I attended my first photo walk this past weekend in College Park, MD. It was a joy to see how several photographers came together and walked the same route but came up with different perspectives. I did enjoy myself in spite of the extremely cold weather (I am just not cut out for this stuff). However, when I was said and done, I realized that while I do love capturing nature and landscapes, I prefer focusing in on people! Regardless, here are some of my favorite shots from this Photo Walk.
Thanks for helping the kids get here today :: Great Falls Park Field Trip
A few weeks ago, I posted a fundraiser for my students’ field trip to Great Falls Park in McLean, VA. I am happy to share that we made it there, fully funded, and the kids were able to see a real waterfall, as well as a deer. For quite a few, this was the first time they had seen either.
Some people will tell you that God told them to do something. And perhaps I too have had those moments, but more times than not, God will remind me of His word or His promises as I observe everyday happenings. So today, I decided to put some indoor plants outside. In the process, I noticed one of my flower pots that had been outside for almost a year now had purple flowers. Now this was not my African Violet plant. No, this plant was in a pot that last summer I had sowed some wildflowers seeds into and in spite of my best efforts, I did not see any flowers or proof that I had planted those seeds. In fact, the majority of the time that passed after I planted the seeds until now, I only saw soil. This was probably the result of my moving to a new apartment that receives less sunlight than where I lived before… or my sometimes forgetting to water the plants… or the fact that I kept the plants outside even in the winter… Maybe I planted the seeds too deep, or I used bad soil. Perhaps those plants grow better in Texas than in Maryland – I don’t know.
What I do know is that now my wildflowers are starting to bloom! Thank You Lord!!! Despite the less-than-ideal circumstances, my plants are growing and living! In viewing these plants, God reminded me of the Scripture in 1 Corinthians 3:6 “Paul plants, Apollos waters, but it’s God that gets the increase.” In other words, we can each contribute to God’s kingdom, but ultimately it is God that brings any success to it! Then I was reminded that in spite of our less-than-ideal situations and circumstances… in spite of everyone else that dropped the ball AND all of the times that we dropped the ball ourselves, God will still bring IT (whatever the “it” is) to pass. You see with my plants, they did what they were created to do. They started as seeds, were planted, watered, given sunlight, and they grew and blossomed… It was not in my desired timetable, but then again what ever really is?
Be encouraged my friend. Continue to wait and don’t lose your hope or your expectation, and in DUE season, it shall come to pass!
Since I was outside, I also snapped a shot of the African Violet… and I must say, “It’s looking pretty healthy!” Thank You Lord!
The first time I went to New York City was back in 2003 with my college roommate, and she can attest that the Big Apple was not my cup of tea! I actually felt like I was in another country, even though at the time I had never been out of this country. Needless to say, these eight years later, I have more of an appreciation for the city. So when a friend of mine was recently in town, we planned a trip to this city that never sleeps, and she too felt like a foreigner her first night there. We stayed in the Manhattan area for our entire stay, and we ventured to Central Park, Times Square, this mall somewhere near the Trump Towers. Anyway, one of the highlights for me was when we saw these models doing a photo shoot in the middle of Central Park. Sadly, I was one of those nosy bystanders that stopped to watch all of the action! See photos from my trip below.
I have always heard the phrase “the ugly duckling,” but it was not until this past weekend that it really made sense to me. Well, God made only good things, but, and there should not be a but… But, what I noticed is that ducklings don’t look too much like the older mature ducks (their parents). Last weekend, at the park, I noticed these ducks waddling around between the grassy area and the pond. As I looked at these mixed-colored brown ducks, I was perplexed as to how they would eventually don the beautiful long black feathers along their neck and shed the yellow feathers on their chest in exchange for the clean looking white ones. I felt like the birds they would be were beautiful, and the birds they were right now left much to be desired. And again, I could not reconcile how this transformation was going to take place.
But I guess that’s how life goes sometimes. We know what the outcome is going to be, but often times, our situation looks so far from that outcome… so much so that we speak negatively about the “now” and lose hope for the “what we shall be.” Sometimes, we even allow people to speak negatively about our now and act as though that is all we ever shall be… but let that no longer be the case. I have all confidence in the world that those ducklings I saw shall too grow out of this “not-so-cute” stage and become beautiful ducks with a gorgeous set of feathers. Hey, that’s how they work; that’s in their life cycle. And when all is said and done, their former appearance will be but a distant memory (and honestly, these feathered creatures probably won’t remember their former look). All that said, I declare to you too today, that no matter what the situation looks like right now, know that this is temporary… eyes have not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the hearts of man the great things God has prepared for them that love Him and wait patiently on Him! Remember, don’t focus on what it looks like now, focus on that which shall be! Every so often, I have to intentionally speak life… and know that as I speak on these waves to y’all, I am also speaking encouragement to myself!!!
Last week, I spent Memorial Day with my brother and cousin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While there, we saw some of the famous landmarks like the Love Park, the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, and Reading Terminal. That Monday was a bona fide hot day – if you know me, you know it takes a lot for me to call a day hot. Anyway, it was so hot that we ended with ice cream, and I agreed to use the A/C in my car (again, if you know me, you’ll know I am a little cheap, and air conditioning is a last resort for me). See images from our Philly expedition below!
A few weeks ago, my brother and I went to a DC Catholic Cathedral to shoot around. I was partially interested in the venture because I wanted to see what he could do with the camera, so that I could possibly hire him on to be a second shooter for me at weddings and events and portrait sessions. Well, it was clear to me, that we definitely have different photographic interests: I prefer people, he prefers scenes! Nonetheless, we were able to capture some nice images with and without people. Here are some of the images from this session. The images of me are compliments of my brother, Darren Payne (thanks bro)!
