St Olaf Kirke

I had planned to head south at 6:30am this morning (10/30) so I would have the light I wanted to photograph St. Olaf Kirke.  However, my truck battery decided that this morning was the time to die, so I had to run by my mechanic's to get a new one installed.  This caused me to delay my departure until 9:00am.  The whole time I am watching the sky, the light rain cease and the clouds begin to break.  By 10:30am I am at St. Olaf Kirke but am discouraged because there is little cloud cover left.  I always prefer to photograph on cloudy days for light diffusion.

St. Olaf Kirke is a beautiful 19th century Lutheran parish church established and built by Norwegian immigrants on a hilltop near Cranfills Gap.

As you can see there is not much cloud cover left when I arrived.  Still the light was holding as I got my digital camera out and started shooting.  I use digital for snapshots and as an artist would use a sketchpad.  I will shoot to see what I've got and then load up my medium format camera with film and shoot what I think are the best views.  Film processing and printing is expensive so this enables me to focus on what I think will be the best images with my film camera.

The church is only used for special services now but it is well maintained and as you can see it is beautiful.  On the east side of the church is a graveyard.  Burying the faithful in hallowed ground surrounding the parish is not done in this modern age but it is a tradition that I wish could be practiced today.  We should be constantly reminded of our destiny and the fruit of lives well lived.

As you can see this is a great place to shoot.  There are no power lines to deal with, just an absolutely beautiful place.  I am always moved by traditional Chistian architecture.  I wish modern congregations would re-embrace this architecture.  Most modern churches are just simply God-awful eyesores, that reflect our fractured, materialistic and secular society.  The newest church building in Cleburne is as attractive as a Home Depot store.  Yes, I know one can worship God anywhere, but it is so different when the architecture moves one's heart toward God just looking at it.  Modern church architecture is as spiritually moving as a food court in a shopping mall.

Anyway, I am truly enjoying myself and praying that the clouds will hold until I can get all the shooting done that I want to do.  The weather is perfect.  I think about the people that worshipped here over the years and how this church is a fruit of their love and devotion to God. 

About this time the my truck decides to set off its anti-theft alarm.  I had parked about two hundred yards away from the church so my truck would not show up in any images.  I hike to the truck to shut off the alarm and then back to where I was shooting.  All this means is less time to shoot film because the cloud cover is thinning fast.

I finish going around the church and graveyard.  I've thought through the angles I want to shoot with film and head to the truck for my medium format camera.  There is enough cloud cover for me to work with at that moment and I am working in the cab to load a roll of black and white film in my camera.  I get the film loaded, get out of the cab and look up-there is not a cloud in the sky.  Within the three minutes it took me to load film, the sky had cleared completely.

Oh well. . . . I got some good digital done.  I will be back when conditions are what I want.  I did some exploring of the area and made note of several other things I want to photograph when I can get back.  Overall it was well worth the trip.  Following is the money shot.  The best of the day.

Lucinda in woods

What I Believe - Faith

First and foremost I am a Western Orthodox Christian.  My foundational statement of faith is the Nicene Creed - "I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.  And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages;Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father; by Whom all things were made; Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from the heavens, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man; and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried; and arose again on the third day according to the Scriptures; and ascended into the heavens, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father; and shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end.  And in the Holy spirit, the Lord and Giver of life; Who proceedeth from the Father; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spake by the prophets.  In One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.  I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.  I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come, amen."

I accept, believe and try to live out the teachings of my Church.  I believe that the Orthodox Church, in its Eastern and Western Rites, is the fullest, truest and most complete expression of Christ's Church on earth.  Having begun as a child growing up in a Southern Baptist church the Lord has truly brought me to the other end of the spectrum.  Each step along this path seemed to bring me closer to God and further back in church history to benefit from two thousand years of Tradition and Apostolic doctrine.

Joan's Birthday

I swear there was no alcohol involved.

Ahhhh. . . . the Telfords.

Jackson Pollack-ish

Juneteenth Celebration

Southern Gothic

Young Valkyrie

Peter Feresten

Peter Feresten is not a widely known photographer. He is one of my favorites. I had the priviledge of attending one of his presentations at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth. It was a seminal moment in my life which has only recently begun to bear fruit. He died a short time after this presentation. I count myself extremely fortunate to have been present at this event. It was one of those moments in my life that I realized, as it was happening, that it was important and would head me in new directions.

