christy.

i finally saw my favorite praise singer in concert last week.
ladies and gentlemen, christy nockels.



my friend dong is always quick to lend me his Canon 5D Mark II and lenses, so I was able to capture this from the front row using the 200mm end of his Mark II lens. Full frame cameras are absolutely remarkable in reducing noise at high ISOs.

photography

i haven't said much about photography on this site, but it's really become a big part of my life. i've especially become a big fan of my canon speedlite 430EX which i use to bounce light (with my omnibounce diffuser) off the ceiling in our home. this has revolutionized my pictures of the kids. it allows me to get soft light photos like this despite low light conditions.

Trip to Chicago - end

This is the view from the terrace of Moody Church's Christian Life Center.  It was great being back in Chicago, but it made me miss it a lot more, even with the cold.  I guess I missed the cold a little too.

Tony's Gyros at Chicago and Rush

I seized every opportunity to take back a 4x6 souvenier of the city.

Much can be accomplished by laying on the ground and tilting your camera.  It takes a man of little shame to run ahead of his family on a crowded sidewalk, dive to the ground, and turn around to get what most people don't value in the first place, exciting, low-angle "nausea" shots.

Somehow on this one, I triggered the b/w function, and panicked trying to get back to the world of color.

Pooklet in the land of chocolate, Moonstruck, Chicago.

My old favorite, the Mint Tingle, next to Pooklet's old favorite, breast milk.

The Baby Bjorn is really pretty cool.  Not only does it come in a nice 0live green with vibrant lime piping, but it serves multiple functions:

1. It frees up both hands so you can strangle your spouse (or whomever) and let the pooklet participate
   
2. It soothes your pooklet by putting him next to your scent, warmth, and heartbeat.  awwww.
   
3. It consoles him when he cries if you bounce him up and down
   
4. It develops your back muscles (or your back pain, depending on your posture)
   
5. It allows you to board and exit aircraft, especially when the terminal's under construction and they make you walk out to and up a staircase into the plane
   
6. With a blanket, it lets you hide the pooklet and make strangers wonder if it isn't some kind of animal under there

Picture of the Day

Today's Pic(k) of the Pooklet

Listening to Plumb's new album, which serves as a nice collection of lullabies.
This and Leeland's first album I bought yesterday and recommend them both.
It'll be interesting to see how 17-yr old (and thereabouts) Leeland grows as a band. What will they sound like in ten years? They already impress me with their maturity and, of course, their sound.

I slowly got sick over the weekend, and now have a cough that just might prevent me from rejoining the workforce tomorrow. I usually feel uncomfortable taking sick days, so I may cave in but another day of rest sure sounds good now. I have two canker sores right next to each other that fill me with such rage when I eat that I think this may be one of the cruelest sufferings I've endured.

Right.

I'm set right now in my camera search on the Rebel XTi body and the Canon 17-85mm lens. I have my eyes on Canon's 10-22 wide angle lens as well but that will wait, maybe even permanently.

So I'll pray over it, and if I discern this is still a wise purchase, I'll order it through Amazon.

Hey, anyone heard Passion's new CD? I particularly like Chris Tomlin's "God of This City" and "Sing Sing Sing." "Sing Sing Sing" and two other recent purchases of mine, Paul Baloche's "Kingdom of God" and "Solution" by Hillsong United border on the punk sound I used to cherish so much.

It's a good time to be alive.

Consumer Research

This and yesterday's picture were shot with brother-in-law's Rebel XT. I'm thinking of (and slowly researching) getting an XTi body for the 2 extra megapixels and, more importantly, the bigger and easier-to-view screen.

After using the 20-35 lens on my company's camera, I want to buy something wider - 16 or 17 - without getting into a thousand dollars.

I also want to sell my big Mamiya 645. Seems the responsible thing to do.

Any suggestions?

What I Did Last Sabbath

My brother-in-law lent me his Canon Rebel XT since I’m in the market for a digital SLR, and my use of his superior camera coincided today with Isaac’s first seemingly intentional batting of a toy.


Boy, I tell you what, if there was ever a doubt that I wanted one of my own after seeing what our boy Nate did with his, all doubt was erased after shooting continuous of my wife and child today.


My wife continues to impress me with her music skills. She led worship music this morning in church (which means I sang, too) on the guitar, and impressed me by doing (among other things) the backup vocals on “Prince of Peace” while strumming.
It’s been a pleasure to do the music with her and to preside over the congregation every other Sunday or so. Our church is small, and we know most everybody in the pews, so that contributes to my comfort level at the podium, both in terms of familiarity and intimacy.


I found out from my coworker that Aaron Brothers was having a huge picture frame sale today, so we stopped by and ended up buying $100 worth of wall ledges and frames at a really, really good value. (I added the second ‘really’ to offset the ‘$100’ part).