race of life

over the past week or 2 i've been trying to get my running distance up to a full 4 miles straight. i've got two down without a problem, im pushing three, but i really want to get 4. the new route that i take doesn't allow me to cheat because it's a big circle that's actually a tad bit more than 4 miles! there are a few hills as well so it's definitely a challenging run.

unfortunately last nights run would have been my first time running in about 4 days... i knew it had been a while, but i was just going to take it slow, and see how long i could go!

about a quarter way thru a little brown dog comes running out, off his porch into his yard barking! he's small, but he's got a serious attitude! and i could totally imagine him latching on to my leg! but when i stopped at the edge i figured i was good... thinking he either had an electric fence or he just didn't venture out of his yard... so i started running again... and then he chased me!! i picked up speed so fast i literally felt like i was about to fall  over myself! but i was flyin! when i got back to the house, i checked my speed at that point in my run, i tracked time of 4:11/mi for a good 300 feet!! that lil dog could run!! ...

but that's not the point of this post.. :)

since i had not run in a while, my body was NOT ready to even get to a full 3 miles... i stopped waaay short of that goal, and had to walk alot sooner and a lot longer than i normally would... more than one time.. when i finally made it to 3 miles, i made three key changes in my run. 1. i lifted up my head.. all thru most of my runs my heads either at the ground or just kind of straight ahead. but at this point my chin was in the air! this gave me the opportunity to 2. get and keep a view of the end of my run in sight. as i felt my running change i told myself 3. i have to make this last mile, i can do it. just like i said to myself at the race i ran, i've come this far, i got a good little walk in earlier, i can't go home having walked a whole mile!

now don't get me wrong, this last mile was probably my slowest running, but it was my most consistent! i could see me progress as i kept my head up knowing that if i just kept going the end would soon be mine. 

so as we run this christian race, i implore us to keep our end in mind. i sometimes think of questioning, what are we living towards? what's our end goal? if it's to the comfort of a large house, perfect children, or the car you wanted, or in my case, just to the end of the corner, that's not going to cut it in the big picture. our major goal is Heaven, and every minor goal leading up to it, should do exactly that.. lead towards it, not add more things that will weigh us down, or give us false victories. 

and then keep ya head up! from the scriptural standpoint the text Luke 21:18 rose to the surface: "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" the "things" mentioned were the events leading up to Christ's return, the event that will get us to heaven! but if we keep our heads down worrying about the things going on right now our reality will always be here. the only thing you can do to affect what you current situation is, is to run! looking at where you are, or where you were won't get you to where you want to be... just keep running...

now from the physiolocgial standpoint, i found some interesting things. ONE excerpt from an article from Areavoices.com i read stated "when it comes to running form, dropping your head while your running and staring at the ground puts lots of extra stress on your upper body. That makes for tight muscles and eventually leads to slouching, which will really effect form and running performance." so not only does running with your head down bring you down mentally, but it also can drain your body physically as well!

the other article from the US Race Calendar stated "Keep your head up, arms down and look straight ahead. You can breathe much better with your head up because your rib cage is expanded but when you are bent over there is less room to breathe. If there is a natural tendency to lower your head, look down, lean forward and raise your arms, work to avoid it." WHAT?! our NATURAL TENDANCY?! does that not sound familiar! are not our natural tendencies bent towards sin, and being comfortable with this world? do we not need to breathe in the air of Christ on a daily basis, especially before and during the many trials and struggles we face in our lives? 

.. i was never great at summations :/.. take what you may! it took me a couple days to complete this (i ran monday evening) but it all came together this morning.. keep your head up, your eyes on the prize, and never let the dogs get to you :)

pure reflection...

... just before i ran this morning, i saw a saw something purple in the grass.. as i moved about i realized it was a bead of water sitting on a blade of grass.. as i continued to think about what i saw, i took out my phone and started writing, lol

You never know what someone may see from God reflecting through your life. There are so many ways to look at a bead of water and see multiple types of reflections, colors, light intensities, but each perspective is different and particular to the angle you're viewing the bead.. However... as long as there is light shunning thru, whatever is seen will refract to the world the source of light, and that will be just the glimpse that person needs of Jesus... but you've got to be empty of anything that would impeded the worlds view of Christ in you...

our duty..

our job in this life is not to worry about ourselves… God’s ideal for our day to day life is to consider others above ourselves, but more than that to work and do whatever our duties are as unto HIM first with the reward of heaven, and eternal life in mind, and as you give yourself fully to christ, He then can work more fully in you and through you to be a blessing to other far more beyond what you may have thought possible, and then he’ll prosper you far more than you thought possible too!

you worry about you, and your end will be no where… you worry about them, and he’ll get you everywhere…!

Colossians 3:17, 23-24, philippians 2:4

...concepts

had the opportunity to shoot two of my former photography students and their friend to cap off the trio of friends. the third friend will be moving away within the next month, and one of my students will be leaving the state for about 4 weeks, so this was one of the last weekends they would all be together, so they asked me to do a shoot with them. they had purchased dresses together, got friendship bracelets, and a few other things, and i was apart of the weekend.. 

over the past week or two since my last shoot, and i had been stressing about posing, and not just finding great locations and having models that fell into great poses because they happened to be photogenic.. i really wanted to focus on my posing.  the one thing that Jasmine star had mentioned that stuck with me was that she didn't put them into a pose, because then... it looked posed. she thought of where she wanted them to end up, and then worked them into the pose, having them do certain things that would end them up in the pose so it would seem a bit more natural. i didn't do that entirely last night, but i did have a bit better process as far as the posing of the girls were concerned..

a christian's life..

