The Verse That Spoke to Me...

 

Last Wednesday we completed our Bible study of David in the book of Samuel. David was a man after my own heart. A sinner, but never doubted the love of God. On the last day we were asked to read one of the 73 Psalms (out of 150) that David wrote and to choose a verse that truly spoke to us. Psalm 40 verses 1-3 truly spoke to me...I quote "I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God."

When my sweetie really began to decline with Alzheimer's Disease, I truly felt I was in the pit of despair, in the mud and the mire. This was not what I had imagined to develop and ruin our golden years together. I was in despair over the very fact that he had been diagnosed with this devastating disease in his early 60's with symptoms beginning when he was in his late 50's. My sweetie will be 78 years old in August. I was in despair trying to find a solution to give myself a little respite from the 24/7 watch and care that was required, I was in despair watching my sweetie turn from this loving caring father and husband into an angry man, I was in despair trying to make the right decisions for an impossible situation. But through that despair, God steadied me, he took my hand as I walked this path and set my feet on solid ground. He was there when I made the decision to place my sweetie in a care facility, He was there when I had to move him into a different place because of the extra care that he required, and He was there showing his love through my circle of friends and family.  My sweetie continues his life in a nursing home not far from our home, I find him always in good care, clean clothes, clean shaven, and regular haircuts. The nurses tell me he has no problems, and eats well. He has not been sick for well over 2 1/2 years and has lived this life in a care facility for almost 7 years.  It's been a Long Goodbye, needless to say, however God continues to steady me.

He has given me a new song to sing when I returned to my former Presbyterian faith and brought me to a church that has reached out and embraced me with its kindness and love. I have developed deep friendships, serve as a deacon, attend Bible Study, and help whenever the need arises.

He has also given me a new song to sing with photography. I began my passion for photography during the period when I had to be with my sweetie 24/7.  It gave me a creative outlet and one that I could accomplish with my sweetie by my side. Now that he is safely in the care of a nursing home, I have expanded my passion through workshops, photography trips, selling my photography thru greeting cards, calendars and framed prints.  Photography has also brought new friends into my life, people I would have never met if it wasn't for this passion of mine. So, yes, I will sing a hymn of praise to our God for bringing all these new "songs" into my life.

And yes, those verses from Psalm 40 truly, loudly spoke to me deep in my heart and soul. "Many will see what He has done and be amazed."  Amen

Until next time....

A Macro Kinda Weekend!

Uh Oh, slipped again. Not surprising is it??!!  I always have such great intentions and then I so badly fail. I think blogging is a habit that you establish and just like any habit it takes repetitive action to making that habit become a regular part of your life. About the only habit I am actually quite good at is crawling into bed at night. Not so good at crawling back out in the morning, but I usually manage to get up between 7:00 and 8:00 AM and then coffee making is an absolute must, Drinking at least 2 cups prior to starting my day, whatever that may bring, is a habit.

But I did have to rise and get moving this past weekend. I enrolled in Mike Moat's Macro Photography class months ago and this past weekend I enjoyed 2 days of listening to him and practicing macro photography. Mike is a down to earth kind of guy, t-shirt, casual pants, comfy shoes, stubble on his face, and usually a baseball cap on his head. He is self-taught, and has truly made a success of himself. Appears regularly in photography magazines, won awards, sells many of his prints, and makes a living with this and teaching workshops both in person and on the web. He doesn't use fancy equipment, in fact I have a more recent camera than he does, he still uses NIC software and Photoshop Elements to edit his photos. So he is a proven example that you don't have to have the fanciest and best of everything to be a good photographer. And he shoots strictly JPEG instead of RAW.

Look at all those little specs, I am assuming they are dust. I could go in and clone all of those out, but no, I am not doing it. I am not placing this image in a competition. Just an example of how clear and precise you can get with a tripod and your F stop set at the highest level or closed,(which always confuses the heck out of me) depending on your lens.

The thing is.....you absolutely must use a tripod to take these close-up photos with everything clear and sharp. Now I don't have a good relationship with my tripod(s). You notice that tripod was plural which means I obviously have purchased more than one on my photography journey as well as ball-heads.  I have purchased multiples of those as well. But I heard this past weekend that this happens to many photographers, so it made me feel a little less guilty over my legion of tripods. I would like to become "as one" with my tripod, but I'm afraid that's not gonna happen until my hands become so shaky that all of my shots are total blurs. I feel so restricted using a tripod, and for some reason it's difficult for me to compose a shot using a tripod. I know, call me crazy, but I'm afraid I will still only use a tripod when the circumstances are such that there is no other option.  IE; this weekend, when we were shooting at 32 and 40 F stops to have everything in focus. No way can you hand hold a camera at those settings and get a clear shot.

However with an F-stop at F/5 or F/ 8 I can get clear shots of my subject with a nice soft background without a tripod.

Most of my photography is accomplished with natural light, outdoors usually and I honestly don't want everything in focus for the kind of photography I enjoy. Night photography is a must for a tripod, so I will definitely use my "current" tripod for any night photography that I might encounter. Sunrise - sunset are also easier accomplished with a tripod.

These last few images are what's happening now in our neck of the woods. The dogwoods are in full bloom, the wildflowers are peeking out and my lilacs which bloom later than the old fashioned kind are still in tight buds. We have had a lovely Spring, more than enough rain (4 inches last weekend), some warm days, some cooler, but all in all one fine Spring season.

Have a great week.

Until next time.....

It's Been Awhile....

Who is spreading that rumor that I have deserted my blog? I wouldn't call it deserting as much as taking extra long breaks. Yeah, that's it, long breaks.

I must admit that I didn't pick up my camera much during the months of January, February and into March because it was a totally boring winter. No beautiful snowfalls, no frozen icicles, no snowmen. Just brown, trashy road slop and bare limbs. Altho I did get some pretty good bird shots with the bare trees.

Well, now that's it's spring again in my part of the world, the camera has now returned strapped around my shoulder and ready to face the world.  I actually planned on a drive to the arboretum today because I know the magnolias have almost dropped all their pretty petals and the bluebells should be in full force, but the wind is also in full force which makes capturing those sweet spring flowers a little daunting.

My last three months haven't been a total camera loss.  I did go to Arizona in March and spent 10 lovely days in the sun and warmth visiting with my FOL buddy, Terri. We managed to get to the Desert Botanical Garden twice, the Butterfly Wonderland, and a nice lunch and walk in a local park. Always fun to get-away when you have had just a little too much winter.

After my return from the fun and sun, The Chicago Botanic Garden was having a huge display of orchids. Ofcourse this was a must-do for me and my camera. I did not realize there were so many types of orchids, both in size and color. Stunning doesn't even come close to describing the beauty.

OK, it's now taken me 3 days to write this one post. And you wonder why I don't post daily.  The wind seems to have calmed somewhat so I am going to try the Arboretum again today. I have over the past 12 months or so really lost my vim and vigor and have become extremely lazy. Thus probably the reason I haven't kept up with this blog. I don't know if it's age (you know I just had another birthday, 74 argh that sounds so old) and I still love to travel, take photos, be with friends, but sometimes naps in the afternoon become a priority. Hopefully with the new season upon us I will shed this feeling of laziness and get back on track with life. Have a good week, and hopefully see you again soon.

Until next time.....