1The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, 3and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor. 4They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations. 5Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the LORD,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.
7Instead of your shame
you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
and everlasting joy will be yours.
8“For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them. 9Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the LORD has blessed.”
10I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.
What some friends and I thought would be a weekend-long showing of our photography at Dominican Joe Coffee Shop in downtown Austin, has turned into an all-month show.
UPDATE: The show is running through the end of December.
If you’re in town, head on down to Congress and Riverside, visit, and have a look at our work.
Can’t make it, but still want to see my artwork? Click here.
If you like any of it, it’s all for sale — a portion of the sales go to support Makarios, an Austin-based non-profit organization committed to educational and economic development in the Dominican Republic.
One of my favorite scenes in a recent movie is in “The Kings Speech” when King George is pacing in Westminister Abbey while the speech therapist is sitting on the coronation throne:
Lionel Logue: Listen to you? By what right?
King George VI: By divine right if you must, I am your king.
Lionel Logue: No you’re not, you told me so yourself. You didn’t want it. Why should I waste my time listening?
King George VI: Because I have a right to be heard. I have a voice!
I have on occasion felt like King George in the scene above. Writing that used to come relatively easy, has been a bit slow lately. Very slow.
Several friends of mine asked me when I’ll start writing here again. I never had a good answer, other than “sometime soon.”
I am starting to crawl out of that hole, however. I miss writing. I miss the storytelling. Most of all, I miss my voice.
I have a lot of material in my head. Some of it is sadly not for public consumption, while some of it will be put here, in due time.
And photography. It took almost 6 months to get my equipment replaced from the break-in and theft earlier this spring. That also got in the way of a project I have in the works, which I’ll be picking up again as well.
Look forward to seeing more on here, both in writing and picture.
Once again, I realise that things are a bit too quiet here. In the weeks leading up to the last few blog posts, I had just sat down and revamped my blogging strategy (Is there such a thing) to cover such things as not letting the blog languish for too long at a time.
Also, I am trying to focus the blog more around my photography, with the occasional theology post thrown in - instead of having a theology blog with occasional photography posts thrown in.
Oh, and did I mention the first of several photography projects that I was ramping up? One was on a pretty tight timeline, as it was due to start showing… in 2 days?
And then Plan B happened: While at lunch one fateful Sunday, my truck was broken in to, and all my gear stolen.
Gone.
You read it right: Gone.
A kind gentleman in a white Chevy Tahoe drove through the parking lot, took a look around and helped me to what would ultimately result in a new truck window and a sizable claim with my insurance company.
The meantime has been bitter-sweet. I’ve realised exactly how much I use my camera on a daily basis, and at the same time not having it around, I’ve had to make due with what I have left: A 7.1MP Canon SD550 and my 3MP cell phone.
Both of which have been surprisingly useful. I think can be a good exercise for photographers to force themselves to have restrictive limits, as it brings out creativity that previously was ignored because there were no restrictions.
The flip side of the coin is that the pseudo-hiatus has fuelled my passion for photography greatly. I can’t wait to finish the projects I started and start on some of the other projects that I’ve come up with since this all started.
In the meantime, hang in there. I promise good things will come.
At it’s essence, photography is the art of capturing a moment in time, so that you can show the world that moment at a different time and place.
This was taken a few nights ago, on my way home from the movie theater. I loved the way the city lit up the sky, and as I finished the panorama, a train was passing by…
We had a full moon a few weeks ago, and atmospheric conditions made the moon just look gorgeous. Or creepy. You pick.
Tonight. Late in the sunset, and a plane flew by overhead. I love the simplicity and colors of this.
I’m going to try to continue posting various images, although you’ll have to help hold me to this promise. I figure while God is a good thing to write about, a photographer’s blog should also, well.. display his photography.
