A young pastor in an old denomination
After taking engagement portraits for Nathan and Laura they asked me if I would be willing to photograph their wedding as well. While I was a little nervous because it was my first wedding as a photographer, after spending the weekend with them and processing the photos I now look back upon this experience as one that was full of love, personal growth as a photographer, and some extraordinary moments. Enjoy!
More pictures below the fold.
[Read more…] about Guinn Wedding
I have been asked to blog about my Field Education experience at Duke Divinity School on the school’s official Field Ed blog and I’ll be cross-posting my entries here as well. If you have any questions about my experience, topics I should discuss, etc. please pass them along.
Psalm 113:3, “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised.”
I sat under this stained glass window yesterday during my first time worshiping at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Atlanta, GA. The image of the sun rising daily serves as a strong reminder to me of God’s faithfulness to humanity and my need to praise God on a daily basis as well.
Throughout this summer I will preach from a pulpit for the first time, accompany middle schoolers on a mission trip, visit the sick in the hospital, teach the church about Twitter, serve the homeless of Atlanta, and much more. These opportunities for ministry seem exciting yet overwhelming to me at the same time. I know I cannot succeed in any of them by my own power and abilities. Fortunately, God the Father has sent the Holy Spirit who enables us to be powerful witnesses to the saving work of Jesus throughout the world (Acts 1:8). As the sun rises on this new experience in my life I ask for your prayers as I serve in this new place and continue to discern God’s call upon my life. I’ll be keeping you posted on how its going with some good stories, photographs, laughs, and tears along the way.
Whenever you tell someone what town you’re from people often have immediate associations in their mind. It could be a news story regarding your town, the birthplace of someone famous, or have some kind of landmark that is oft-visited. Conyers, Georgia has quite a few associations. Some think about The Lost Children of Rockdale County, Holly Hunter, The Dukes of Hazzard, the monastery, and every once in a while someone will mention “The Farm”.
Think about your town. What comes to most people’s minds when you tell them the name of it? Now, have you ever actually engaged the site, news story, or bizarre thing that most people name? If not, I would encourage you to go out and explore it.
For years I heard about the visitations of the Virgin Mary to Nancy Fowler that occurred on her farm in Conyers. Students would come late to school because traffic was so bad from the thousands of visitors. Locals would speculate whether this was real or some scheme. Newspapers would publish stories. And people would go drink water from the well on the property hoping and praying for miracles. But until last week I had never even read about or been to this place that was less than ten miles from my house.
The Farm ended up being a place of solitude and beauty. Much different from the sprawl right down the road. There were acres of property to stroll, meditations to read, and lots of information in the welcome center on the site itself. The story of The Farm is quite interesting, but I will spare the details and let you read about it at Conyers.org.
I was able to spend some great time in prayer there and capture some of the beauty, mystery, and icons of this place with my camera. Click “Continue Reading” below to see more photos.
I’m still unsure exactly what to think of this pilgrimage site, but I do know that thousands have lifted prayers and sought after God on this property. And when I stepped from the grass onto “Rosary Hill” to get some better photos of Jesus on the Cross my feet began to feel like they were on fire. I looked down and they were covered in fire ants. Needless to say, from that point on I gave the hill much more respect.
I’ve always loved this statue in Conyers, and when I drove by one evening over break I saw it had been decorated for Christmas. The boys, covered in ice and climbing ever higher, reminded me of a poem by Longfellow.
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The shades of night were falling fast,
As through an Alpine village passed
A youth, who bore, ‘mid snow and ice,
A banner with the strange device,
Excelsior!
His brow was sad; his eye beneath,
Flashed like a falchion from its sheath,
And like a silver clarion rung
The accents of that unknown tongue,
Excelsior!
In happy homes he saw the light
Of household fires gleam warm and bright;
Above, the spectral glaciers shone,
And from his lips escaped a groan,
Excelsior!
“Try not the Pass!” the old man said:
“Dark lowers the tempest overhead,
The roaring torrent is deep and wide!
And loud that clarion voice replied,
Excelsior!
“Oh stay,” the maiden said, “and rest
Thy weary head upon this breast!”
A tear stood in his bright blue eye,
But still he answered, with a sigh,
Excelsior!
“Beware the pine-tree’s withered branch!
Beware the awful avalanche!”
This was the peasant’s last Good-night,
A voice replied, far up the height,
Excelsior!
At break of day, as heavenward
The pious monks of Saint Bernard
Uttered the oft-repeated prayer,
A voice cried through the startled air,
Excelsior!
A traveller, by the faithful hound,
Half-buried in the snow was found,
Still grasping in his hand of ice
That banner with the strange device,
Excelsior!
There in the twilight cold and gray,
Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay,
And from the sky, serene and far,
A voice fell, like a falling star,
Excelsior!
While at home in Conyers this Christmas I had the amazing opportunity to photograph my brother Will and his fiance Farley. They were the first couple I have photographed and they were such a joy to work with.
I’d love some feedback from friends, family, and others reading my blog regarding my first attempt at engagement photos.
