Ministry Update :: October 20, 2011

In the last 6 months we have done the photography for the covers of two upcoming books. One book is written and is being field tested now, the other is only outlined and will hopefully be written within a few years. I had the privilege of being a part of the team to get these photographs.

Some of our other book covers

On our team we had a few people helping out with wardrobe and makeup; poor Steve who stood in as a model while we tried angles and lighting; a director; and me, who did lighting and photography.

The first photo shoot involved creating a scene of Paul the Apostle in his older years retelling the story of his experience on the road to Damascus. For this we had a gentleman named John drive four hours to come to our studio where he sat very patiently as we placed him in a period costume and began taking pictures.

 

The transformation begins..

 

Fine tuning lighting and wardrobe

 

Taking the shot.

 

Earlier this month, we reassembled our team to create another cover. This photo shoot had a different gentleman named John, who came down from Wetaskiwin to stand in as Peter the Apostle.

Jessica applying makeup to simulate sores on wrists and ankles from chains.

 

 

Both of these gentlemen did a fantastic job as models and we really enjoyed working with each of them. It is not easy to do this kind of thing, especially under heavy clothes with all my lights on them. I look forward to the day when we can present them with a finished book with their photo on the cover!

The straw and everything we had on the white paper background ruined the first 10 feet of the roll. After I cut off the dirty part of the paper, Steve asked me what we should do with a 12×10″ piece of paper…

New prints on display

This summer I have prints on display and available for purchase at two locations in central Alberta. After recently selling a few prints from Chair of Bowlies, in Olds, Alberta, I have added some new ones. For some time now I’ve wanted to do sets of 3 smaller gallery wraps that are ready to hang on the wall, so in addition to the prints already there, I have added two, 10×10 sets on display:

“Glimpses of Peggy’s Cove”

“Flowers”

I have also added a large 20×40 canvas gallery wrap print of a scene from the Tantramar Marsh in Sackville, New Brunswick.

“Old Barn”

I am also participating in the Wellspring Visual ArtNetwork’s 3rd annual ArtWalk. I have 4 works of art on display at the Café Radio in Carstairs, Alberta.

“Lone Tree” – A 14×30 canvas gallery wrap print.

“Peggy’s Cove” – 20×40 canvas gallery wrap.

If you’re in the area, please stop by and check out the displays.

Lethbridge International Airshow

.. or, “How to get goosebumps on a very hot, sunny day.”

Until this past summer, I had never been to an airshow. I made up for that oversight in style by attending the Lethbridge International Airshow. The final clincher in my decision to make the 3.5 hour trip was learning that my favourite aircraft of all time, the A-10 Thunderbolt II, would be there.


A-10 Thunderbolt II flown by the A-10 West Demonstration Team

I had never seen one before in person and when it finally flew over, I had goosebumps despite the fact that it was a very hot day.

Unfortunately, the Canadian Forces CF-18 Hornet wasn’t at the airshow as scheduled… It was there as a burned out wreckage as it had crashed two days before. It must have been a bit unnerving for the other pilots performing that day as they all had to taxi right past the wreckage.

There were a number of historical aircraft, including a P-51 Mustang, and a FG-1D Corsair. It was a real treat to see these aircraft in action.

As a bonus, the TORA TORA TORA team was there, reenacting the Pearl Harbour attack with Japanese Zero fighters and Nakajima B5N “Kate” bombers. Their show was narrated and had lots of sound effects, plus many large explosions. After a bit, the smoke was so thick it was getting hard to see the aircraft as they kept buzzing the ground in simulated attacks.

We also saw lots of very entertaining stunt flying and tricks, and even the Canadian Army Skyhawks Parachute Team were on hand. I left the kids at home as it was a long drive and was forecasted to be hot (which it was) and figured the explosions would be too much for them right now. Instead, I had a real good time hanging out with my father-in-law and brother-in-law. It was a really great day and I’m looking forward to the 2011 show!

The Solstice Lunar Eclipse – December 21, 2010

Baby it’s cold outside! Once in a red moon there is a lunar eclipse, and this morning was an opportunity to watch the moon slip into the Earth’s shadow, made a bit more rare by the coincidence of it occurring on the Winter Solstice. It was about -20C when I headed outside with a small telescope and my camera. It’s amazing how quick your fingers stop working when handling tripods and buttons and lenses at -20… but I digress. It was a beautiful, clear night. A slight breeze made it a bit cooler and harder to keep the tripod steady (or maybe that was just my shaking hands), but I did manage to get some shots of the lunar eclipse.

I went out at 11:45 PM MST and called it quits at about 1:15 AM, so I missed the second half of the show (unlike the last time).  It was cold (did I already mention it was cold), but I’m glad I got to witness it.

The next morning after not enough sleep, I drove Ellie to school right around sunrise, and got one last shot of the moon before it ended it’s spectacular day. Thank you, God, for the show!