Quick tidbits -

I was talking to my wife at work when she got another call; we hung up; she called me back 10 minutes later just to say . . . I got busy and have to go. Hmmmmm. OK.


Since I've been doing a few paid jobs I've been waking up earlier and working more in the mornings but I still get to work late. I've taken to getting up at 5:00 in the mornings but by the time I get ready, get my daughter ready, deliver her to her grandmother's and edit wedding photos or print family portraits I'm still hauling butt to make work by 9:00. I've even been editing at night.

Invested in some fantastic portrait books by Amherst Media. One is on building a modeling portfolio for aspiring models. It includes some great material regarding how to shoot certain styles and how to help a model figure out both what she's "right" for and what she wants to do by putting her through some mental exercises where she picks out photos from magazines and describes things she wants from this type of career. The other book covers how to pose someone from the front cover to the back. It looks like it'll be a great resource.

There, finished in 5 minutes. Now you have an update.

Thanks for reading,

Kev

Busy, BUSY weekend

So I had the Monday night session to work on this weekend and I had already scheduled a photoshoot (see photo following). Then I got a phone call late Friday afternoon asking if I could and would shoot a wedding for a family. The groom-to-be just got his papers and he was shipping back over to Iraq for a 2nd tour. He had a couple of months but apparently he was going to be traveling and taking care of business so Saturday was to be the big day. I picked up a Quantum 2x2 battery pack and rolled to the church building. We shot from about 1:30-5:00. The family was wonderful. I have their proofs on schedule to be reviewed Friday.
Today was more relaxed since it was just a TFP agreement between the model and me. We didn't have to shoot any predetermined amount or time limit. We tried out several things and I got to really play with the lighting some. Here's one photo from that set.



Thanks for reading,

Kev

Small Business Update

So I've gotten some paying business based on shooting portfolio work for models lately. I got some serious inquiries and some business for photographing groups and families, too. Now the business takes the next step towards being less unprofitable; I just signed a contract with a local hotel/banquet hall to photograph banquet attendees. I shot at this location once before for an organization's annual party and the photos turned out very good. If the next two events work out to the satisfaction of myself and the management at this hotel I suppose I can expect to obtain a long-term contract to work with them and they will offer my services on a consumption-based model to any type of attendees (businesses, conventions, reunions, etc) and also they will help me market to some wedding clients that use their services.

While this type of work isn't as profitable as it might at first seem, it is money for photography, it does get me working with people (something I enjoy) and its work that I can do and it doesn't persist after the event (since attendees will either pay for and pickup photos of themselves during the event or they can purchase them off the website afterwards).

Thanks for reading,

Kev

Busy but happy

Talk about raining and pouring. I went from not shooting with anyone for a month or six weeks back in November to suddenly having 5 sets lined up over the next 3 weekends and another couple of people who want to schedule some time. A young model who had taken some time off is looking to get back to shooting a set with me. I got an order off a family portrait session that I need to fill and I have a request for bid for photographing families for a church directory. I'm getting more and more busy at work and spending more time with my wife and daughter. Whew! Who needs an umbrella? Let it rain.

Kev

Hell

A co-worker supplied this to me and I have no other attribution. Regardless, this is funny.

Subject: Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic?

The following is supposedly an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry midterm. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues.

BONUS QUESTION: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.

As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.

With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.


2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature adn pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it? If we accept the postulate given me by Teresa during my freshman year that "It will be a cold ay in Hell before I sleep with you" . . . and take into account that I slept with her last night, then the second option must be true. Thus I am certain that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over.

The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is, therefore, extinct; leaving only Heaving, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why last night Teresa kept shouting, "Oh my God!"

The student reportedly received the only "A".

