Prepping to Leave…


It’s just 2 days to go day…

The day when Ethan (kb3emj) and I will be setting out

for our 2 month trip to Alaska and Mexico on board our FZ1′s.



I foolishly decided to move this week also, so I’m going nuts

trying to get the preparations made and Ethan’s been busy up in PA

getting ready to drive down here (towing the bike) after getting

engaged.



So, here I am giving you all an update when I should be at the

fabricators shop turning my FZ1 into a real, hardcore touring
machine… Ahh well, I’ll get there sometime tomorrow





Will be updating you all along the way, and until then here’s
a picture of a dog sleeping in a guitar case… “Just Because”





Please be Praying for us, as we prepare to leave… And let me know
if I can be Praying about anything for you.

Edit:   BIG News!!

So, my best friend Ethan Demme called me a bit ago with
BIG news… She said Yes!!

Rush over and congradulate them right away

_______________

Pretty Pastels…



20.8 (the .8 is important years ago, I was born in Central
Florida in a small town called Lake Wales… More precisely,
I was born in my parents bedroom in their home at our
family’s country inn, the “Chalet Suzanne”.

Since moving out a few years ago, I haven’t been able to make
it back home very often. But, when I do I always have a wonderful
time seeing my family and the last couple of visits I’ve broken out
the photo equipment and done little mini-photo shoots around the
area.


The photos I’m posting tonight are a few that I accumulated on my
last visit a few weeks ago… I don’t have a lot of time to write tonight,
but I can’t keep promising to post without delivering!


So, without further ado:


In downtown Lake Wales, the old train depot has been turned into a museum,
some of the tracks still remain.




A few streets away stands the Rhodesbilt Arcade, the architecture
in that building is amazing.





Then, looking up across the street is a simple staircase that looked amazing.





From downtown I headed over to the airport to hang out
with some of my old skydiving buddies… My cousin Audra
and I were waiting for the next jump run and I caught this
picture of her with her Nikon D50.




Big lens!

And then the jump… I really miss skydiving!





As the day wore on, we made our way back to the Chalet
and I caught some interesting shots as day turned to night.






And from the other side of the pool, a perfect example of the
relaxation that you’ll find at the Chalet.




And a lovely (though broken) lamp.




Hammerhead clouds?
Notice the rain coming down in the middle of the cloud





And a gorgeous stone bench overlooking the lake.





On the walk home, I caught a picture of my little brother James as
he peered around our big bell. (I need a new flash!)





A few hours later, I went back down to the Chalet to capture some
night shots to try to capture some of the eccentric beauty that “is”
the Chalet.

I set myself up on the end of a long corridor that houses a few of
our 28 guest rooms… This next shot was a 3.5 second free handed
exposure that I happened to snap the shutter on just as a couple of
guests walked by the lens.






The amazing thing about the Chalet is all of the small things…
The plates in the walls, the tile sinks and tubs in the bathrooms
the random dishes and the 5 star meals… The vineyard, the
airstrip, even the little Christmas tree lights lining the roof
year round.


If you look in the last picture, you’ll see a staircase at
the end of the row…. Here it is again.
(A 4 second free handed exposure… I’m getting better at this!)





And finally, a 30 second exposure of one of the fountains.





I’ve been moving, working and editing over 2,000 photos… It’s been
a BUSY few weeks, and the next one promises to be the busiest yet
as I prepare to do one of the craziest things possible… To continue
our journey on to Alaska and Mexico, broken leg or not.

Ethan and I will be posting again soon,
I have to finish moving tomorrow!




P.S. Keep me in Prayer, and let me know what I can Pray for you about!

Pink, Turquoise, and Sleep Deprivation…


All of my possessions have officially been moved into
my new place downtown… When everything passes final
inspection next week, I’ll be moving in also.

Sadly, this week has been FILLED with business and
moving…

I hate to do this, but I have to be up early in the morning…
I just finished pulling together a multitude of pictures for my
next post, but sleep is calling my name.

