There was so much going on at the end of April that I totally forgot to post the Pic of the Month! So even though May is already half gone, I figured April’s Pic was better late then never.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen it snow on April 23 before. By that time, grass was already green and growing fast. Weather permitting, Dad had contemplated doing some mowing that day. Fruit trees were beginning to show miniature fruit, and bluebirds had already laid their eggs. Crocuses were long gone. Redbud was fast fading. Lilac was in full bloom. And then . . . snow? It felt like the year had passed in less than a month and winter was on it’s way back again.

But thankfully, it only snowed for an hour or two. And it didn’t stick around for much longer. And that is why it was difficult to get a picture like this. I didn’t want to go out with my camera while it was snowing because the snow was so wet that it wasn’t much different than rain; yet if I waited for it to stop, than there wouldn’t be any snow to shoot. So after waiting till the last minute, I stuck my camera under my coat and headed outside into the sleet.

Lilac bushes can grow rather tall, so I found myself pointing the camera upwards  to compose a good shot. Well, every time I did so, a drop or two (or ten!) of wet snow would immediately hit the front of the lens and I would have to wipe it off before taking another picture. I soon tired of this time-consuming process, so I moved up the hill as high as I could to position myself where I could shoot down on the flowers. Now I could think about what I was doing!

The key to getting good flower pictures is to eliminate confusion. Flowers grow in environments that are chuck full of random, distracting objects. Twigs, branches, other flowers, lots of leaves and background elements are always interrupting the shape and beauty of a delicate bloom. Even in this composition, the twig on the right and the leaves directly behind the flower detract from the simplicity of the burdened cluster of lilacs. And yet why I chose this picture is because of how clearly one can see the snow covering the flowers as it stands in stark, unbroken contrast in front of a soft, beautifully textured rustic background.

Never forget the power of humble simplicity! God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work; but the wisdom that is from God is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. The style of photography you enjoy reflects the condition of your heart.

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I have found over the past few years, and more acutely in recent months, that the hardest part about traveling abroad is being away from my dear family. Especially Mom. Hence, it is such a delight when God brings little reminders long my way, such as this appropriately shaped White Calla Lily in Mexico last February, of my family’s love and support to perk me up and bring to remembrance the many selfless sacrifices, caring actions, and enjoyable activities that epitomizes a mother’s devotion and fabricates the essence of what we affectingly term as home sweet home.

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The beginning part of the day was spent teaching CEF Bible clubs in various schools on the island. I will have to blog about that later, but it was definitely the most fulfilling part of the whole trip. Afterwards, we were invited to an authentic Bahamian lunch provided by one of the local churches. It was such a blessing to not be the typical tourist and separate from the crowds and glamor to see what the Bahamas as they really are.

That afternoon, I went hiking along Cabbage Beach on Paradise Island taking pictures and enjoying the pristine beauty and sunny weather! It was a lot of fun, but during this afternoon photo-shoot I was keenly reminded of an important fact about landscape photography that one must never forget: it takes work to create landscape photos; they don’t just happen by themselves. Even in this iconic setting, a wonderland celebrated worldwide, a dynamic landscape photo doesn’t happen by itself. The experience of being in the Bahamas is just that: an experience that is more felt and heard than it is visually perceived. In two hours of hiking along the beach, I found only one palm tree that was actually close enough to the shore to actually work in a photograph. The beaches were beautiful, the tropical plants attractive, the water as clear as crystal and colorful as emerald; but putting all these together in one visual composition to depict what I physically felt was almost entirely impossible! Landscape photography is an incredible challenge. And perhaps that’s what keeps us shooting.

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My first impressions of the ship were that of extreme luxury and merrymaking.  How the ship was constructed to accommodate so many rooms in a relatively small space was fascinating to contemplate and it took me several days of discovering the inside levels and outside decks before I was confident about going where I wanted to go!

Though there were over 150 people attending the CEF Conference onboard, the ship housed more than 1,200 guests thus making the activities of a typical, worldly lifestyle very plentiful. Gambling, drinking, rock music and immodesty abounded. For this reason, I strongly do not recommend cruises and will probably never go on one again, but for this particular trip, the pros outweighed the cons and the worldliness was endured for the advancement of better, God-honoring accomplishments.

That first evening and all the next day we were at sea, traveling from the Florida coast to Nassau, Bahamas. It happened to be quite cloudy during this time, and thus very windy (the strongest winds I’ve ever felt!), but thankfully it was still always warm, and I enjoyed walking the decks and taking in the experience of being on the open seas. There wasn’t much to photograph, but I was sure to make the sunrises and sunsets every morning and evening!

