How I Built My Church’s WordPress Website

If you are reading this post and about to embark into the world of webdesign, you may be a feeling little intimidated. Well, don’t stress. It’s easier than you think.

Flowers and Mushrooms

Today was a very lazy day for me. I actually took a nap which probably hasn’t happened in well over a year. It was everything I hoped it would be but I’m that guy that can’t really sit around for long before I need to go outdoors. Just as I decided I needed to get up and head out, I noticed that it was beginning to cloud over. So I grabbed the camera and took a little walk around the yard. I headed right over to the sunflowers in the garden that are starting to bloom. The deer are taking them down one at a time so I knew if I wanted a picture I should get one soon.

I’m beginning to learn more about bokeh. I’ve been successful in producing it in my shots, but sometimes I sacrifice good focus because I tend to max out the bokeh look by using my max 1.7 aperture setting. This is making my focal range very short so if my subject has any depth at all, I’m only focusing on a very short part of it. I had only realized this today after dumping these images onto my computer. So, hopefully next time out I’ll remember to adjust to this.

I could take pictures of the little mushrooms that pop up everywhere all day. Each one of them seem to have their own little characters and are unique in their own way. The cool thing about shooting mushrooms like these is that you can get angles 360 degrees around them. I may dedicate a shoot to mushrooms soon. It’ll give me an excuse to go for a hike.

My last stop before the rain fell was to get some pictures of these beautiful purple flowers. I really don’t know what they’re called even though my wife has told me before, but I think they’re just about perfect. They start out in this little box shaped bloom and then they open up into a perfectly symmetrical little flower. They just began blooming a few days ago and it seems like they will be gone in a couple of weeks so I just had to get a few pictures.

Webber Dam Portland Michigan

Today, I decided to take my little family out for a drive.  I grabbed the camera as we left so I could make a stop by the Webber dam and take a couple of pictures while we were out.  After a couple of stops the girls were getting sleepy so I decide to drive out to the dam and see if I could get some good pictures.  The way the dam is positioned, I could only get one good angle without hiking down a very large hill and then following a trail down the river a couple hundred yards.  Because the girls had opted to wait in the car, I decided to get the second angle next time out.

I tried to do some natural framing with this first shot and use a tree limb that was naturally hanging there.

I took a couple shots and finally got my settings pretty good. The sun was very bright on the water and the building but I was standing in the shade so it took a minute to make the proper manual adjustments.

The next shot that I wanted would include the guard rail that follows along a small road which the state workers use to get down to the dam. This little road is closed off for public vehicles but is usable as a walking path down to the river.

The water was a little on the brown side today because of some recent heavy rains but overall I’m really pleased with these shots.

How I Made My First Sermon Bumper

Making a church video of any kind takes a little bit of planning, research, and technical knowledge.  If you read my previous post “How I Made MY First Church Video” then you read about the research I did and the gear I used.  It also helps to have a handful of sporadic and energetic youth available to provide life for your videos.

Wild Mulberrys

It is a special season here in Michigan, wild mulberry season.  And this year is a special year for wild berries of all kinds.  I have never seen so many big delicious mulberries as there are this year.  My oldest daughter and I have been taking full advantage of the wild mulberries and black raspberries every evening after dinner this week. Yesterday, I decided I would take a few pictures to share with you during our outing.   Between big handfuls I snapped off these shots.

I didn’t get a picture of the tree limbs that seemed to be hanging so low that they would soon snap, but it was indeed the case.

Unfortunately our evening berry feast is usually accompanied by a neighborhood gang of massive mosquitoes. The feasting is usually cut a little short by their attacks. But, the treat is an awesome bonding time for me and my big girl and a healthy snack too!

How I Made My First Church Announcement Video

I’ll begin by sharing with you that I’ve only been doing videography for a couple of weeks now.  Also, I have only been using a DSLR camera for the same amount of time.  My only previous experience has been taking home videos of birthdays and the like on a hand held video camera.  I will also say that I’m a big tech nerd at heart and videography is a medium of technology that I had not yet “conquered”.  So when my church wanted to start doing some video, I was more than eager to except the challenge.

Old Red Building Take 2

So, today I decided to head back to the dam and try to get a better picture of the little old red building. I’m beginning to learn the value of an auto focus lens. This is only my third outing as a “photographer”. I’m limited with the equipment that I’m using but I don’t feel like that is a crutch. According to some of the blogs that I’ve been reading, some of the better photographers use manual settings and manual lenses. But, I’m new at this and still getting a feel for my camera and lens.

Today was overcast but I went for it anyway. I’m afraid I still have some focus issue to figure out but here’s what I ended up with.

I know right…not so awesome. Before I get too bummed, I’ll share with you the other photos I took while I was walking around at the dam.

So, I had never noticed the creepy old pavilion before but decided to try a shot in even lower light as it sits under some large mature red oak trees. Ok, the pavilion isn’t totally creepy but I was a little surprised that the city hadn’t updated it as they usually do a pretty good job of keeping the public areas up-to-date.

Three attempts at putting what I’ve learned about photography into practice and, I have to say that I was a little discouraged today when my focus was off once again. But, beyond that I’m really enjoying it. Looking forward to my next attempt.

Old Red Building

I really couldn’t be in a much better place for taking pictures of old red buildings.  Michigan, and the rest of the Mid-West is like old red building central.  In this case, the old red building of my choice is some sort of a water treatment housing at the dam in Portland MI.  The Grand River and the Looking Glass River merge together in the heart of Portland.  There are two dams on the Grand, which is the largest river in Michigan, within close proximity of Portland.

I made my way to the closer of the two hoping to get some good shots of the river.  But the little old red building really caught my eye.

I also tried some full size shots of the building but I was super bummed when I got home because they weren’t totally in focus. I’ll head back to recapture those soon.

Another thing that Michigan has a lot of is old bridges. Of course, most have been replaced with new bridges but in the not so distant past the state was littered by old wooden and medal bridges. It seems that the state has made a concerted effort to preserve them as they are replaced. One such example is an old train bridge that now serves as a river crossing on the walking trail in downtown Portland.

I did a little color correction to this shot because of the intense sunlight but I’m pretty happy with the result.

Happily, there is still an old medal bridge in operation in downtown Portland. It’s a one-way single-lane bridge which crosses the Grand River. Maybe the subject of my next shoot!

Lonely Green Table

It’s been a weird spring and early summer here in Central Michigan. The weather has been cold even by Michigan standards, and just when it seems to warm up it rains again. Those where my thoughts yesterday as I made a quick lap around the church building with a new camera. I was taking a few shots for an upcoming welcome video that my team and I will be working on for the church.

I’m new to photography but when I saw the photo I just took of the little green table, I knew it wasn’t too shabby. The church wanted to start doing some video so they purchased a camera and entrusted it to me. I decided to test the freshly hacked Panasonic Lumix GH1 and take a picture of the cross on top of the building. After a couple of adjustments I was able to capture this image.

Not bad really. I later used an image editor to do some color correction but I’m really impressed with the camera / lens combo. This camera did not come with a kit lens but we received a donation of a Minolta MD 50mm 1:1.7 lens. Of course I needed an adapter but it turned out to be a good lens for the camera which shoots indoor and outdoor really well. The video can’t be overlooked on this camera because it’s simply awesome; after the firmware hack anyway.

I took a few more shots and ended up with some nice images including this park bench.

I’m really happy with my little walk around photo shoot as well as this camera setup. It was a little walk of discovery for me in the area of photography but I think I also made a new friend. The lonely green table and I have a date for coffee in the very near future.