My kind of place.

"There seem to be but three ways for a nation to acquire wealth. The first is by war, as the Romans did, in plundering their conquered neighbors. This is robbery. The second by commerce, which is generally cheating. The third by agriculture, the only honest way, wherein man receives a real increase of the seed thrown into the ground, in a kind of continual miracle, wrought by the hand of God in his favor, as a reward for his innocent life and his virtuous industry."

Benjamin Franklin

Grow what you eat, eat what you grow.

Thus begins garden 2009. Have marked off seven beds, 4'x50' each, for 1400 square feet to be planted.

1975

Friday night,
cruising Main Street in my '74 Gran Torino,
searching for others of my crowd,
wasting gas, wasting youth.

Jimmy Buffet playing on the eight track,
a case of Lone Star longnecks
on the back seat,
a cold one in my hand.

Talking of desires and dreams,
badmouthing this Baptist town,
too afraid to leave
driving for hours going nowhere.

Street lights reflecting off the hood,
headlights lighting our faces
laughing,
good times worth remembering.

Young, dumb, wild and free
Friday night live
Cleburne Texas
1975.

More on distributism

Great cartoon and comments related to distributism.

Union Man

Another good article on distributism

Check this out.

Carolina Chocolate Drops

Carolina Chocolate Drops

Carousel, Salem Oregon

Acid Ball, Salem Oregon

Tomb Detail

Meatfare Sunday

Oak

Another good one @ Distributist Review

Check out this post at 'The Distributist Review'.

I share his concerns and fears.

Good Lord, deliver us!

Brigid Grace

Lucinda May comes trick or treating

Lucinda May came by trick or treating on Halloween. We loaded her down with treats, but I think she was the one that let the air out of my tires.

Have started a new job and have not had the energy/time to get out and shoot. So, no photo of the week last week. Hopefully will get out this weekend to do some shooting. In the meantime here is something from the archive.

Little Girl Dreams

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Abides

"He who eats My flesh and drinks my blood abides in Me, and I in him." John 6:56

Drive Bys

This is Buster. He is Lucinda May's dad. He came looking for Lucinda May and I got to meet him. He says that he services septic tanks for a living. He says that he is #1 in the #2 business. Nice guy.

She says that her name is Lucinda May Carter.

Strange girl found in our backyard.

Sanctuary

Liturgizing

The Stone Mirror

This post is on The Distributist Review. Lots of good stuff on this site. This post is especially poignant, give it a perusal. I have been troubled since before we invaded Iraq that the most powerful proponents of war were men who had never served themselves such as Mr. Cheney. The blame for this fiasco needs to fall squarely on their shoulders. That is all I have to say about that.

Compromise, Hell!

This is an essay by Wendell Berry. If you don't know who Wendell Berry is; shame on you. This is Wendell Berry. He is my all time favorite author of poetry, essays, and novels. We need more just like him.

mmmmmmmm...good

This is the result of just one jumbo ice cream sandwich. The psychological and physical damage is evident for all to see.

Voluntary Simplicity

During the past Apostle's Fast in June, I tried to focus on the subject of 'voluntary simplicity', how to integrate it more effectively into my life and faith. I am still pondering how to simplify my life; how to disengage from this industrial/materialistic culture. This essay has a lot of good information to ruminate on. Though it was written in 1977 and some of its potential forecasts for the year 2000 were overly optimistic, there is still a lot to be gleaned from it for one engaged in the pursuit of simple living.

Agua Fria

My daughter . . . 'sniff' . . .of whom . . . I . . . 'sniff' . . . am so . . . 'sniff' . . . very proud.

Feeding on the Botanicals

Agrarianism

I am an agrarian. This is a good introduction to Agrarian thought.

Botanical 14

"The history of gardening makes fascinating reading. Start with the 1st chapter of Genesis and work upward." Richardson Wright

Botanical 11

"Lest you tire of its physical exactions, stop gardening at four, wash up and be cordial to the rest of the family." Richardson Wright

Botanical 10

"Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. . . . I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Botanical 9

Hail, from whom alone there springs
the unfading Rose;
Hail, for thou hast borne the
sweetly-smelling Apple.
Hail, Maiden unwedded, nosegay of the only King
and preservation of the world.
Hail, Lady, treasure-house of purity, raising us
from our fall;
Hail, Lily whose sweet scent is known to
all the faithful;
Hail, fragrant incense and precious oil of myrrh.