Keyboard

My wife told me back at Christmas that she wants a piano. OK, says I. Why? My thinking is that I need to know whether she wants (A) a hulking piece of furniture that'll give me a hernia, collect dust and never be played or (B) something that can be hidden, is lightweight and can be taken anywhere so that there is no excuse not to play. She considers and wrestles with the idea; tells me that she doesn't want a keyboard and finally agrees to at least look at electronic keyboards. Fast forward to today and we drop by one of the local music stores (perhaps the only one), L & M Music. We take a peek at the Yamaha P120 and she decides that an electronic keyboard may not be all bad. It has Yamaha's "Graded Hammer" effect which cause the keys to respond to weight so that they both feel weighted like an accoustic piano's keys and they respond differently based on the amount of pressure you apply; hit it harder and you get a slightly different sound than if you press the key lightly. The quality of the sound produced is pretty impressive. It'll cost right at $1200 but she's excited about it and I figure its only money. It'll take me a couple of months to save up enough but we'll have it for her before too long, Lord willing.


On a separate but somewhat related note we worked around the house a little while our daughter napped this afternoon. My wife cleaned up some boxes and nicknacks from the bonus room over our garage and I put together a bookshelf for the library and cleaned up a little in there. Looks like I'll be moving my lighting/studio equipment to the room over the garage and moving the birds out (two cockatiels: Sam & Stan) and I'll be using that room for my studio. It's not really long enough but it'll do until I earn enough money and get busy enough to warrant renting/leasing a place. I have two sessions scheduled already and a third in the offing. One session is an artistic attempt by me to find some vision and capture something artistic so I'm paying the model. The other session is one where a young lady needs a portfolio started for her as she's doing some music and promotional work and needs headshots plus some different looks. We may shoot a CD cover for her either at the studio or later in the Spring; her cousin has worked with me before on environmental portraiture shoots.

The Steelers gave us all a scare tonight. I'm not a lifelong fan or anything but I'm pullin' for them this year. I hope they steamroll everyone else (sorry Payton) and crush their opposition in the SuperBowl.

Thanks for reading,

Kev

Study

I mentioned some studies that I'm engaging in. These are more personal and artistically expressive so I've been reluctant to share my efforts at these very much. I should receive my neutral density filter (which lowers the amount of light that comes into the camera; thus allowing me to take advantage of the faster glass I've purchased) and tonight my wife has agreed to sit for me while I shoot some lighting studies. That type of study has more to do with technical expertise rather than artistic interpretation of things so I'll share those photos online more readily. Hopefully I'll be able to get a subject in my makeshift studio at home or perhaps a location that I can share with a co-worker and shoot more lighting tests.

Oh well, without much more ado here is my first public shot on women's leg/foot fashions. I figured I'd go for something a little more innocuous than nudes as its just easier to explain around the Sunday lunch table with the family and so many women may find these more palatable than nudes.



If you click the photo and follow the link there is a color version as well; just click the Next link in the upper right corner.

Thanks for reading,

Kev

Farsightedness & Photoshoot

So I'm 36 and just realized over the weekend that my body is beginning to wear down in little bits. I'm not in great health or shape but my eyesight is something that I have always enjoyed in near perfect 20/20 fashion. I was tired this weekend and I've had some sinus irritations that affected me but at one point I picked up a paper and realized that I could not read it unless I held it at least 12-18" from my face. This was disconcerting. I tried a second time with the same results. Granted I had recently awoken from a deep sleep and my vision wasn't completely clear but the sign was clear (or blurry as it were in this case). Now a day later and I am able to focus on objects as close as 6" away. I can read moderate sized print at about half a foot away. Any closer or any smaller a font and my eyes feel like they're crossing. Well, with minor magnifications or corrections I should be able to make it without impacting my daily routine too much. I had my vision tested just over 12 months ago and the doctor prescribed a +0.75 magnification lens. Since then I've been wearing soem magnification glasses at work to help me reading a monitor or small print.

On a different note, I shot a new session for someone this weekend. I was pleased with the work overall. Still room for improvement on numerous fronts but here is one photo from the session (click the photo to be taken to more of my portraits from this session or previous ones.



Thanks for reading,

Kev

New Photo Gallery

I just updated my website with a new samples gallery. Take a look and see if you like it. I'm going to reorganize it; this was an attempt to put something together and get it migrated to the server. The next release will be an attempt at a cohesive representation of my best work.