I promise I’ll have a “real” post up within 48 hours!


In the meantime, here’s another teaser of my astoundingly colorful
childhood birthplace… I don’t think you’ll be disappointed when I
finally get these shots up

See you tomorrow





P.S. Look for an update with pictures of my new place soon
also, I’m EXTREMELY excited about it.

 
Whoa, Whoa…
You Live in a PINK House?


That’s right folks, new post coming soon… Featuring
pictures from my hometown and birthplace.

Here’s a teaser photo of the place I call “home”.
You’re going to want to see the rest!

Look for a new post coming from me soon, lots of exciting new things to share!

“My Best Photos EVER?”
(At 200MPH none-the-less!)

Just after my Sixteenth birthday I soloed my first airplane, a Titan
Tornado… Because I was late getting my permit, I wasn’t able to
drive, so I flew back and forth to work.

For almost 5 years, flying was everything to me, it truly was my
LIFE… And a GREAT life at that!!

Some of my greatest flying memories have my cousin Marcus in
them… Marcus is a couple of years older than I am, and he also soloed
on his 16th birthday. Our favorite past time during our final high
school years was to get up with the sun and take off… We’d fly for an
hour or two, learning formation flying together and rapidly honing
our skills.

It was a blast!

Last week when I hopped a jet down to Florida to visit my family, I
was able to spend a little bit of time hanging out with him again. With
little convincing I talked him into hopping into his new baby… A Pitts
S-1 aerobatic biplane so I could do a photo shoot.

The sky was gorgeous and the lighting nearly perfect…
Anything wrong with these pictures is purely my fault

Marcus crammed his 6’3″ frame into the tiny cockpit, complete with
parachute, WWII style headwear, and white sunglasses…. Stellar eh?

It’s hard to describe it… The feel of a throbbing motor, the wind
ruffling through your hair, the noise of the propeller as it cuts through
clean air… And the smell, ahhhh the smell… If I could buy a cologne
called “Av-Gas Exhaust Fumes” I would in an instant. Each time I
smell that blessed odor, I’m taken back… To a time of innocence, of
true joy and of no worries… It’s absolutely gorgeous.

I call this shot “Pre-Flight”

Moments later and he’s off the ground, rushing into the sky… Clawing
at the air, tearing through clouds and touching God’s very face.

After a few minutes of playing around at altitude he dove down until
he was just a few feet off of the runway and gave me a chance to catch
these… At nearly 200MPH.

“Pastel Sky”

And this…


“Darkened Glory”

As he flew past me my breath disappeared… The beauty of that
machine blended with God’s sky was incredible. I miss flying!

20 minutes later and safely back on the ground, Marcus began
washing the plane down and I prepared for a quick photo shoot of two
of the most beautiful machines I’ve ever seen.

My new bike and that gorgeous Pitts Special.

“Framed By the Sky”

“Tail First”

“All Blues”

“Spinner Reflections”
or
“Hello Me”

These may not be my “best” photos,
but they certainly are some of my favorites…

Tell me… Which was your favorite one?

I think that this was my all time
favorite photoshoot that I’ve done thus far

Well, I must get back to life as usual… Have a fantastic Independence Day!

Find someone in the Military and thank them for your Independence!!

P.S. As always, feel free to leave any Prayer requests you may have…
If you’d like to Pray for me, I could use it

Must Be Back…

…In Tennesee





Yup, good old “General Lee”…
Mismatched wheels, spray can paint job, tattooed passenger, bright
red/ furry dash cover and more. Great stuff!!

(Click the picture, it looks MUCH better full size)

When I saw this driving past my favorite little deli a few days ago, I
couldn’t stop laughing… Or taking pictures.


All this to say: “New Post Coming Soon”…


Talk to you all soon!