Byzantine Akathistos Hymn
to the Most Holy Mother of God.

Botanical 7

A bright new flower has appeared this day

out of the tomb.

Souls have blossomed and are adorned

with divers hues, and have become

green with life.

The florescence of divine light has bloomed

in the spiritual spring.

Armenian Ode for Easter and Eastertide

Botanical 6

The Man Born to Farming by Wendell Berry

The grower of trees, the gardner, the man born to farming,

whose hands reach into the ground and sprout,

to him the soil is a divine drug. He enters into death

yearly, and comes back rejoicing. He has seen the light lie down

in the dung heap, and rise again in the corn.

His thought passes along the row ends like a mole.

What miraculous seed has he swallowed

that the unending sentence of his love flows out of his mouth

like a vine clinging in the sunlight, and like water

descending in the dark?

Botanical 5

If you take away from the midst of you the yoke,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.
And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. Isaaiah 58:10-11

Botanical 4

"St. Paul writes that 'the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control'(Galatians 5:22). These are the spiritual flowers of Pentecost. They blossom in the garden of our lives when we open our hearts to the Spirit of God." Vigen Guroian

Botanical 2

A Meeting ~ by Wendell Berry

In a dream I meet

my dead friend. He has,

I know, gone long and far,

and yet he is the same

for the dead are changeless.

They grow no older.

It is I who have changed,

grown strange to what I was.

Yet I, the changed one, ask: "How have you been?"

He grins and looks at me.

"I been eating peaches

off some mighty fine trees."

Botanical 1

Do you see . . . the meadow blossoming with flowers? Do you see chastity, shining like a fragrant lily? Do you see the rose of modesty, and the violet, the good odor of Christ? Why not make a garden of these? Now is the time to gather these flowers and adorn ourselves with them.

St. Gregory of Nyssa,
Commentary on the Canticle

Columba of Iona

Today is the feast day of my heavenly patron ~ Columba of Iona. When one converts to the Orthodox Church one of the challenges is to choose a patron saint. In some cases the saint chooses you. As an Episcopalian I came to accept the belief that the saints intercede for us before the heavenly throne but it didn't seem to be that big a deal. You asked certain saints for their intercessions for specific things from time to time but I don't know that anyone had a specific patron saint. As I became more interested in the Orthodox church I also began to think about a patron saint to take as my own. Being Scots-Irish, I began reading about Celtic saints.

My ancestors had been a strong clan of reivers living in the Borders area of southern Scotland. The English, out of frustration because they couldn't get the Armstrongs to settle down and be nice, forcibly resettled the majority of the clan to northern Ireland. After 160 years we began to emigrate to America in the 18th century.

Columba, in the sixth century, got himself into a polictical mess that got a war started and ended up being banned from Ireland. Told to leave Ireland and in penance to convert 3,000 souls to the faith to make up for the 3000 casualties, he ended up on the island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland. There he set up a monastary that would be the beginning of many other monastaries in Scotland and northern England.

Something in his story and my ancestry stirred a visceral reaction in me and I decided that if I ever became Orthodox that he would be my patron.

In the summer of 2002, I decided that it was time to visit an Orthodox parish to taste and see if this ancient faith was for me. The closest parish (27 miles) was St. Barbara in Ft. Worth. It is an OCA (Orthodox Church in America) parish with Russian roots. September 1, 2002 my wife and I visit for the first time.

We entered the nave and were welcomed by a nice lady. She showed us where to go and helped us settle in in the nave. The smell of incense was rich, what seemed like hundreds of candles were flickering before the iconostasis, someone was at the front left of the nave making their confession to Father and we were taking it all in. About half way through the service my wife elbowed me in the side and said, "Look, isn't that Columba?". I looked up and at my left shoulder was an icon of St. Columba. Chills shot up and down my spine, my hair nearly standing on end as I looked at the image of this man that I had come to love and respect so much. I thought "What in the world is an icon of an Irish saint doing in a Russian Orthodox Church?". I had to conclude that his intercessions had led me there and that this mission parish was where God would have us to be. God does work wonders through the prayers of his saints.

