Tag: PICTURES

Photo Journal: Before or After

Posted on by johndierckx

The other day we went to Akaroa for a good day out with the family. As always I had a cameras with me and in recent times I have started to try and capture the different members of the family. I find photographing people difficult for some reason, and my boys are not all that much into the posing. So I try to sneak up on them or using a the zoom, do it when they are not aware of me taking pictures. At some point I called to my youngest son “look look” and “gotcha.” This was the result:

Now while nice, with the beach dirt making for playful spots and discoloring, it was the post chocolate-ice cream that really brought a smile on my face.

Now there is a boy being a boy.

It got me to think about portraits and what has my preference. The nice shot like you get from school or the shot that shows the person as he or she really is. I think I prefer the latter. Maybe that is why I like street photography so much?

What are your thoughts?

 

Related articles

Photo Journal: Flowers

Posted on by johndierckx

Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. Song of Songs 2:12

… See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. Matthew 6:29

Summer to me, besides the beautiful weather is together with the spring the season of explosions of color and fragrance, of amazing flowers that never cease to amaze me, new ones that I had never seen before or golden oldies that look even more beautiful than before.  Hard to beat beauty, truly royal indeed, whether it is a magnificent big flower or the tiniest small one, they all have something of a very special beauty to be enjoyed while it lasts. The good news, next season WILL come, there WILL be a new summer again and again and again in which very often the flowers come out even more beautiful, in which the plant has grown to produce even more flowers.

And so it seems with my Christian journey, one day a blossoming flower the other day withered, just as Peter explained referring to Isaiah:

 “All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
1 Peter 1:24

But like I said there WILL be a new summer, in which like the flowers we come out even more beautiful than last season. Maybe that is what Paul meant when he said:

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Photo Journal: A Radical Change of Perspective is Sometimes Needed

Posted on by johndierckx

We learn to focus on the things that are in front of us and this common human wisdom makes an awful lot of sense. Yet only when we are actually looking and going in the right direction. When our perspective looks beautiful, when what lies ahead of us looks beautiful, it does (as I learnt) that we are looking , walking, in the right direction. Sometimes we need to stand still and reevaluate our focus, our perspective. Are we indeed looking in the right direction, are we going the right way. I was carefully reminded of just that the other day. 

This weekend we spent some time in Le Bons Bay, a small settlement of holiday homes on Banks Peninsula. On the Friday evening walking along the beach there with my oldest son, we looked out over the sea while the sun was going down. As human logic almost naturally indicates our eyes were fixed on the water from the beach to the horizon. And there was plenty of reason to do just that.


However the real visual spectacle was there not in front of us but behind us. It took this 180 degree turn to understand that we were looking in the wrong direction. Looking back from the water to where the sun was going down behind the hilltops, were were treated with this view.

 

 

The whole experience reminded me of the New Testament stories of Jesus and the apostles, how they changed radically the perspective on religion, on what the Law meant, on faith, on what it means to be a believer, to live as a disciple.
On many occasions, that requires a radical change in perspective so that His Glory may be revealed through us.

That brought me back to mind the fantastic weekend at Harmony Church the weekend before with a conference lead by Chris Gore and Chuck Parry who were in essence teaching us something similar: a radical change in our perspective of what our identity in Christ means.

Curious now? I suggest you watch this part one and following parts of “Living Unbalanced” and see what it would mean for your perspective.

I guess for all of us it is good to stand still and reevaluate our perspective every now and then.

Photo Journal: To Muntanui, a walk through native bush

Posted on by johndierckx

Recently we had the pleasure and joy to go and visit our friends Niki and Ewan at their new home and perma-culture adventure Muntanui. Situated in the Nelson Lakes area near St-Arnaud, the Rainbow ski-field and Lake Rotoiti around the corner there is plenty to see and do.

What an amazing place and what great people. I suggest you go and read about their adventure here >>>. Besides having a great time catching up, it was great to have a walk through the native bush that covers part of their land.  In this time of the year the colors were just amazing with the mosses growing on the old trees providing for amazing bright greens, the views and the birds, that could be heard all along the walk. The forest is a great place to walk in any event but this native bush had such a different atmosphere, the old trees, the mosses and fungus, the ferns covering the floor. Amazing to walk through a part of New Zealand’s natural history.

More photos to follow on my flickr photostream soon.

Related articles

Photo Journal: Maruia Falls Revisited

Posted on by johndierckx

Last month I wrote a blog post with the title “Water” which covered amongst others the fountain in Hagley Park in Christchurch, the Pupu Springs, the Wanui Falls, and, the Maruia Falls. I remember well how we were there that time in June and I wished that I had a camera that could zoom in more. My then Fuji Finepix A900 allowed for 3x optical zoom and I had never been that impressed with the digital zoom option. Now I had my birthday present, a Fuji Finepix S4000 with me which allows for 30x optical zoom. It is not easy to keep it still but you get used to it and it was amazing just to look through the view finder and close up in itself.

To see the sheer power of the water coming down in large quantities.

What an amazing sight and sound for that matter (Just thinking we may need to go back now to film it).

Maybe it is me but I just like a little child, in awe with God‘s creation. And while I was in awe, my eye caught this little bird that apparently was not half as impressed as I was as it was flying around dangerously close to the thundering down water. Or perhaps he was more aware or conscious than I how much “His eye is on the sparrow” indeed.

All in all it felt like a renewed introduction to these beautiful falls that formed the perfect stop for the boys: spectacular sights and heaps of rocks to throw in the (thundering) water.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

More to follow in my flickr photostream

Related articles