<Edit> It’s not often that we’re personaly touched by what is going on in the war in Iraq, however… A Xanga friend of many has just found out that her young husband has been injured by a mortar round.

I beg you, PLEASE go to her site, read the story and pray for their family.

http://www.xanga.com/AWifesSalvation_06

</Edit>

Concerts, Florida Trips, Long Rides, and Moving…


And all in the past 2 weeks…
Last night late, I arrived back “home” to TN after a 14 hour motorcycle ride
in both 102 degree temperatures and heavy rain… I left Saturday morning
just after 8:00AM, following a week and a half visit with my family at my
childhood home.


I’ll be posting as much as possible the next few weeks, to get you all up to date


That said, allow me to backtrack… To a few weeks ago when I was able to
catch the last part of the “Witness” festival in Quarryville, PA… Never before
have I seen Amish women both booty dancing, Praising God and staying out
way too late to listen to their “Favorite American Idol”… Too funny!!

Here are a couple of pictures that I was able to grab, both from around the
event and from the very front row with “the rest of the press”:

Of course I had to find a place for a “unique” self portrait… The
local baseball field left me with a surreal back drop for my shadow,
cast by the setting sun.

Walden Media presented their new movie “Charlotte’s Web” both on
the big screen and in a unique trailer set up… I hope it does well,
these children were absolutely captivated by the preview.

Next I captured a young friend trying desperately to blow up his
mini-beach ball. Isn’t his expression priceless?

A bit later, I captured this shot of an army man on top of Ethan’s
head with the sun behind it…

Why? Well, because it was there… And heck, he has a bazooka
(I’ve always wanted a bazooka, I’m going to own one someday!)

As night fell, and the Caedmon’s Call set up for the final
performance, I worked my way forward until I was right next to the
stage… While there, I captured over 150 photos including these:

Their HILARIOUS and extremely talented bass player (You just have
to love him for his hair style, don’t you?)

I learned a ton about my camera and spot metering that night, lots
of testing with different exposure times until my battery finally died
nearly 1,000 pictures into it.

From the stage, I turned around and captured this shot of the
crowd… There were several thousand people attending from what I
heard.

Spinning back towards the stage I was able to take some fantastic
shots of their guitarist… Can any of your brilliant musicians tell me
the chord he’s playing?

And for my last shot that I’ll share from that evening (my favorite!),
here’s one of the stage videographer, waiting to capture another
image for the big screen…

Let’s fast forward a day… Rushing home from Church we stopped by
the grocery store to pick up some last minute fixin’s before Ethan
and I cooked dinner for 12 members of his awesome family.

Here’s a shot of the festive table where two of my signature sauces,
well prepared pasta and Ethan’s sensational salad were enjoyed

Lots of fun with that gang

Flash forward another day… I had a photo shoot for an interview
that Ethan was doing for one of his clients. I nearly jumped for joy
when I saw this GORGEOUS new Mac resting on the desk, it was just
a few days old and had something like 8 GIGS of Ram… Can anyone
say PHOTOSHOP POWER!?!? Ahhh someday

“Two Of The Finest Things In The World”

And forward one more day, I flew from Baltimore to Orlando. Right
into the middle of the rumblings from Tropical Storm Alberto… Luckily we still made it on time and with no troubles. The clouds were
amazing though and I truly wish I’d snapped more photos than I did.

That’s all for tonight… I’m terribly sorry that I’ve been so awful about
commenting the past few weeks, my life has been filled with meetings,
traveling and finishing up projects…

I still have another 3 posts coming, just to catch up to what’s going on right
now! So, I’ll do my best to post before Friday as I’m in the midst of a move
and even more projects.

Question of The Day…


Which should be my next post?


1) “Who is This Eric Farewell Guy… Or Rather, Where’s
He REALLY From?”

2) “My Best Photos EVER? (At 200MPH none-the-less!)”