Pray unto God for me, O holy Godpleaser Columba, for I fevently flee unto Thee, the speedy helper and intercessor for my soul.

Genesis Sunshine Church

I love the name of this church ~ Genesis Sunshine. This church is a couple of blocks off East Rosedale in Ft. Worth.

Signs

I have become fascinated with the way many Christians choose to express their faith publicly. Of course this is quite common in the southern United States and is such a part of the environment I live in that I rarely paid attention in the past. These are two local examples.

To place the statement 'God is awesome' on a Midas sign advertising state safety inspection services somehow seems to reduce the power of the statement to almost meaninglessness. Yes, God is awesome, so awesome that the Old Testament says that a man can not see God and live. His awesomeness is of the heart stopping, mind blowing, soul vaporizing variety. To put this truth on a Midas sign reduces it to the level of "How 'bout them Cowboys, ain't they awesome?"

Another statement that I have seen on this sign that I absolutely loathe is "Ain't God Good?" Yes, He is goodness in its fullest, and to us humans, so far beyond us we can't imagine the depth of His goodness. And . . . and if you are going to put up a sign praising the Almighty's goodness, at least use proper English. Good grief. There seems to be a propensity among some Protestants to bring the Holy Trinity down to the level of a good ole boy that I sit around the camp fire with, singing songs as we spit and whittle.

The Orthodox Ranger

Be sure to check out the Ranger videos.

Introduction to Distributism

To be upfront and honest, I don't even rate as a 'trend sucking dilletante' when it comes to economics but I have sensed for a very long time that there is something terribly wrong with our economic system in this country. What was once supposed to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people has become a government of the corporation, by the corporation and for the corporation.

Corporate capitalism knows no loyalty to kin or country. It possesses no sense of place or seeking the good of the place one belongs to. It knows not the concept of usufruct that comes with the belief in the Creator and Sustainer of all creation. It therefore has no cumpulsion not to strip, destroy, rape, pillage and pollute the creation for commodities to enrich itself.

In this country we supposedly have a two party political system. In reality, we have one party - the Corporate Capitalist Party. Corporate capitalism pumps millions of dollars into both Democrat and Republican parties, buying influence with the winner of elections no matter the political platform.

Is there a better way? Socialism is just the other side of the same coin with property owned by the State elite instead of a Corporate elite so it has no remedies for us.

Sometimes called 'The Third Way' I believe that Distributivism is the remedy to both Capitalism and Socialism. Distributism comes out of Catholic Social Theory. The article linked to in this post is a good introduction, click on the title of this post. Hope you will give it a perusal.

Beat Daddy

Voluntary Simplicity

Very good essay from Orthodox Peace Fellowship.

http://incommunion.org/articles/previous-issues/voluntary-simplicity-in-the-bible

Handmade Boots

Feed & Grain

Fresh Eggs

This is downtown Rio Vista, TX.

Christopher Burkett

This is one of my favorite photographers. He was an Eastern Orthodox Christian monk for a number of years. Very interesting story; great photographer. Check out his website.

http://www.christopherburkett.com/

Doorway to the Blues

http://www.pandora.com/

Go to this site and type in Mississppi Fred McDowell.

Red Hatters

These red hats were handed out by Target at Main St. Arts Festival, Ft. Worth. Half of the crowd were wearing them. These ladys were under a shade tree grooving on some cool jazz. Not your stereotypical jazz fans but they were enjoying the day.

Reflection/Ft.Worth

Street Musicians/Ft.Worth

Street Evangelist

This is one of the street evangelists that were working the crowd at Main St. Arts Festival in Ft. Worth. She was quite earnest in her pleadings to the crowd that was for the most part ignoring her.

One of the many musicians playing at the Main St. Arts Festival in Ft. Worth recently. This dude could really blow that sax. They had a lot of good jazz while I was there but no Blues. I would have really loved to have heard some good blues.

