Category Archives: Photography

Weekly Photo Challenge: Relic

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It’s sweet corn time in Iowa! When I came to preach in view of a call in Iowa 20 years ago next month, one of the pulpit committee members hosted a dinner in which massive quantities of sweet corn were served. I took one ear while others took two or three. I soon found out why…it was like dessert. Therefore, between mid-July and mid-August folks line up at local farmers’ roadside stands to buy a baker’s dozen of these exquisite ears.

The Gates family always brings their daily distribution of fresh picked sweet corn in this 1954 Chevy pickup. This “relic” is always a sign that good eatin’ is just a shuck and a boil (or microwave) away.

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Check out the article in our local paper that ran today…”How Sweet It Is.”

Donncha Ó Caoimh makes this week’s photo challenge:

Share a photo of what “relic” means to you — it could be your still-running 1979 Honda Accord Hatchback, a historic building in your town, or an old, rusted farm implement poking up through the long grass in a field.

Click HERE for more examples of “relic.”

Weekly Photo Challenge: Between

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Music has been an important part of my family’s life. Just as I remember sitting on the piano bench with my mother, it’s pleasing to see my granddaughter’s hand between my daughter’s as they “tickle the ivories.”

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Find more examples of “between” HERE.

As I processed this picture, I thought how beautifully it represents the process of discipleship. As my mother passed on a love for music to me, I passed that down to my daughter, who is now sharing that passion with her own daughters. When we recently visited their home, the two-year old sang “let it go” (just that phrase) repeatedly for about 30 minutes. I know that my mother is blessed to see her grands and greats follow her example.

In a similar fashion, the Apostle Paul shared with his spiritual son, Timothy, a pattern for discipleship; the passing down of spiritual truth to future generations. He said:

The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.  2 Timothy 2:2 (NASB)

Much as a parent imparts truth/skills to a child, every follower of Christ should embrace the role of being a spiritual parent to the point that they are able to see at least spiritual great-grandchildren – four generations (Paul – Timothy – Faithful Men – Others) – following them as imitators of Christ Jesus.

For some more thoughts and suggested resources on this topic, check out a previous post “Me, Disciple Someone.”

Weekly Photo Challenge: Extra, Extra

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The “Honey Moon” was visible in the Northern Hemisphere on Friday the 13th.The name comes not from the traditional wedding month, but from the moon’s yellow tone as it seen through more atmosphere, traveling a path closer to the horizon in opposition to the sun’s higher path as the summer solstice approaches. Because my amateur photography is characterized by a lot of trial and error, I was searching for moon photography tips online. I discovered this site and app, The Photographer’s Ephemeris. It allowed me to add the extra, extra for which I was looking. While the full moon was beautiful in its own right (extra), I was wanting the moon’s reflection in water (EXTRA, EXTRA).

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The app gives the times of sun/moon rises and settings, as well as the coordinates of each with a compass feature. Knowing the angle of the moonrise, the app enabled me to do a map search on my phone of various lakes in my area to find a place to set up for the shot with the most water in the foreground.

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The TPE app will prove to be very valuable in calculating sunrise/set pictures, as well. Check out the video to see some of the additional features.

There are few things in the visible, celestial realm as enthralling as a full moon. To think that it has no light of its own but is just a reflection of the sun brings to mind so many spiritual applications. The example that I like the most has to do with Jesus’ words to His followers that we are to let our lights shine.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:14-16 (HCSB)

As followers of Christ, we have no natural spiritual light but only a reflective light of the glory of God in our lives. When we are living fully in His grace and under the control of the Holy Spirit, we are motivated to show His loving kindness to others. They see our good works and begin to get a picture of God’s love for them as we radiate a bright reflection of Him.

However, just as the earth begins to cast its shadow on the moon, eclipsing and even blocking out the sun’s reflective light on the moon, worldliness in the life of a Christian diminishes the reflected glory of God in our lives. The less of Christ the world sees in His followers, the more unlikely they are to grasp the glory of God.

