Sunflower addiction

I have to admit it I am addicted to sunflowers (or should I say taking pictures of them). Down the road less than 2 miles away there is a new field of sunflowers that have been coming alive a little bit more each day. Tonight we passed the field when we came back from town and I knew that I "had" to go back and shoot a few more pictures of these majestic flowers. In less than 15 minutes I took over 100 pictures. That really is not something to brag about. A good photographer takes his time and takes just the right shots. He specializes in taking less shots, but better photos. If it wasn't for the bugs, I probably would have done the same. I love shooting them just because they are so beautiful and yet such a "humble" plant. Another reason to take their photos is so I can make a few photo note cards that I can sell. My goal is not to get rich, but use them as a means of serving the Lord and encouraging others. If you want a set of 15 cards, plus envelopes, they will be $8.00 per set. Drop me a line at Fdistad@Gmail.com or send me a Facebook message. Meanwhile you can enjoy these shots I took tonight. Yes, I am addicted and I hope you will be too!

The Sky is on Fire!

Tonight on the way home from Barron, where we had our second night of VBS, the sunset was absolutely beautiful. When I finally found a spot where I could get a good shot of the sunset, I pulled the car over and started shooting. Every few miles I pulled over and took more pictures. As always the sun was setting fast, so I had to shoot quick before it was gone. The farther the sun set the more the sky looked like it was on fire with bright orange and yellow colors. It is not hard to take pictures of such a beautiful sight and get good results, but the real artist is God. It almost seems like I am cheating, taking photos of another person's masterpiece. What an amazing God we have that makes such a beautiful sunset. Some of the people from the photo club traveled north and took pictures of the northern lights - another of God's masterpieces.

Awe-full Roadside Flowers

This has been a long week with quite a bit of office work to be done. Today, I decided to take a little time off to take a few photos. This time of year the wild roadside flowers are everywhere and so are the bees, butterflies and dragonflies. It is always amazing when I take a photo and later see that there is a bee or dragonfly heading for the flower. Psalms 139 tells us that we are "Fearfully and wonderfully made", which means that they are "awesome". The word is actually "awefull" or "full of awe". These flowers are definitely "awefull". Even though you can see them by the thousands, they should always make you go "AWE!!!" at God's creation. Think of how God has blessed us with all this beauty all around us and all we have to do is enjoy it. My prayer is that as you look at these flowers you to will say "They are truly awefull." Look closely for flying bugs.

Lake Sunset Photos

Tonight I noticed that the sky was clear and that it would be a great time to shoot the setting sun over a nearby lake. (That is one of the advantages of living in a state with 11,000 lakes.) Island Lake is perfect for sunset shots. I was only going to take a few pictures, but ended up taking almost 400. Recently I decided to go as "all natural" as I can (no not that!) in my photography. In other words I want to take photos that I don't need to make a lot of adjustments with computer software. (WYSIWYG) I did need to crop a few of them, but almost all of them are just as I took them. With the Lord in charge of the sunset, it was hard to take a bad photo. I can take the photos, but God is the real artist. I can take a picture of a sunset, but there is no way that I can create one.

If I were a Butterfly...

Because of doing VBS in Superior this week, I have not had a lot of time to take photos. Today I did manage to take about an hour and travel down the road to Whallen Lake. Today, after the rains, the butterflies were out in force. All I had to do was keep pulling the trigger of the camera and the butterflies did the rest. When our son, Eric was a kid he would sing the song "If I were a butterfly, I'd thank You Lord for giving me wings..." It was a very simple song that reminded us to be thankful for what god has given us and to use the talents and abilities he has given us for Him.here is the first verse and the chorus of that old song. If you know it, sing along... 

 If I were a butterfly, I’d thank you Lord for giving me wings
If I were a robin in a tree, I’d thank you Lord that I could sing
If I were a fish in the sea, I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee
    But I just thank you Father for making me, me

    For you gave me a heart and you gave me a smile
    You gave me Jesus and you made me your child
    And I just thank you Father for making me, me

 Words and Music by Brian Howard

Roadside Flowers

Tonight I was driving around to see if there was something interesting to take photos of. I was beginning to get a little discouraged because I wasn't seeing much worth shooting. As I drove toward the Spooner Golf Course, I noticed a large bed of wild flowers by the side of the road. After parking the car, I started shooting. When I looked at the counter on my camera, I noticed that I shot almost 200 photos. Not bad, for a slow night! I love shooting flower beds in people's yards, but there is something special about roadside flowers. First of all, I don't have to ask permission to shoot them. They are not staged in a flower bed, but placed by God's design in no particular arrangement. Weeds and flowers grow together in the same area and yet the flowers stand out in all their glory. Take a good look at these wild flowers and simply enjoy what God has planted for our blessing. Are you blessed?

Transformed Tools

The other day I was reading an article in a photo magazine about a man who made a living at taking photos of parts of old machinery close up and then converting them to black and white. The author spent hours in post production for each photo getting them just right. Yesterday I decided to see if I could mimic his work taking photos of some of my old tools. Believe me, I have a lot of "old" tools that I have come across over the years. Even though they may be old, they are still useful and work just fine. (Just like us old folks!) When I took the photos they look quite good in color, but changing them to black and white made them "pop". I will admit that I did not take hours with each photo, only a few minutes.  Here are a few of the photos I took and transformed. Take a look and let me know what you think. I wonder how they would be as stock photos that people purchase. Which one do you like the best. Leave a note! Thanks...