Thanks for reading,

Kev

Random Thoughts From My Drug-Encumbered Mind

Red Velvet Cake - ya know what's so good about this stuff? The darned stuff is actually a chocolate cake but with red coloring. It's all a mind game. It looks bright red but your tongue would swear that its chocolate. The whole enjoyment of it (after the taste and whatnot) is that its chocolate without being chocolate. How cool.

Proximity Payments - so at work we have these proximity badges that allow you to do all sorts of cool stuff like get into locked doors or use the super-D-duper Executive Washrooms (like its a shower with gold appointments or something). Now I know some fuel company also has a proximity pass that you use to automatically deduct the charges for your gasoline from your charge/debit card. Why not use something like this with the vending machines that are on every floor. I believe that its commonly accepted as truth (though I have no evidence to back it up) that people spend more when they don't have to watch the dollar bills disappearing out of their hands. Let me connect my proximity badge to my debit card and buy Snackwells (tm) or Andy Capp's Hot Fries (tm) by merely swiping my hip up against the machine. Surely there wouldn't have to be many instances of erroneous use. Has anyone performed a market study to see if this would work? Frankly I don't want to do this, I just figured it's coming down the pike someday and why not get in front of it and make a quick dime on all you moronic fatties eating too many Little Debbies . . . wait that's me.

Well, there you have two thoughts from me, or Glaxo-somebody-and-somebody-else (for the medication I've taken for my sinuses).

Thanks for reading,

Kev

Sugar Bowl and photoshoot

I've been re-cataloging images for the past few days. It really is time consuming. I'm back up to 15,000 out of 50,000 images in the catalog. Whew! I'm backing up my catalog this time so that I don't have to rebuild the darned thing if I hose it.

Auburn Tigers/WarEagles/Plainsmen just won the 2005 Nokia Sugar Bowl (screw the BCS). They held off Virginia Tech in the final minutes. I wish they could have blown them out like Tennessee did to Texas A&M (screw Texas while you're at it); but I'm glad for any win for them. Tuberville deserves it and the Auburn fans deserve it and apparently the football players for Auburn deserve it since they're the ones who actually earned all 13 wins this season. CONGRATS to the Auburn Tigers.


I had a photoshoot with a co-worker today. The office was closed to celebrate New Years Day so we tore off about 300 frames in a couple of hours. It was her first shoot and I think we got some decent shots. Here's one from that session. Click the image to see the rest of the photos from that session.



Thanks for reading,

Kev

Have a laugh on me

If you don't already know I am an amatuer photographer bordering on either insane or part-time professional. I currently have a vault of about 70,000 images. Not too many of them are anything that would ring your bell but they're all a step towards the next level of mastery. A website to which I subscribe has an upcoming contest for the best photo of 2004. I decided that I would finish profiling the rest of my 2004 photos into my cataloging software. At the time I had about 55,000 images profiled. All the images are either on CD or DVD. Apparently I got a bad piece of DVD media 'cause I tossed it into the DVD drive and started the profile right before going to the in-laws for supper. When I checked the computer (it takes a little while to profile 4-5 Gb of images), the profiling software had halted. I shut it down and tried to start it back up only to find that it was corrupt. Wondering at the cause I created a test catalog and sure enough the same DVD toasted that catalog. Hmmm. Now the annoying thing is that I should have backed up the catalog. It's not enough to backup the images multiple times. I've spent several hours just feeding DVDs into the machine and waiting for Portfolio to profile the images. Hopefully I'll get the catalog rebuilt in time for the contest deadline so that I can more easily evaluate my shots from last year and go through a weeding out process to find the image that I feel represents my best work.

Enjoy the laugh and thanks for reading,

Kev

Happy New Year

I hope you and yours had a wonderful New Year celebration.

