Day 7

Image: Inside M100 Bus door
Date: January 22, 2011
F 1.4
SS 40
FL 50
Shot with: Canon EOS Rebel XT DSLR



I started this project for two reasons, 1) to force myself to shoot more, even if it wasn't all that organized and 2) to write more, again, even if it wasn't all that organized. The project has proven a little harder then i had ever anticipated. I find myself shooting random objects just to get my shots in and i don't write much because i have a hard time correlating the topic to the picture... But i realized today that I have to have things in order. They also need to make logical sense. Art is often neither of those things, so why do i try and make them that way. With Blogging, i always, subconsciously, thought that i had to have something insightful to say if was going to make a post... but that's not true. I know MANY people who write about their day. Some people write devotionally, and some people write artistically. My goal is to do all of those things as i see fit and as the spirit moves. Like today, this blog is just as much for me as it would have even been for other people. Writing has always been a way for me to organize the swirling thoughts in my brain. I always wrote so that i could finally make sense of what was going on up there which is why it has always been hard to show people my writing. It meant showing them my thoughts. It meant, in a sense, exposing myself to people. That was the purpose of starting this project, to take steps to allowing other people to read what i write. If i want to pursue writing as an occupation, i need to start exposing that writing to the masses. If it means being raw then i need to do that. I need to learn to let go of my fears and take a step or two of faith.

Day 6

Image: Fan
Date: Jan 20, 2011
F 1.4
SS 60
FL 50
Shot with: Canon EOS Rebel XT DSLR

Day 5

Photo: Union Square Park
Jan 17 2011
F2
1/1600
FL 50

Day 4: Nearsighted

In life, we often get frustrated when we can't see the big picture. We demand meaning behind every little thing that happens to us or those close to us. When we can't see the deeper meaning we throw up our hands in dissatisfaction cursing the world or the God we serve.

I have found myself in that situation more times then not in the last couple of years. I have watched people suffer in ways that i feel is cruel and unusual punishment. Either with life threatening illness or debilitating mental illnesses. I don't see the purpose in it and feel that for the ones suffering with it, pointless and just cruel. I've found myself praying over and over for these people. And when i pray, i pray with faith that they will be healed. My only problem is i expect them to be healed on the spot. Outwardly healed that is. I get frustrated and disheartened when its not instantaneous. I forget that healing can often take time, patience, surrender and often affect more then the person suffering. The process that the healing takes is just as much of a meaningful experience then the healing itself. I get frustrated because they are continuing to suffer but i fail to see that their is grace in the process too. God can use the process just as much if not more then the healing itself. It may be in the grace and peace of the person being healed and how they wait. It may be in the struggle and pain that others find the depth of God's Love. Who knows where people find their healing when in the midst of pain and struggle, but the process of being healed is just as much a growth process as the act of being healed.

A friend told me the other day, that we should celebrate in the smallest of victories. We think that once we step foot into the situation, things should change instantly, but we fail to celebrate the small victories along the way. We aren't the one who brings about change and healing, God is. We should trust the process and allow for testimony to emerge from the small steps we take in our redemption and in our healing.


Photo: 163rd Subway platform
F2
1/60
FL:50

Day 3 - Community

Community has become everything to me over the last year. Its helped me open up. Its helped me dig a little deeper and its kept me from hiding from my pain and fear. I started attending a church almost 2 years ago, mostly as a retreat. Because so many of my friends attended there, i soon made the complete move. Our church has whats called Missional Communities which means we serve and live life together by our geographical location in the city. Some choose to serve by interest but most are geographically situated. I am lucky to have my best friend in my group as well as a couple i have served with for almost 5 years. Through this group i have met some of the most amazing people and couples i have ever met. They take community and serving seriously. Its not empty words. If you are in the hospital, they do your laundry. If your family is crazy, they carry the weight. If you have lost your job and am not sure what to do next, they encourage and lift you up both physically and in spiritually.

Community is such a key to spiritual growth. You can't do life alone and you especially can't do the faith walk alone. God intends us to live in community together. This is what the church was intended to be. Living life, carrying burdens, rejoicing together in triumphs. Modeling this idea of church is what the world is missing out on. Its redefining and revolutionary.

Picture: EJ, Farewell to Abby
F 2
Exp 1/60
FL 50
Jan 15, 2011

Day 2

I always find it intriguing when you have an empty subway car. In a city of 8 million, on a system that is often so crowded it can get inappropriate, its interesting when its empty. To some its refreshing. To others its hauntingly lonely.


Image: C Train at night
F 1.4
Exp. 1/125
Focal Length 50mm
Jan. 14, 2011

365 Days of Pictures

Picture: Lamp post outside of the NYC public Library
F 1.4
Exp. 1/180
FL 50
Shot with 50mm fixed lens

2010 was supposed to be the year of photography and writing for me. It was in many respects but 2011 is going to be the year that it means something. A friend of mine had decided to take a picture every day in 2011 and blog about it. I thought that was a perfect way of getting me to 1) take pictures 2) to write more. So in an effort to get my feet wet in both writing and photography, i am going to take and post 1 picture a day for the next 365 days.

I actually started taking pictures about 1 week ago, but have not posted them. So i am going to get a little caught up over the next few posts. Every day won't be a full post and every picture won't have a story behind it. It is truly an organic way of forcing me to shoot more and to see life, objects, writing and photography in a more critical manor and to get myself out there. Art is really personal to me, so this is a scary moment for me. My writing is even more so. Enjoy!