I've Got My Eye on You

Sharecropper's Daughter

East Rosedale Church/Ft.Worth

Shadow

Feed & Seed

Alyosha's Apple

This coming Saturday, March 10th, marks the 6th anniversary of the phone call we received informing us that our daughter had been born early that morning. That call initiated emotions of ecstasy, fear, joy, anxiety and gratitude. She was born a couple of weeks before the due date; our Texas paper work was still being processed and we had to make flight arrangements. March 11th, we nearly missed our flight because we went to the wrong teminal; we get into Indianapolis late that night, too exhausted to continue and our luggage was lost. The next morning, our luggage caught up to us at the motel, we jumped into the rental car and drove to Columbia City, Indiana. The morning of March 12th, we walk into the hospital and meet Brigid. Two hours later we leave the hospital with Brigid and drive back to Indianapolis. We contact our Indiana lawyers and they inform us that we cannot leave the state with Brigid, until our Texas paperwork has arrived. Ten days in a motel, living with a newborn is not my idea of the ideal way to start our new family but that is what we did. Everyday making multiple phone calls to Texas, to keep people moving our paper work along finally paid off and on the tenth day our Indiana lawyers called saying we could go home. Hallelujah!!!

We named her Brigid after St. Brigid of Ireland. Three years later I read somewhere that Brigid is the patron of children born to parents who aren't married. God does move in mysterious ways through the prayers of His saints.

Brigid

Tis Himself

This was the only willing model I could find today.

Under the Surface

The Ancestral Manse

This is what remains of the house I grew up in. It burned recently; probable arson. I have a lot of memories in this house. My family lived here when I was born. My earliest memories are here and some of my fondest.

Reflections

Hoping for a regime change come Tuesday

I am not a Democrat, nor am I a Republican, but hoping for a regime change come Tuesday.

City Taxi Service

Last of the Celtic Festival photos

I've missed attending this festival for the past two years and I am very glad I made this one. It is just too fun and too much good music not to go.

Attending this celtic festival was my 'Dad's day out' that I take once a month, to get away by my self and shoot photos. Jamie works every Saturday so I've always got my daughter as a sidekick on Saturdays. Trying to stay focused on shots with a five year old in tow ain't easy. My cameras were a Minolta Maxxum 5000 with a 70/300 zoom, Fujicolor print film 200iso and a Konica/Minolta Maxxum 5D digital with 35/70 lens.

Even more from Celtic festival

More from Celtic Festival

More from Celtic Festival

Gyros

Celtic Heritage Festival

Farmall

Mask

Townscape XXIV

Townscape X

Townscape Xll

Townscape III

At Work

Snapshot

Mourning Dove

Portrait

"I curse you . . . . . "

"I curse you amp, watt, and volt!", Granpa from the movie "Hope and Glory". Played by one of my all time favorite actors Ian Bannon in one of my all time favorite movies.

Tomb

Jesus at the Texaco II

This is a re-work of a previous post. I think this is a stronger composition.

Industrial Detritus IV

Holy Mysteries

Summer Sky

Stop Making Faces!

Summer Clouds

Brigid Red

Industrial Cubism

Wild Hair

Brigid's Shots

Out in the backyard on Saturday, Brigid wanted to take some pictures. So I gave her a quick tutorial and turned her loose with my camera. She made about forty exposures. These are her best. I only did a small amount of cropping on two of them, the rest I did nothing. Not bad for five years old.

Economy of Scale

The Art of Seeing

Poultry in the Backyard

Jump on the Fourth of July

Cowgirl

Chevy Grill

Onion Dome

Self Portrait with Daughter

Grill

Men at Work

Motel

Local Clothing Store Front

Phoenix

Brazos Point Bridge

Gravestone Detail

King of the Cowboys

Abstract

Prairie Church

This is still a lively congregation. A remnant of this county's rural past. This area is fast becoming urban but I am thankful that there are still these remnants to be found.

Jesus at the Texaco

I began to photograph seriously in my early twenties. My first real camera was a Yashica Mat twin lens reflex. I wish I still had that camera, it was great. Next I had a Yashica 35mm rangefinder which had a lens the would create images so sharp they would cut you. My first slr was a Konica 35mm. I also had a Mamiya 645 when I toyed with the idea of becoming a wedding photographer. After marriage and work demands, I set photography aside. I maintained an informal interest in it through magazines, books, and the internet.

Now in my fifties, after using a digital camera at work, I have the juices flowing to take the craft up again. I shoot a Konica/Minolta 5D. I've only been back at it about six months now, have tons to learn, but am loving it again. I think that in looking forward to what remains of my life, I have a need to create and hopefully leave something worthwhile.