UT Volunteers won their bowl game in convincing fashion. Year after year they struggle when given an opportunity to prove themselves. Often they've been awarded better bowl bids than they may have deserved due to how well they travel (meaning how many fans follow them and spend a lot of money). In several of those instances they underperformed or appeared lackluster. By contrast this year they went to the SEC Championship game and for once they actually responded to pressure of poor performance with some pride and heart. They didn't win but they didn't just lay down and quit when they fell behind; they came back out after halftime and bloodied Auburn's nose and made Auburn perform even better just to stay ahead of the Vols. They got the invitation to the SBC Cotton Bowl (screw the BCS, its a piece of crap; don't know how to handle the large corporate donations when we do go to a playoff but the point is screw the BCS). They walked onto the field at the Cotton Bowl and took advantage of almost every opportunity Texas A&M gave them. They were quick, they were focused and they were opportunistic. Congratulations to the men on the field who displayed a desire to win and a will to go take the game from the Aggies. You were the most impressive team to play yesterday. Go Vols!

Surely you've heard about some tragedies involved with the tsunamis that hit around the Indian Ocean last week. I don't endorse any particular method of giving to the victims of these diasters but if you are looking to find a venue for providing monetary assistance then try GuideStar service. The top link in their central column allows you to search for agencies that say they provide some measure of support to the people who have endured the effects of the tsunamis. Find one you feel comfortable with and use it at your discretion if you're looking to provide monetary assistance.

Oh yeah, thanks to one of you for helping me find a potential studio here locally. It may be a fluke but the same day I called about the studio location I got a call to shoot headshots and promo work for someone who's cutting a promo CD. I may actually make 1 or 2 percent of my expenses someday. Wouldn't my wife and Visa be happy. hehehe


Thanks for reading,

Kev

Indian movies & Tivo talk shows

Here's a little known fact about me. I like movies about Indian culture. Asian Indian culture; not native American Indian culture. I like the modernity mixed with historical culture; I like the music and how even the most manly character can just break into rhythmic song; I like the gorgeous women all adorned with glittering gold and jewels; the skimpy outfits; the emotional interplay through the movie; the laughing and family fun and the crying and family angst that are inevitably part of the storyline. Here are three movies that I recommend:

Bollywood/Hollywood

Monsoon Wedding

Lagaan


Well, I just finished watching a DVR'd copy of Bollywood/Hollywood and so it was on my mind.


Addition:
Oh yeah. I forgot to add this little tidbit on, too. I was talking with a friend today and admitted to recording The Old Guy & Kelly (also known as Life with Regis & Kelly). I watch it every night when I get home. Granted there are often days worth of shows that I fast forward through and get little to nothing out of but they have a hit idea on their hands (as evidenced by the show's longevity). An older guy with a cute, young woman who hangs on him and panders to him. You get the female demographic 'cause they've watched Old Dude for years and are accustomed to his gruff mannerisms. They get male demographics from viewers like me who like to see how "Betty Boop" she'll play it up on any given day. Please don't mistake my reference for any facsimile of reference to authoritative commentary but I'm reminded of Saul and the young handmaid that warmed him in his old age. I know that any argument regarding what role the young woman played beyond literal "bedwarmer" would be an argument from ignorance and, therefore, specious. That doesn't take away from the validity (or perhaps illicit appeal) of having someone in your old age who is warm and vivacious and colorful.

I really can't speak to any valid socially redeeming qualities of either the TV show or the concept. All I can say is that I find it enjoyable and somewhat relaxing to watch when I get home from work. You just never know how "eye-candilicious" she's gonna be and he's liable to tear off on a rant at any time. Just thought you might be interested to know something useless about me.

Thanks for reading,

Kev

Christmas 2004

We made it through the holidays and everyone seems the better for wear. I think we're all gonna miss being around each other tomorrow but if we plan it right we should be able to spend more time together this year throughout the year with more vacation days (even if we stay around home).

We all got some nice presents and gave some nice presents.

I shot a very short photoshoot on Christmas day (photo folowing).

I hope you and your family had a blessed day and enjoyed sharing the time together.

Titans are out of the playoffs (have been for awhile); Peyton broke the passing TD record and UT is gearing up for their bowl game (I hate the BCS) on Saturday. I'm still looking for an inexpensive little place to put in a studio here in town.

