast +0.5 / Sharpness +0.5 / Saturation +0.5 / Color tone 0
Photo ID: _MG_0459.JPG

Lighting: Natural light in shadow with a clear sky.
Temprature: 17 degrees F with windchill: 1 degree F

It was so cold that I hardly could keep still so I moved when I took the photograph.

Playing the man.

Last Saturday was probably the hardest drive that I have had as far as I can remember. I have driven back and forth between Radford, Virginia and Chicago a few times by now. But this one was brutal. It all started the entire week before where neither Amy nor I got a lot of rest. Mainly for hanging out with the family until late and night, and Judah waking us up early in the morning. And to top it of we didn't hit the hay until 2:30-3 am Friday night. On Saturday we left at 7:30 am EST and visited Amy's brother Gary for an hour and a half. He is located in Grundy Virginia. This is about a two and a half hour drive. Then we drove to Chicago this should have been about a nine and a half hour drive but because we were so tired we made a whole lot more stops. And it took us thirteen and a half hours instead. The road just seemed to never end. We made a stop for a Redbox so that we had some new movies for Judah to watch. And when we got back in the car his DVD player wouldn't work anymore. Luckily I have a DC-AC converter in the car and was able to hook up our laptop so that Judah could watch those movies after all. Around 8 o'clock we wanted to stop for some food. Amy really had her heart set on Panera so we drove a few miles out of the way to the closest Panera. When we pulled up I got out of the car. It was cold and the wind was blowing. As I walk up to the door Amy takes Judah out of the car. While she does this the laptop bag blows out of the car (that is how hard it was blowing). As Amy bends over to pick it up she smashes Judah's head into the car window. As I get to the door I see that they are closed. We were still in EST and they close at nine we missed it by a few minutes. Judah is crying as I get back in the car, Amy starts to cry because she doesn't want anymore fast food. I ask her what she does wants and Judah says tacos. We cross the street to TacoBell. Amy and I both are so tired that we don't know what to order and let the lady at TacoBell decide for us. When we sit down Judah asks Amy for a hug and as she reaches around to give him one she knocks over his cup of ice water and spills it all over him. Now he is crying again I go out and get his a change of pants and we eat our dinner. What else can go wrong?

Any one who has ever driven with me at night knows that I dont do well at night. I jsut dont I just drive during the day and at night Amy usually does. I am known to fall asleep. So I choose to not drive at night or pull over when I get tired.

After we get out of TacoBell (9:30pm EST) Amy asks me if I can drive. "I will give it a try" I answer her "I might make it for two exits or two hours" I add. Amy puts in a movie for Judah and falls asleep and s does Judah. My eyes are burning becuse they are so dry. I realize that we have another three and a half hours to go and I need to "ply the man" and drive for Amy. I made it for two and a half hours. before I desided that I was starting to fight staying awake. I handed over the wheel and Amy drove the last hour.

I am probably bragging a litle about my "playing the man" but ask some one who knows my night driving and you will see that this was a breakthrough for me.

One Shot #1

Specs:

Canon EOS20D
F:70mm (70 *1.6 = 142mm)
T: 1/25
A: f/4.0
Exposure +0.33
ISO 400
WB: K5600
Parameters: Contrast +0.5 / Sharpness +1 / Saturation +0.5 / Color tone +1
Photo ID: _MG_0416.JPG

Lighting: two 13 watt energy saving bulbs.

Here we go.

Over the last years I have tried numerous times to keep people posted on what goes on in my life. I have failed at this in different ways. So I finally signed up for facebook, and now I also created a blog. My goal is to be better at letting you know what is going on in our lives. The posts that you see here are the once that I had put on my website. So now you can read them here. Hop on board and enjoy the ride.