Ben & Paige Russell

On Saturday, February 18, 2012, Ben & Paige got married!  

They are such a wonderful couple.  Mary Ann and I got the chance to know them quite well over the past several months.  We first took pictures of them back on September 1, 2011 for their engagement.

We had such a wonderful time taking their Wedding photos and sharing this special day with them!

Here are some photos from their Wedding Day. 

The Canaday Family

Last Sunday, February 12, we spent the morning photographing the Canaday family in Redlands California.
What a wonderful family!  We had such a great time with them!  Here are a few photos of the three generations.

iPhone 4S

I finally upgraded my iPhone 3G last week and now have the new iPhone 4S.

Overall there is no comparison, the new phone is just that much faster in every regard.

Here I take a look at the new 8 megapixel camera.  This new camera is far better than one should expect from a phone camera.  Without getting too deep into the technical aspects (you can go to the apple site for that) I will say that the entire sensor and chip set is "state of the art" and designed for this phone.  

All of the snap shots below were taken with no flash, using only available light, with no editing at all.  Not much thought went into taking these pictures, just decent composition and a relatively steady hand.

The second  image of the wine bottles below was shot using HDR (High Dynamic Range). HDR merges three separate exposures to give you a picture with more detail in the highlights and shadows.  It's as simple to use as touching the screen and you can't even tell the camera took three exposures, it's that fast.

So, have a look at my first few pictures with my new iPhone 4S.  I think that you will agree that they're not too bad.

One of my favorite paintings from my grandfather

Using HDR

B & W Sunset

We always think in color when it comes to sunsets.  The beautiful warm glow of the setting sun and the strong shadows that fall.  

But what about black and white at sunset?  The two pictures below are the same shot, but have a totally different feeling.  You can clearly see the surfer near the middle in each shot.  The sun glows around him in the top photo giving the image a sense of warmth.  In the B&W image, while the sun still shines on him, the feeling is much cooler more like a winter's evening.

Which shot do you prefer?  Really depends on the feeling you want to covey to your viewer.  I prefer the way the light reflects off the water in the B&W image.  I also like the cool nostalgic mood of the B&W.

Next time you take a sunset photo convert it to B&W and see how the mood changes.  

9/11

"We are hard pressed on every side. yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair."

2 CORINTHIANS 4: 8

What a perfect statement describing our nation after September 11, 2001!  It seems as though it was written specifically for our nation after the tragic events of 9/11.  

Would you believe that this was written about 2000 years ago by the apostle Paul?  It's true!  Paul wrote this for the people of Corinth, (The Corinthians) a city close to Athens in Greece.

I have the honor of creating the Sunday programs for our Church CCFC (Cornerstone Christian fellowship of Corona).  The picture below is the cover of this week's program, it's a picture we took of a flag in Laguna Beach.

Our Pastor's message this week,  2 Corinthians 4: 8-18, is so fitting for the events of our day, that I had to share it with you!  The title of Pastor Rolly's message is "WHY WE PRAY"

With all the turmoil our world and nation is going through right now has there ever been a better time to Pray?  The biggest mistake our nation can make is to loose faith in God.  

Our Founding Fathers had it right by describing us as "ONE NATION UNDER GOD"

It's up to us to keep it that way!