Well, that shares few enough of my actual thoughts around Christmas time but perhaps keeps some people in the know. Here's the photo I promised:



Thanks for reading,

Kev

Development process

Anyone who's been a developer for any decent length of time (say 5+ years of nothing but development) can tell you that some things are the same no matter who your clients are and no matter what the project is that you are working on. I ran into something today that demonstrated that I haven't learned as much about managing a project as I might wish I had. You talk about these types of things with other developers and even make light of them when you're discussing things like business requirements and scope creep and deadlines and sign-offs but then you're in the middle of it with pressure (and even imagined pressures) to produce X, Y or Z functionality and next thing you know you've let a principle slip on managing a project and before you know it, the project is managing you. That's how I feel. I'm not mad at my clients (business users) nor my manager or co-workers. I'm disappointed that I feel like I should have known better and handled this situation better. I should have set some parameters through my own adherence to project management principles and put the burden of producing the necessary materials squarely into the demenses of other people with whom I interacted in this project. If I'd handled this differently I think I'd be at a different place in putting this into Production. As it stands we're looking at backing up the implementation date on the project I'm working on by 2-3 weeks now. That's not the end of the world but it does belie my beliefs that I had been through similar processes previously so I would know better next time. This time I was alone in the development so some portion of this falls totally on my shoulders and I hope I learn through my own disappointment and dissatisfaction (and concern for my continued employment) to follow a more disciplined approach in managing future projects. Most smaller places don't seem to have the luxuries of fitting themselves into such a structured project management cycle but at this level its more fitting to say that you don't have the luxury of not using a more structured project management cycle.

Thanks for reading,

Kev

Catching up

Oddly enough I always thought that I'd use some of my time off during the holidays to catch up on stuff. Now that I'm older and feel beset sometimes by the obligations that I readily take on and the ones thrust upon me I seldom go into a period of time wherein I expect to "catch up" on anything that would further my career or aspirations (I just don't want to get completely worn out or overextended - I'm lazy I guess).

Suddenly I realize that I've finally installed Visual Studio .NET 1.1 on my computer along with purchasing and installing some anti-virus/anti-hacker ware and installing it. I also downloaded (via MSDN subscription) a copy of Office 2003 and installed it. I've printed photos for several people in the family so that we can drop them off when we see the intended recipients over the holidays. I even got the Christmas cards out the other evening and wrote several dozen (sorry if you didn't get one; its because I don't have your address - send it to me via e-mail and you'll get one next year).

Now I want to finish off my shopping with a couple of inexpensive but desired gifts (desired by the recipients) and then wrap them and place them under the tree.