so this sabbath, i decided to stay home from church and do some introspection. realizing there are a loooot of things going on in my life, and i've not yet been able to grasp one very well.. as a christian, i realize that true success with anything comes as a result of being in tuned with God. understanding who He is, who He's made you to be and what path he wants you to take with the gifts He's given you.. on top of that, you've got to accept it all, and make every effort to succeed with it all, in spite of the fact that we are born in bodies, with minds and tendencies that are bent exactly in the opposite direction of who God is, and what He wants us to do. success, and in the christian realm, perfection, can be attained, God said it in his Word, and showed it THROUGH his Word. i've recently heard a number of songs and quotes speaking to the topic of faith, leaving it in God's hands, understanding when we can't do it ourselves, but along with all that, God has required us to DO a number of things, LIVE OUT a number of qualities and PUT ON  a lot of traits, character traits that are a reflection of who He is... and that isn't as easy as waking up and breathing (with the help of God) you've actually got to put work into the cultivation of your christian life.

i've recently heard a concept stated in a number of different ways, nothing great is attained without first putting in work, effort, and having to deny yourself of something. and that rings true, clearly in the spiritual realm, but particularly for me in my photography business. i've not put as much work as i need to into my business. just within the last 7-10 day's i've been following a few posts, video and text, of a few of my FAVORITE photographers, Jasmine Star and Chase Jarvis, and something that has really stuck out to me with what they're doing is, they put there ALL into their work. it's not something that they happened to be good at, and are relying on that gift/talent to springboard them into awesome success... they're puttin in hours to make this passion of theirs a reality, doing all they can to get better, and then help others get there as well. they also are doing it all as the real authentic jasmine and chase, and who they are is bursting through in all their work! their lives are what make their business so successful. they are authentically themselves in every way and that is a HUGE key in what makes them such a success!

i've realized over the past few weeks also, as i read a book i bought on my iPhone, Living on the Edge, by Chip Ingram, which is a study of how to live a Romans 12 life, that each and every, if not more of the things pointed out by chase and jasmine can and should be applied to our Christian lives! Authenticity! Dedication! Self Denying! Passion! Reliance on more than self!

i just really thank God for giving me these gifts, desires, and dreams.. i just hope and pray i can become man enough, to do what I do, in His name, heartily to Him, and let His glory be known to the world.

DC METRO

had the opportunity of using the city transit system aloooot more than i every have in my life, particularly on a personal, individual level, and then with a friend or two as my trip went on. I've always had a semi notion of the kind of person that uses MARTA/METRO. the people who don't have cars, are short on money, and a number of other reasons. as i was on the train, i was then exposed to the plethora of people who, without shame use the transit system on a day to day basis. it can even become their choice, if not for life, definitely for a large part of their commute to their destinations. and the wide range of demographic differences was clearly distinguished and displayed as i traveled from station to station on the 4 to 5 routes available throughout metro DC and maryland. young people, old people, black and white, but also european, indian, asian, hispanic; each stemming from a different economic status, yet this one entity has brought them all together, no matter where they come from..

nearing the end of my last trip on the METRO i took a photograph of seemingly affluent/successful african american matured gentleman. he was dressed in what to be an expensive suit, with an equally expensive or high quality watch and ring on his finger. he came across as an individual who, in my slightly sheltered life would not have been on a city transit system. BUT HE WAS! and so was about ___ other DMV citizens as they made their way to and from their various destinations. work, class, shows, museums, friends, and a number of other locations of interest and events in their lives. 

it also boggled my mind the stories behind the wide range of lifestyles and ways of life that can be viewed as you take a short ride between 3 or 4 stops on the Metro... each person has their own story, the more observe, the more is revealed.. the young caucasian girl with jean shorts, flip flops, her purse and her iPod in her ears could be going a NUMBER of places in the morning, class, girlfriends, etc. the brotha with the locs asking which stop is which, kinda bewildered, but polite enough to thank you to the only (black) woman who offered to give him the information on the train. the asian gentleman in the suit pants shirt and tie with the emotionless expression, who chose to take the empty seat after the train emptied out... i wonder where he works, what he does, has he family to go home to, or a car to drive home in, and there were countless others my mind fails to remember in detail at this point, that caught my interest in the flurry of other humans as they passed through the DC metro system.

i think the most interesting thing about the METRO system besides the people was the architecture of transit network.. the tunnel stops, ground level stops and above ground stops where designed and crafted in an amazing way. not very detailed, but still very awesome, particularly the underground stations as you descend or ascend the stairs to your destination you see the amazing circular design wrapping around the train and station with 2-3 feet inlets in the walls that makes a wonderful pattern as it flows throughout the station.

all in all, my experience traveling on the DC METRO to get from place to place on my trip was amazing, so much so, that i want to use it as much as i can on my next trip. for the people, the sights and last but thankfully least, the small cost of riding!! :-)

pre-shoot

so today i gave myself the opportunity of doing something i rarely do to this extent before a photo shoot... i went scouting the location of my next shoot! and not just a drive by type thing. but actually getting out the car, walking around for a good 15-20 minutes, and finding between 8 and 10 photo ideas/locations for the shoot coming up. other than meeting with the client, this is probably the second best thing for you to do. not only does it prepare you for where you're going to be shooting, but it gives you ideas to help you pre visualize shots. this part especially works if you take photos on the scout, bring the back to review and match them up with a few ideas you may have already had in your head, and jog your memory of what you may have thought about while you were out that day. 

this also gives you the opportunity to make yourself known to whomever may be in the area of the time of the shoot (especially if you're shooting around or near a public monument or historical location). and if it's a fairly popular place to shoot, they could give you ideas as well! on thing i really enjoyed today was having the lady explain to me what the location was exactly about, and that puts more into perspective what i could to with the shoot as well!

just thought i'd share, as it seemed to be VERY helpful to me today..

IV