Cup of Joe Photo

Dogs Life

I'll be in Russia until June 12th. These are images from Memorial Day Weekend:)

Two dogs at a wedding makes for cool photos.

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I'll be posting my favorites from Memorial Day Weekends' Weddings while I'm away for the next 12 days. Enjoy!

Long Weekend:)

So this past weekend "unofficially" kicked off summer. I hope that yours was awesome. Mine was full. My wife and I had over 30 kids at our home on Friday for Mikayla's 13th Birthday / pool / disco Party. That was a lot of full! Saturday, I was at the Ritz in Pasadena for a wedding and Sunday I was shooting a wedding at the Hyatt in Huntington Beach. Monday was editing, then barbeque, then an engagement session. Now I have a couple of days to get all this online before I leave to shoot orphanages in Russia for 12 days on Thursday. I have so much to show you from this past weekend that I'll be stretching out the images while I'm gone in Russia. Then, when I get back I'll be showing everyone Russia images. It's going to be the life changing trip. I'm really looking forward to it!

OK, having said all that, I want to also share a few thoughts I had this weekend.

First, There are so many good people in the world I have yet to meet. The media would often have us believe otherwise, but there are tons of good people all around us. I look forward to meeting new ones daily. I'm blessed to have had the priveledge of meeting many already. Do yourself a huge favor and let go of stereotypes. Mine continue to break down and shatter, and I've learned that they often get in the way of new relationships. I want to build up rather than tear down.

And Second, I am really embracing the positive effect that my words (through my blog) are having on a wide range of readers. Though I sometimes struggle with posting daily, keeping it fresh and interesting, investing time, and sometimes being discouraged, I am often blessed to know that this energy is blessing others and teaching me important lessons at the same time.

So, I want to let you know that I'm grateful to be a small catalyst for change in your lives. Truly, it is my desire that God be glorified! I am small, but he is BIG. May grace and peace flow freely from these posts so that you can Live inspired to pursue your passions.

Those Now Gone

Those Now Gone
(Memorial Day)
©2002 Roger W Hancock (www.PoetPatriot.com)

Fallen Servicemen,
for country fought;
liberty, freedom,
the primary reason.

They gave themselves,
that we be free

Fathers, mothers,
sisters, and brothers;
our dearly departed,
life for country given.

Families broken,
for liberty.

Veterans who served,
and lived to tell;
the horrors, and risks,
now sleep in peace.

Served their country,
for our security.

Unknown Soldier, MIA
remembrance our way;
to honor you as well,
victims of a warriors hell.

Served, now lost that,
our lives be free.

Sleep now sleep tight
rest now, duty done,
price paid in life or death.
The vigilance now be ours

Falling Trees

Don't let stress get you down. I can tell you that the busyness of life has really got me thinking. Is this what we were meant for? Running around at such a fast pace, being stressed and angry. Unconnected. Now, I think, more than ever (in my life anyway) it's so important to have a perspective on the really important matters of our lives. This story stuck with me, and I'd like to share it with you.

Falling Trees by: Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

In the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific some villagers practice a unique form of logging. If a tree is too large to be felled with an ax, the natives cut it down by yelling at it. (Can't lay my hands on the article, but I swear I read it.) Woodsmen with special powers creep up on a tree just at dawn and suddenly scream at it at the top of their lungs. They continue this for thirty days. The tree dies and falls over. The theory is that the hollering kills the spirit of the tree. According to the villagers, it always works.

Ah, those poor naive innocents. Such quaintly charming habits of the jungle. Screaming at trees, indeed. How primitive. Too bad thay don't have the advantages of modern technology and the scientific mind.

Me? I yell at my wife. And yell at the telephone and the lawn mower. And yell at the TV and the newspaper and my children. I've been known to shake my fist and yell at the sky at times.

Man next door yells at his car a lot. And this summer I heard him yell at a stepladder for most of an afternoon. We modern, urban, educated folks yell at traffic and umpires and bills and banks and machines--especially machines. Machines and relatives get most of the yelling.

Don't know what good it does. Machines and things just sit there. Even kicking doesn't always help. As for people, well, the Solomon Islanders may have a point. Yelling at living things does tend to kill the spirit in them. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will break our hearts....

Beaumont Newhall

It seems that retouching has been controversial for a long time. I had no idea.

Retouching had become controversial ever since Franz Hanfstaengl of Munich showed at the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris a retouched negative with a print made from it before and after retouching. It was, Nadar recollected, the beginning of a new era in photography. -Beaumont Newhall, "History of Photography " by Newhall, Beaumont Newhall, ISBN: 0870703811

Beaumont Newhall was born in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1908 and studied art history at Harvard University. One of the most prominent historians of photography as well as an artist in his own right, Newhall made significant contributions to the field. The founding director of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, he also served as the curator and director of the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, New York during the formative years of that institution. The author of a great many books, exhibition catalogues, and articles on photography, Newhall also published several editions of the classic text The History of Photography. Newhall was honored by institutions such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Royal Photographic Society, and the John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He died in 1993.

Sloppy Borders

Have you ever bought something and then waited a long, long time to use it? I've had Kevin Kubota's Sloppy Border Program vol One for a long time. Last week I was cleaning my office and found them (and loaded them). It was so much fun to play with. It brought me back to the joy of the darkroom, without the odor. Kevin has really made them easy to use too. If your interested in this old school look for your digital images, you can get yours at Kubota Imagetools.

Old, New, Borrowed, Blue

Did you know...

The saying, "Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue” is a popular rhyme that has been used since Victorian times. The "something old" represents the bond to the bride's family and her old life; "something new" represents the couple's new life together and their future hope for happiness, prosperity and success; "something borrowed" from a happily married woman is meant to impart similar happiness to the bride; and "something blue" represents fidelity and constancy.

Lejo dj

Some days you just need to smile:) Today may be that day. I found this last night on You Tube. I love that just about anybody can publish on the web. Enjoy!

Gillen / Jordan Wedding

I have such awesome clients! What a pleasure it was to shoot this wedding. Great fun and great photos. Thanks Jill and Ryan, for allowing me to create extraordinary memories of your day.