We went to church to watch Cindee's parents sing in the choir. This church is a single story with no extra precautions/planning for children so we kept Katie in the back row (not because I'm closer to Baptist in my theology or anything, just to be considerate of others). She made it almost all the way through without becoming so restless that we had to sneak out and run around. We just missed the last song of the choral cantata and the closing prayer and statements. If you know me, you know about what I think of a choral cantata so what can I say. The experience lived up to my expectations but I was reminded again of immature believers as the speaker (apparently not the normal pastor of that group) reminded the congregation through both written message (in the bulletin) and via speech that "God loves a cheerful giver" and "you can't outgive God" "'cause what you give to God we give back in greater measure". Yep, you read that correctly. If you didn't notice the error or poor theology then reread the last quoted statement. ". . . what you give God, we give back in greater measure." The statement was also made the God doesn't "need" your money (with which I whole-heartedly agree) but that He wants your money (with which I disagree strongly). God wants your fellowship, He demands your Holiness, He expects sinful desires but is working at all times to equip you and empower you to live in Righteousness so that you can attain to the level to which He has already accounted you (He declared you the Righteousness of Christ and one day you will be glorified but until then you are expected to try and live at that level). Elevating financial gifts (which are woefully underdeveloped as a subject in the Bible commensurate with what pastors or youth directors or missions directors or anyone else who wants to live off your dollars will tell you) to the point of speaking about them in a group of people who purport to be believers when you don't preach openly against the unholy, godlessness that is current day building funds is one step away from blasphemy in my understanding of the Bible. Giving money is an outward sign of inward submission to Jehovah God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Giving finances is an outward and visible (and in our society tax advantaged) way to demonstrate your own submission. Not every gift of money is a matter of submission. Many, many gifts are merely outward signs of something other than inward submission and faith in God. If a man can't provide for his family and take care of them then he is considered worse than a non-believer and an infidel in the New Testament. Did God require the lives of Ananias and Sapphira because they didn't give 100% of the proceeds of the sale of some land? Nope. He killed 'em because they lied about their donation/tithe/financial gift to the group of believers to whom they belonged. Ahhh, now I've torn off and started typing the message of God as most of your pastors won't share it ('cause it would mean that they need to get off their fat butts and go get a job to support their families). How often does your pastor spend 5 or 6 days a week not in the church building at all? How often does he get off his lazy ass and go speak to anyone that needs someone to speak to them including, but not limited to: infirm, elderly, prisoners, parishoners who are living lives of active disobedience, deacons who won't confront parishoners living lives of active disobedience, etc? Keep your money in your pocket. God doesn't want it; He doesn't need it and if you desire Holiness and Righteousness, then find some way to salve that tattered thing that you call a conscience without pulling out your checkbook. Don't give money to someone; go buy them the ham or clothes or pay their bill for them. In some cases, if they were good with money, they wouldn't be in the predicament that they're in. Its not that some people don't have times of hard luck but just enabling someone cause a lazy pastor tells you to doesn't make you Holy or Righteous. You can reach out to someone and help them through their time of trouble without having to take them to raise. In the Bible, the metaphor was a cup of cold water, not a room in my house and all the food that I can provide and everything I can possibly do until my own family suffers for it. The Bible is firmly in my camp on this one. The calling of a husband and also of a pastor is to be the husband of one wife and to love her and hold her up. Provide for your own family then you can reach outside your own household to help others. You are called to be a steward of your own self first, followed by your family and then, and only then, should you start reaching out to others. Get your pastor off your payroll and see where that money goes (unless the person leading you actually spends almost 100% of the time he wants to be paid for out seeing people and helping them and actively doing something with them).

'Course, that's just my opinion (but I bet if you read your Bible you might find that its a whole lot closer to God's opinion than your pastor wants you to believe).

Merry Christmas if I don't post again and thanks for reading,

Kev

PreScript Note

I bet that after reading the "Catching Up" blog post I'll get some comments from other believers who read my post and may be more "mainstream" than am I so I'll preface it with this:

When I go to a social meeting in which someone holds up the source of authority upon which I base my evaluations of myself and anyone else who claims to follow the same belief system that I follow, then I get pretty bent out of shape when those people who hold up that book then begin to espouse actions that are contrary to the precepts and principles of that book. The example would be how I go on in the other blog post from today about giving money to current day "churches". Do whatever your heart leads you to do (oh yeah and that lump of gray matter that God put into your head that makes you a little above the animals should just shrivel up and not be used at all). Believers are expected to test the words and direction given to them by their leaders (lookup Berea; all they are noted for is challenging an apostolic teaching to see if it fit the Bible). If my opinion misses the mark is isn't as wide to the side of caution as other people's is on the side of giving. Thanks again for reading and tell the church "leaders" to start making their own tents (yeah that's a Biblical reference, too).