3) “Rain, Heat and Broken Helmets…”     Or, “How to
Become A Baked Potato”

_____________________________

I shall talk to you all soon, be blessed and thank you for your continued
Prayers, Let me know how to pray for you… Those who have asked, I HAVE
been praying my friends.

Blessings to you all, 

 
Two For One!!



It works for clearance sales, so why not a xanga post?


For those of you in a hurry, don’t worry, There won’t be as many words in
today’s post, I need sleep so I’m going to post double my normal number of
pictures… Hope you don’t mind!!



My “Daddy” Day…
This past week, I saw someone special… Again.
I saw an enormously loving, incomprehensible Grace giving, God follower
and Joy filled man… Someone who I can honestly say is my hero, a man that I
hope I can someday become like.

My Dad is the most loving man I have ever known… The best leader, the best
comforter, the best adviser and the best friend. I’ve been out of the house for
around 3 years now, and though I don’t talk to him extremely often my
respect for him has grown so much.

My Dad taught what to look for in a man’s handshake and how to become
worthy of respect. He taught me how to throw a baseball, a football and a
Frisbee… He gave me “Shamu Rides” on his back in the pool and he taught me
how to drive.

A few years ago I watched him weep as he tried to explain to me how much a
foolish (and dangerous) flying decision I had made, scared him… I can’t even
say how much I KNOW Love because of this great man… Not the silly love
that we have come to expect in today’s society, but the truest Love in the
world, true “Agape” Love.

My Dad showed me what to look for in relationships. He’s given me an
incredible example of what it means to love a woman as Christ loved the
Church… It’s breathtaking and when I look for a relationship, I look for one
that emulates the one he has with my Mom.




Dad, I could write 200 pages (and I want to someday) thanking you and
remembering the times you’ve taught me, loved me and forgiven me… Thank
you for making the effort to really be IN my life… Our relationship is the
basis for who I am today. 

Post #2
_______________________

Or, Why B&B’s Really ARE Better…

Last weekend I did a photoshoot for the new owners of “The Hollinger House”
Bed and Breakfast in Lancaster, PA. In a few short hours I’d shot over
400 photos of the guest rooms, lounge areas and dining room…

Why so many?
It’s all in the details. Everywhere I looked small little details built the
character of the house in a powerful way… I could literally post hundreds of
photos to attempt to do the place justice, but I simply haven’t the time.

So, here are a couple of highlights from the shoot

First, a welcoming sign by the small road that leads to the inn…

Then, facing the house a quick panned shot for a “Rushing” effect…
(For more overview and interior photos keep an eye on their
website, it should be updated soon

Moving to the porch you’ll spot this rustic star…

Just off the porch if you look closely you’ll see these two angels nestled under a plant.

Those little Cherubs are just to the right of this meandering brick walkway:

As you continue around the spacious porch, you’ll discover this
garden path:

Then on the opposite side of the house, you’ll find these stairs
which lead you down to the “barn” a large, beautiful place to stay
with 4 beds a kitchen and massive vaulted ceilings.

After you walk down those stairs you could spin around and grab
this shot:

A few steps away and you’ll see another garden built into the hillside:

Beautiful, isn’t it?
Now, let’s venture inside… Where you might meet the owner’s
young son who will thrill himself by turning the lights on and off
while peering at you and giggling from around the corner.

Then you should check out their guest book and sign your name
next on the next available line…

While you’re in the house you should make your way to the third
floor and relax a bit on the upstairs porch…

After a delicious breakfast in the morning, be sure to take the exit
path out… I think it’s beautiful:

Many thanks to having a dreary/ rainy day to take pictures, really allowed
the colors to “pop” out of each photo without over-exposing

A New Bike…
I flew down to my “home town” here in Florida to spend some time with my
family this past Tuesday… That evening my new bike arrived I’m able to
bend my knee enough to ride her now (just 3 weeks after my accident!) and I
have to tell you, she rides great!