May the full moon be a reminder to you, follower of the way, to shine brightly the way for others!

Click HERE for more examples of “Extra, Extra.”

Weekly Photo Challenge: Split Second Story – Take 2

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Shane Francescut writes: For this week’s challenge, we want you to become a documentary photographer and attempt to capture a candid moment of a person, place, or thing. Put your National Geographic hat on and tell a story by documenting a moment in time through a single image. What do you think this story is?
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The “rest of the story” is that these three swans had just been released by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources as they try to restore trumpeter swan populations to Iowa. The Trumpeter Swan Restoration project released these three swans last May at Summit Lake near Creston, IA, and four more this year.

Click HERE for more examples of “split second story.”

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Split Second Story

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Split Second Story – In this week’s photo challenge, capture an image that tells a full story in a single frame.

In order to get this story, two frames are necessary.IMGP9457

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Photo Bombing Beagle

While waiting to take some outdoor family photos (tripod in the background), our family was enjoying some casual conversation in my daughter’s livingroom. As I played around with some low light interior shots, the family dog from his usual perch on the back of the couch decided to make an appearance.

Click HERE for more examples of “split second story.”

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring

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Spring is something to be celebrated, especially for those who live in the Mid-west. After a long Winter, it’s time to plant and start the labor that leads to the fruit of the harvest. One Iowa town’s Spring festival highlights its Dutch heritage. In the first weekend of May, Pella, Iowa, hosts the Tulip Time Festival. It was a perfect fit for this week’s challenge!

Tulip Toren – The Netherlands flag colors flutter above two soaring 65-foot pylons
The Town Cryer leading the Tulip Time Parade
2014 Tulip Festival Queen – Leah Blankespoor
The Queen’s Flower Girl
Hundreds of parents, all in traditional Dutch dress, paraded their babies in this Spring ritual.

With the unpredictability of Iowa weather, the tulips are not always in full bloom by the first of May, and last year’s event saw snow! So, we were grateful to enjoy a the beautiful blooms of Tulip Time.

While we enjoy the beauty of Spring and it’s blossoms, I am reminded how quickly it passes. And, so do our lives. However, there is one thing that never fades…God’s word! The first century disciple of Christ and apostle, Peter, wrote that having heard and believed in Jesus, His followers lives would be transformed by obedience to the truth the imperishable word of God:

23 since you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word that was preached as the gospel to you. – 1 Peter 1:23-25

To say that the word of the Lord endures forever means that its message continues to be relevant to every generation and every culture. Other descriptions in the Bible speak of the living and active nature of God’s word, so that it has a dynamic nature to radically transform people that no other written material has (Hebrews 4:12). It is inspired (literally, God-breathed) and brings about teaching, rebuke, correction and training in right-living (2 Timothy 3:16-17). One anonymous writing found in the flyleaf of a Bible sums up the importance of God’s word, the Bible:

  • THIS BOOK contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers.
  • Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable.
  • Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe and practice it to be holy.
  • It contains light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you.
  • It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword and the Christian’s character.
  • Here paradise is restored, heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed.
  • Christ is its grand object, our good is its design and the glory of God its end.
  • It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.
  • Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully.
  • It is given you in life and will be opened in the judgment and will be remembered forever.
  • It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.”

May you enjoy the beauty of this Spring, but seek after that which truly and eternally endures: the word of the Lord. Its words can transform you life!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Letters – Take 2

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While waiting for the Amtrak passenger train and a coal train to clear the tracks, enabling a clear shot of the graffiti-covered railcar featured in my first “Letters” entry, I took a picture of The Iowana. Originally built as a hotel in 1920, the tallest building in this railroad community of Creston was once a hub of activity when rail was king. Sitting vacant for a number of years, it was recently revitalized into senior adult housing with 24 units in its six floors and mezzanine level.