Kev

Evolution n stuff

Ya see, I'm a believer in the ol' "Seven Day" theory that purports that this planet upon which we stand was created from nothing over a period of seven days. I know it seems completely contrary to the datum that people discover and link together to form their theory of cosmic evolution. Its a difficult thing to relenquish. My faith affords me the ability to believe that an entity who is all powerful and whose knowledge is complete could easily have created a universe which appears consistent with extremely long periods of evolution. I have little problem believing that such an entity could or even would produce such a creation and then place rational, evaluating entities within that creation and expect them to overlook some things they see so that they could believe what they were told (I also believe that the Bible is the holy, infallible, inerrant in its autographs message from this entity to those of us on this planet so I think that entity is the one telling us things and not just the people who stand up on Sunday but couldn't find holiness with both hands, a flashlight and a map). I have no trouble believing in fiat creation. Now I take that theory that I've been taught and I pickup my Scientific American or Discover and read about discoveries that have occurred this year and I find that some of my beliefs are challenged. Evolution is an established fact. It happens at the cellular level in humans, it happens at a social level in humans, it happens both in micro and macro contexts. People in North America are growing in size. We're getting taller. We're also getting fatter but that's not evolution, that's a change in social diet and exercise. I'm talking about spontaneous changes in an organism in an attempt to become more successful at continuing the species. Virii and bacteria adapt and evolve at such a speed that we can actually notice it taking place over one human generation (say 20-30 years). I'm not saying that I'm ready to let go of the literal interpretation of the creation passage in Genesis (which fits poetical form so its difficult to actually hold that it is literal but I'm just as stubborn as the next guy); I am saying that I'm more open to other interpretations of creation given that creation isn't one of the basic tenets of my faith/belief system. I have faith that the entity in whom I believe could have made everything by His will with nothing else needed so really what is the difference. I'm secure in His ability, the only thing lacking is my own knowledge of how he chose to do it and I guess that kinda fits Job 38:1-11 (New American Standard Bible)

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
"Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me! Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell {Me,} if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or {who} enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, And I said, 'Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop'?"

So for me, I believe that this entity could easily have created the world in which we live and the surrounding universe in seven 24-hour periods from nothing but if it really mattered, I think He would have been more adamant about sharing how He did it and then requiring people to know and understand that.

Again, none of this diminishes the astonishing things that scientists are finding such as virii that alter the DNA of humans so that humans pass on different DNA to their offspring (South American virus does this with heart or other vital organ tissue) or the cloning of a human embryo or the discovery in China of a dinosaur with its head tucked under a feathery, winglike appendage that also had scaly claws on the end (a fully intact example of evolving dinosaur) or any of a number of things that scientists found in this last 12 months. I don't think that we understand all of the things that we accomplish or find. I don't think that scientists generally get their predictions correct the first time or even the fiftieth time but I appreciate that they are working to learn more about their world and then share that information with each other and with we non-professional scientists.

Thanks for reading,

Kev

First weekend in Dec - lotta shooting

I shot a lot during the first weekend of Dec. The Winter Arts festival was held at work. That is where we invite employees to bring in their children or grandchildren and allow them to play and make crafts and even get their photo taken with Santa in front of a Christmas tree (that most Judeo-Christian of symbols, don't think I'm totally down on it, I sat there with my wife and daughter and Santa, too). We photographed about 250 kids in a 3 hour span of time. It went pretty good although we had one problem with focusing for about 15 photos that we had to retake (sorry if you were in that list).

UT (University of Tennessee) lost the SEC Championship game to Auburn Saturday evening but I'm wearing my UT shirt and my UT ballcap (cause its raining). While we got dominated the first half that was what everyone expected to happen. The second half was a different story. We came back out and handed out some Tiger ass-whippings (or WarEagle or Plainsmen or whatever they are today). We closed the deficit on a team that was supposed to pound us into the ground and that was against their A team. We weren't playing their 2nd stringers or cleanup guys. We were playing against their main players and we gave them a run for their money. Now like any good, decent football fan in the South I am all for winning but you have to learn that you can't win all the time and at least we lost to another SEC team. Not only that we bloodied the nose of the number 3 ranked team in the nation. We held "Cadillac" Williams under 100 yards and we put up better numbers on the board than anyone gave our team credit for. Congratulations to Auburn; ya better enjoy this one 'cause if this team can kick your butts after the dominating performance you put on in the first half . . . just wait until next year when we have a quarterback that has more than 3 or 4 starts under his belt. The Vols gave a good accounting of themselves; they sacked up and came out after having their asses handed to them and probably anyone that might have been watching the nationally televised game without having picked a favorite had probably already written them off. They really had nothing except pride in themselves to play for; a win wasn't going to get them into a BCS bowl but they man'd up and came back out of the locker room and busted Auburn right in the mouth and played them hard for the whole 2nd half. Congrats to UT. I'm wearing my Orange with pride even after the loss. You might whipped us in the first half but we didn't give up.

I also shot a session for an aspiring model on Sunday. You can find the images on my PBase account. I've included one photo from that session.



Thanks for reading,

Kev