Moment

Current Reading: Nothing Special by Charlotte Beck
Current Music: Complete discography of Keb Mo
Sounds: TV news in the background
Mood: Burnt, only skin deep
Smells: Coffee and toast
Temperature: 50 degrees
Thoughts: Running over the bridges in Pittsburgh is fun!

Photo Walk ~ This Sunday

Topic: General Walk: Overview of your DSLR 
Date: 4/29/12
Who: Anyone that owns a DSLR
Time: 10am
Where: Gate “A” Heinz Stadium Pittsburgh, PA
What to bring: camera, tripod (if you have one), passion to learn and a friend.

Photo of the Week ~ PGH @ Night

Limitless

The light is never the same twice, no composition can be repeated, a photograph is a single thread of impermanence.

Saturday night I am standing on the top deck of a boat.  The twilight is passing into darkness by the second; the wind is cold and the air is wet. I turn up my ISO to 3200, place my f/stop on 2.8, set my flash to 1/32, drag the shutter slightly...press my finger on the trigger. 

With a smile on my face I look at the image on the back of my camera. All I can think about is how limitless this machine in my hand is.  With this tool I can create photographs that the human eye will never be able to capture. I love this. The feeling never gets old; to the opposite, it grows more exciting as my years behind the camera mature. It's been 20yrs of shooting so far.

Being creative, no matter what the medium you practice, should never make you feel limited by the tools that you are working with. Limitation is never a purchasing issue, it is a thought process. A better camera (a better anything) will not make you a better artist.

Only time spent in “the doing” in “the process” ; that is where and when your camera will be transformed into a limitless instrument of creative potential. 

This photo is my first time shooting night photography with “out” a tripod and using external light. I have developed a deep passion for long exposure over the years.  Creating something new in the opposite direction of how I would normally shoot feels great.

Commandments of Creativity #4: It’s OK to fail...fail often, fail forward, enjoy the failure.

Boy, did I fail forward creating this photos...loved every snap of the shutter.

Pittsburgh Photo Walk | Beginner DSLR Instruction

Pittsburgh Photo Walk | Beginner DSLR Instruction

Topic: General Walk: Overview of your DSLR 
Date: 4/29/12
Who: Anyone that owns a DSLR
Time: 10am
Where: Gate “A” Heinz Stadium Pittsburgh, PA
What to bring: camera, tripod (if you have one), passion to learn and a friend.

P.S. If you attended any of our workshops this year...this walk is a great follow up.

Moment

Current Reading: Heart of Iron: By Kyle Garlett
Current Music: Dune by Ottmar Liebert
Sounds: Music of ….
Mood: Frustrated
Smells: Veggie hoagie
Temperature: 57 degrees  
Thoughts: It’s not good to be in the upper 1% when its about your e-mail server being down (see Mood) 

Photo of the Week

Published ~ Style Me Pretty

I am excited to announce that we have another feature in Style Me Pretty

There are lots & lots of photos, be sure to click through the gallery.....

Take Acton & Make Some Noise

In 24 days, on May 6, I will run the Pittsburgh half marathon: 13.1 miles of celebrating life. A year ago, to be specific it was ten months ago, it was unimaginable that I would be strong enough to take a long walk. The thought of running at all...anywhere...wasn’t even a consideration for me.

This will be my fourth race and second half marathon since I started running in June of 2011.

It’s about completing not competing.

The above quote is the best description of what it is like living with a chronic illness. There are no winners. It is about getting through the day, every day. Everyday is about completing; doing the best to make it a better day than the one before. That is not easy.

You do not need a cure to be healed...that’s why I run.

I am not running in the hopes of raising enough money that medical researchers will have unlimited funds to do their work. But I do hope you donate.

I am running in the hopes that other people with chronic illnesses will run alongside me in whatever way they can...be it body, mind or soul.

It’s possible and it’s nothing special; it has taken me six years to learn (experience) this lesson. This is why I run.

When all possibilities are removed from anybody winning, this is when the best of humanity comes out. This is why I run.  Run with me in whatever way you can.

All too often in life we need a winner, we need to pick a side, we need to pick an adversary.

I say ~ 
We need to be pulled together for a common gain, not pushed together by a common enemy.  This is why I run.

Help me share this message with others.

Take Action & Make Some Noise…

I run for those who can no longer run, walk or even move much. I run for those who live with this disease in different stages of progression to show that it can be done: that you could do this...or walk, or jog around the block. In disease as in life it's hard to heal the mind if you do not heal the body first.

I invite you to join me in this journey. Please share this if it inspired you. Facebook this, Tweet this, e-mail this to friends and family struggling with a chronic diseases.

For additional reading about me & my journey read:

~ Living Life with the Heart of a Servant and the Strength of a fighter

~ Radical Reversal: The History of my Future

Pittsburgh Photo Walk | Beginner DSLR Instruction

Topic: General Walk: Overview of your DSLR 
Date: 4/29/12
Who: Anyone that owns a DSLR
Time: 10am
Where: Gate “A” Heinz Stadium Pittsburgh, PA
What to bring: camera, tripod (if you have one), passion to learn and a friend.

P.S. If you attended any of our workshops this year...this walk is a great follow up.

Moment

Current Reading: Revelations: Visions, Prophecy and Politics by Elaine Pagels
Current Music: Films About Ghosts by Counting Crows
Sounds: New grassing growing
Mood: Resurrected
Smells: Cold morning air
Temperature: 41 degrees
Thoughts: When all possibilities are removed of anybody winning, this is when the best of humanity comes out.

Time Off

~ See you next week.....  Enjoy the holiday.....

Photo of the Week