Here’s a teaser shot of it to hold you over until I’m able to have a proper
session with her…

WHEW!
That was a lot of pictures!
I’m off to bed now, be sure to post up any Prayer requests and continue to
Pray for me… Hopefully my next posts won’t be quite as long!

Goodnight!


P.S. Coming soon…
Concerts, skydivers, my birthplace and more!

 
Skydives, New Bikes, Photo Sorting and Dad’s Day…

It’s been one heck of a week…
Things have gone extremely well and I even have good news from the
insurance company (preliminarily at least)… 

Remember those 1,000 pictures from last weekend?
Well, I added a few hundred more this week and I’ve been frantically trying
to sort through all of them to get projects completed.


3:15AM
However, it’s after 3:00AM this Sunday morning so I’m off to bed… I should
have a real update live tomorrow sometime


In the mean time, here’s a picture from last week in PA… It was taken about
an hour and a half after sunset with just enough residual light to highlight a
portion of the sky with an amazingly deep blue. The barn in the foreground
was lit by a porch light from a near by house and I thought it looked too cool
to pass up (Click on the photo for a better view of it).


*Tech Specs: Canon EOS-350D @ 42mm –
ISO 200 – free handed 3.5 second exposure*


Catch ya’ll in a few hours!



P.S. You know my Prayer offer is always open, right?

More Surprises…
And 1,000 Pictures (In 24 Hours!)



Not much time for an update tonight, this weekend has sapped my energy
and I’ve got a really busy week ahead…. That said though, I need to tell ya’ll
about all that’s happened in the past week!

Tuesday night one of my “xanga friends” Johanna randomly decided to hop a
flight from Canada down to Baltimore to have a short visit… Less than 24
hours later, she showed up!

We spent a couple of days being lazy as I had a lot of work to do, but Friday
we headed out and about so that she could see “Amish Country”… 20
minutes later it started POURING down rain so we amended our plans and
headed to the “Hollinger House” Bed and Breakfast for a photo shoot.

Within 3 hours I’d taken almost 500 pictures for their new marketing plan,
I’ll post some up in a future post (This week perhaps? Hmmm

*A blurry, almost surreal shot of Jo trying to hide from my ever active lense lol*

Saturday, I took Jo back to the airport and headed back to Quarryville to
catch the last half day of the “Witness Festival“… It was amazing! After
nearly 500 more pictures (Many of which will be in another upcoming post).

I headed home at around 10PM in order to get up for Church this mornin
and then rush back to “the barn” to make dinner with Ethan for 11 members
of his awesome family… A great meal of pasta paired with 2 of my “home
made”sauces and a fantastic salad.

Out of time..
Well, I’m out of time tonight, I still have to sort through a thousand pictures!
As you know, up until last week I was pretty much confined to my bed and to
crutching my way around the house. Below are a few random pictures that I
took during that period.

I’ll try to post again Wednesday or Thursday, keep a look out for it!

This first shot is of the leg immobilizer that I was trapped inside for 2 weeks
it has a really cool mechanism that I tried to catch a proper angle of… It’s
hard when you’re wearing it!

Everyone that knows me laughs at my massive wallet… It’s stuffed with so
many business cards, receipts, notes and random papers that I can’t sit on it,
it’s actually hilarious when you realize that there’s no money in it.

The coolest free match box ever!

Took these last weekend on a much needed drive…

Growing Silos?

“Big Tree in a Small Field”

And that’s all I’ve got for today…

Please keep me in Prayer, I’m flying home to Florida on Tuesday to spend a
couple of days with my family… Pray that it’s a good time for all and that my
leg will continue to heal as well.

Still no word on the insurance, so I’d appreciate your prayers for that and
that my business will be able to cover all my bills if the insurance doesn’t
(Hospitals are expensive!).

Thanks as always for reading and commenting… Let me know how I can be
Praying for you, I’ll try to stay in touch this week as I travel