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2012 Southern California

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I’ll be editing pictures and posting experiences from my perspective of the trip over the next few days, so stay tuned for more!

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For the past three years, I have had the opportunity of designing a calendar for Child Evangelism Fellowship. Last year, I attended their International CEF Conference in Ridgecrest NC to help promote and raise awareness of the calendars. This year, I am planning to do the same at the North American/Caribbean CEF Conference which is to be held on a four-night Bahamas Cruise which is being held this next week.

Due to the unique diversity and pristine setting surrounding this event, I hope that it will be as much a photography venture as it is a business trip. I doubt I’ll have much time to post while I’m gone, but I will look forward to sharing pictures from the cruise as soon as I return. Bon Voyage!

A picture from the last “adventure” in Florida, over two years ago

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Back in the early months of 2010, I had a method of backing up my files on DVDs, but because it was such a long process, I would procrastinate for months and months until I slowly ditched the whole process altogether. Then suddenly, after returning from a Florida vacation with my family, the “new” hard drive that stored most of my 2009 pictures bit the dust.

Though I learned my lesson to have multiple backups, I learned it the hard way. Looking back on it now, I realize how silly it was not to backup my pictures. But I was just getting started into photography and none of my external drives had crashed before; surely that would never happen to me, right? Wrong. It can happen to anyone.

And it can happen multiple times. Late one night in February earlier this year, as I was moving around pictures on my hard drives and running backups, I did something . . . something that I can’t exactly explain because I don’t know exactly what I did. All I know is that I made a mistake somewhere along the way and had deleted all my pictures from the month of January! Thankfully I had a third backup in a different location, so I took a deep breath, went to bed, and resolved to take care of it the next day, perturbed that it had happened.

Even more recently, as I was backing up files from my most recent excursions (and late at night again, too) I thought they had somehow been deleted and I just about fainted. God was merciful and chose to show that they really hadn’t been deleted (after which I almost fainted again) and I took a deep breath, went to bed, and resolved to take care of it the next day, exasperated that it had happened again!

So lots of lessons learned here.

1. First, don’t back up your hard drives at night.

2. It’s best to store your pictures in more than two locations.

3. If you’re name is James, than for some reason it’s only natural to delete files while your backing them up. Just beware that at all times they are easily lost!

4. Remember that where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. If I get angry over loosing my pictures, than it means I am trusting in them for fulfillment and happiness. In truth, this is making an idol out of them because our jealous God wants us to find fulfillment only in Himself, for he knows that abiding in Him is the only way for us to find true happiness.

One of the many pictures I thought I had lost.

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With my brother being somewhat of a historian, I have been kept up to date with the timeline and many facts surrounding this tragic event. And because his birthday was on the 13th, it was no wonder that the décor and theme of the birthday celebration was centered around the Titanic. So for Donald, to be included in his card, I designed a Scripture verse that was both appropriate to his birthday and to the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

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Big cities are not exactly the safest places to be in the world. So just to be safe, we went on a Saturday to avoid traffic, walked together in a group, planned out each spot we would visit beforehand, brought maps and a GPS, and made sure we were out of the downtown area before dark.

From a photographer’s perspective, below are a few spots I would recommend if you are ever in the area.

1. Walt Disney Concert Hall

Home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, this fairly new building is an architectural marvel to behold. It’s extreme abstractness makes it fun to take pictures of, though it’s sad to think that so much money went into a building whose exterior serves no other purpose than for looks. Free tours of the building are given throughout the day, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn the answers to “how?”, “why?”, and “how much?” about the building.

2. The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites

After touring the Concert Hall, we just strolled down the street to the downtown area. It’s just like any other big city with skyscrapers and stuff. We had heard about this Bonaventure Hotel which had a nice view of the downtown area on the 32nd floor, so we found the building and stepped inside. It was a ritzy place, and the glass elevators are a lot of fun to ride, but we couldn’t make it to the 32nd floor for some reason. And perhaps that was good; they say it was a lounge atmosphere up there which we weren’t interested in, so we just enjoyed riding the elevators.

3. Griffith Observatory

To top off the day, we drove over to the Griffith Observatory. It’s a beautiful old building sitting on the top of a mountain so it provides breathtaking views of the city. It was a cloudy day so there wasn’t much of a sunset, but it sure was nice once the city lights began to glow. The planetarium there claims to be the finest in the world so make sure to check that out plus the exhibits and Zeiss 12in telescope if you go.

For more pictures of our excursion in Los Angeles, visit this album.

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