Easter hang-up

There are so many emotions tied in with the celebration of Easter. On Good Friday we actually celebrate the crucifixion of the Son of God. Historians tell us death by crucifixion is perhaps the cruelest, most inhumane form of execution ever devised by man, yet in the case of Jesus we celebrate it because of what it meant for all mankind. While it doesn't diminish the suffering, it does give it purpose.

Today, we celebrate an empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus. It really has nothing to do with new clothes or a parade on Fifth Avenue. It has more to do with understanding the key to opening the door to salvation and eternal life.

So, don't get hung-up on what you look like on the outside. Instead, pay attention to what is happening on the inside.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow

Yesterday we remembered the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Today there is an empty cross and tomorrow, an empty tomb. It all coincides with spring when we celebrate new life and new growth, following a long winter.

For some it's the one time of the year that they go to church to worship, and for others it's an opportunity to celebrate why they go to church every week and worship. It's a time to remember who gave us new life, in fact, eternal life.

Working hands

For the past couple of months, we have been working on two illustrations of Ephesians 2:10 in the New Testament. In essence the verse says that we are God's workmanship, His art, His masterpiece. We were created by His own hands. While I realize that not everyone shares the same faith as Lois and I, this artwork is nevertheless a personal project of hands that I hope all will appreciate.

As I have photographed people's hands in many parts of the world, I have come to realize that God placed these words and a camera in my hands so that I would, "Perpetuate His memory to all generations, so that all nations will praise His name for ever and ever." Ps. 45:17

The composite 16x20 print includes not only my hands, but 130 thumbnail prints of working hands of people from British royalty, to Hollywood and Honduras, Bermuda, Thailand, and all over the United States. They include blacksmiths, potters, mechanics, illustrators, the NFL, race drivers, gardeners, musicians, pit crews, moms, dads, grandparents, and newborns, just to name a few - really! Oh, and like Norman Rockwell, I'm in the upper right corner.

Lois worked on a separate illustration of the same verse. Both framed pieces will hang along with others at Wellspring Church, in Kensington, CT, for a year beginning next month.

A new personal project

It seems every photographer has a personal project of one kind or another. Some people photograph ironic road signs, others iconic farm signs, and still others, photograph people engaged in a specific occupations or trades. Some take one photograph a day in a certain area, but they do it every day. One friend photographs remote houses and dwellings all over the world.

I've got a few subjects that I watch out for whenever I shoot. If you have been following our blog, you are probably aware by now that I like to photograph hands, barns, people on the street, and patterns. In fact, we just finished a very cool project with nearly 200 hand images in one 16x20 inch framed print. The images were selected from among thousands that I have photographed over the past ten years. It brought back many wonderful memories of some amazing people.

A few weeks ago when we were site scouting for our next photography workshop, we found this S-shaped raised walkway. Now we have a new personal project - find all the letters of the alphabet in our daily environment. Any suggestions?

Sunshine

Today is one of those clear and beautiful early spring days with a few puffy clouds and lots of sunshine. For me, whenever I hear the word "sunshine," I think of the firstborn of our three daughters. While I had a term of endearment for each one, I called the first one, Sunshine. It just seemed to fit.

Now, she and her husband are raising their own two daughters who seem to be running on an infinite supply of solar power.

So, who is the "sunshine" in your life?

Evening prayer

Some people will go to any height for evening prayer, but a steeplejack? Steeplejacks are rarer than chimney sweeps, but just as iconic, and they certainly need prayer in that kind of business.

We really were driving home from scouting a local new workshop location when we saw these guys setting up their ladders to get to the roof and finally the top of the steeple to set up their rigging. I returned near dusk and they were merrily swinging in the breeze scraping and sanding the steeple to prep it for painting tomorrow.

Just another reason to always carry a camera.

If barns could talk.

I never found a barn I didn't like. Every barn has a story, and my kids will be the first to agree, I've got a boatload of stories. I can spend hours with an old barn, and the more weathered, the better. They have so much character and beauty, and yet, they are so simple and plain.

I only had a few minutes with this one, but I want to go back and look for faces and patterns in the wood, the big old barn hinges, cracked windows, sagging roof line, the door hardware. What is its secret to a long life? If these walls could only talk, what stories would they tell?

Next time you see a barn, stop and walk around it. Take time to appreciate its beauty and character. Imagine what kind of life it must have had.

Now, that's a wrap!

Remember when you were a kid and your mom always reminded you to wear your "wraps," or "make sure you are all wrapped up." It didn't matter if you were the only one in class still wearing a -30 degree down coat in April. How weird! I can understand gift wrap, and "that's a wrap," or a Caesar salad wrap on a menu, but wrap a kid?

I'm just thankful my mother never wrapped me up like these trees. "It's springtime and I've still got my wraps on! Let me out of here! None of my friends on the other side of the wall have to wear wraps."

Can you imagine being wrapped in burlap all winter? Furthermore, if the government closes down this weekend, who knows when it will get unwrapped as these trees are in a national historic site maintained by the National Park Service.

Signs of spring

For some it’s the crocus. For others it’s a couple of weeks of warm weather, but for me it’s falling snow fences. Every fall, many people unroll their wooden snow fences to break the winter wind and keep the snow from drifting on a walkway, driveway, or perhaps against their house or barn.

No matter how many thousands of dollars people spend landscaping and manicuring their properties throughout the year, they have one thing in common with everyone else, the ubiquitous red slatted snow fence randomly stretched across their property in hope of showing God where they want the snow piled instead of where He wants it piled. But as winter wears on, the snow falls, the wind blows and the fences finally fall over.

The way I look at it, once the snow fence gets tired of winter, it falls down and winter is really over.