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The signage originally read “Hotel Iowana.”  In its restored version, the sign was refitted with LED lights and the “T” “H” and “E” letters were preserved from the “hotel” moniker and repositioned above the IOWANA (it’s always good to recycle if possible).

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Click HERE for more examples of “letters.”

Here are a few more examples of “letters” on the historic Creston Depot.

Depot City Identification Sign
Creston Depot National Register Plague
The Restored Depot is the home of the Creston City government and an art gallery.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Letters

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Cheri Lucas Rolands writes: For this week’s challenge, share a photo with letters…a snapshot of how we communicate with one another, even if we don’t speak the same language. For anyone who has been around trains in the U.S. for the last 40 years, graffiti is an expected appearance on freight cars. My town has a switching yard and examples of this spray painted lettering can be seen with some frequency. As I passed the yard Saturday evening, I found this example of a gondola car with the words “SUNDER DRONE” painted prominently on the side.

Graffiti-covered gondola railroad car

Graffiti-covered gondola railroad car

Joe, a member of my church, is the retired trainmaster of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad switching yard in Creston. He told me that he remembered seeing graffiti on train cars when he began working in the late 60’s. Most sources show that the availability of aerosol spray paint, reaching a production of 270 million cans annually by 1973, aided in the explosion of graffiti art. With its portability and fast drying quality, graffiti artists could quickly attack their sidetracked canvasses with multiple colors of paint cans.

Sunder - "I drive a Chevrolet."

Sunder – “I drive a Chevrolet.”

However, some of the earliest graffiti artists were hobos and rail employees. Hobos, who traveled by hitching rides on freight cars would leave symbols, a secret language, to guide fellow travelers. Their messages would warn of dangerous situations, as well as giving directions for food, water and work.

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Drone

Trainmen were also responsible for some “tagging.” Joe told me of two well-known “artists.” A switchman, Herbert A. Meyer, in St. Louis, Missouri, is credited with the drawing of a man with a sombrero, enjoying a siesta under a palm tree. The name “Herby” was always followed by the date of the drawing. Another trainman known for his graffiti art was engineer, Smokin’ Joe. His locomotive drawings on boxcars featured his name “Joe” and the current number of drawings within the trailing smoke. His graffiti appeared on over 20,000 railcars.

Whatever the origins of graffiti art, it has become part of our cultural landscape.

Click HERE for more examples of “letters.”

Weekly Photo Challenge: On Top

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Sara Rosso challenges: “In a post created specifically for this challenge, share a photo that means On Top!”

In fulfilling last’s week’s challenge of “Monument,” my object (the JFK Monument in Dallas, Texas) was near a fascinating object “on top.” From my vantage at the Kennedy Memorial Plaza, I took the pictures of the old Dallas Court House with only the Clock Tower visible over the trees that grow to its east. Now called the Old Red Museum, this renovated building houses local historical artifacts.

Built in 1892 of red sandstone rusticated marble accents, the courthouse was replaced in 1966. Apparently, the original clock tower was an after thought and not a part of the original blueprints. As a result of that poor planning, there were ultimately compromises in structural integrity, and the original clock tower was removed 1919. However, renovations to “Old Red” in the 2000’s enabled the tower to be restored. In my opinion, clock/bell towers are the proper caps “on top” of old courthouses.

For more examples of “on top,” click HERE.

This Youtube video takes a peek inside the clock tower and includes the bell ringing at the four o’clock hour (2:55).

Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument

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“A place of quiet refuge, an enclosed place of thought and contemplation, separated from the city around, but near the sky and earth.”  Philip Johnson, Architect of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Monument in Dallas, Texas.

The John F Kennedy Monument, designed by architect Philip Johnson, represents a cenotaph, or “open tomb,” to symbolize the freedom of JFK’s spirit. It is a 30 feet high and 50 by 50 feet wide roofless room, constructed with 72 white pre-cast concrete columns. Positioned within two-blocks of the Dealey Plaza and the spot of the President’s assassination, this is a must see if in Dallas, Texas.

For more examples of “monuments,” click HERE.