Our Prayer Flag

(written on November 22; posted November 25)

Today is our twenty-fifth church wedding anniverasary, my wonderful wife and I. We spent a good part of the morning just sitting at the dining table, talking, sharing, reminiscing, exchanging poetry and reflections and reaffirmation of our love. Joy gave me a poem she wrote in July of 2003 at a time when things were quite dire in our relationship, part of which reads:

these words;
our prayer flag.
little scrap we fly
in defiance of wind
partway up an arduous climb.

"In our marriage
we are each other's bedrock
and Dreamkeeper."

let this, our prayer flag -
little scrap we fly as beacon in the storm
appease the gods of rage and ruin
appeal to gods of faith, companionship,
to gods of forgiveness.

let this,
our prayer flag,
remain.
sustain.
see us to summit.

Apropos Joy's poem, I found this photo of a Tibetan couple after their wedding, amongst prayer flags.

Such a strong and heartfelt prayer, from one so hurt, so lost, so close to giving up. One who chose to carry on, and work, with her other, through the very tough journey back to a shared life with each other, for each other. My wife, my Dreamkeeper, my dearest love, of twenty-five years. I am thankful for her patience and kindness, and for God's blessings upong us, our sons, and our families throughout these years. May we paddle onwards together for many years to come.

Learning Not to Run Too Far Ahead

Today I am thankful that I have learned to pace myself so that I no longer (as my wife constantly pointed out) run too far ahead of my wife and sons, always out of reach, just around the next bend in the road, in hot pursuit of whatever career or life goal I was obsessing over at that point in my life. I am thankful for the pauses, both natural and imposed, that life sent my way; I am grateful for the lessons learned and absorbed in those moments, and for the new commitments I made, and which life made on my behalf, to be a better husband and friend to my wife, and a better, more present father to my boys, even if it meant giving up further progression in my career. 

Ironic, then, that after taking a leap of faith to venture into a new world of work three years ago, one with a  far less frenetic pace (though far more challenging in its newness and complexity), and one in which I was no longer obsessing over the next move up the ladder, the next move did in fact come in a more natural way, and in a way that allows me to run beside (or paddle along with) the special people that mean the most to me, my dear wife and my boys. 

I am especially thankful for the Lord's blessings, and his never wavering support to keep us together and for always leading us all to a better place. 

 

New Tools

I go back and forth between the the tools of my craft, always hoping I can simplify and get my equipment down to the most essential pieces only. Alas, in as much as I'd like to believe I am more a photographer than equipment collector, I do succumb to the periodic call of a new piece of equipment. Over the last two years, though, I think I have come to terms with a set of tools that best suit the different types of photography I enjoy.

For nature and event photography (the latter comprising mostly shooting the Westfield High School Marching Band during their performance season, as well as the occasional air show), I have become very comfortable with my E-M5 and my Sony RX-10. The E-M5 is still the best camera in hand with the grip and battery pack connected; it reminds me so much of my OM-1. I love the files, the handling, the versatility, and its weatherproofing. Great for covering the band and nature shots in the rain.  The RX-10 is such a beautiful, versatile beast, with that great 24mm-200mm F2.8 Carl Zeiss zoom, great video and stills, and weatherproofing as well. When I have the RX-10 as my second camera, the E-M5 will sport either the 75-300mm, the 75mm F1.8, or the 45mm F1.8. Below, the E-M5 and RX-10 after a morning shooting in the mud and rain.

For general walkabout about and street photography, I have come to rely heavily on my very small GM-1; it is such a great, high quality compact m43, with very minimalist styling and very classic design cues. In addition, I also love the feel and ergonomics of its bigger brother, the GX-7, which I bought, sold, and re-bought in the span of a year. It reminds me of my Pen-F and M3 film cameras, both of which are great shooters. The Panasonics are such great extensions of my eye, and they are perfect for all around, unobtrusive shooting.  They are great with the set of silver m43 lenses I have, which cover the equivalent full frame range from 24mm to 200mm. 

The latest addition to my stable of tools is the Sony RX-1, my first full frame digital camera. It has a fixed 35mm F2.0 Carl Zeiss lens, which is absolutely gorgeous to shoot with. The design and controls are very simple, but very modern, and the thing is a beauty to hold and to shoot with. Great for all around shooting, especially when I need nice out-of-focus backgrounds.

I am hoping I can stay with these tools without making any more major additions. Each of these cameras help me shoot instinctively and become extensions of my eye in differing situations; that's my story and I am sticking to it!

Of Boys and Beaches

This photograph was taken in 2006, on Omaha Beach in Normandy. The boys were fascinated by this sculpture, presumably a memorial to all the men who died on Omaha Beach on D-Day. Jaime was going on 12, and he already understood the significance of being on that beach; Javi was just happy to run around and stand beside the shell-blasted walls of the old German coastal defense. 

My boys were able to enjoy the beach that day, because of all the boys who came ashore and fought and died on that beach, all those many years ago.