Happy Holidays and inspiration abound

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

First and foremost, to our dear family and friends, we wish you the very best in this holiday season. May all your wants and dreams be made a reality through the support of your family and your friends. In this holiday season, I have found myself more introspective and I can say that it is due to the inspirations of the following three stories.

The first story was a linked story from FaceBook. This is a story of an individual that sees injustice around him and effectively leads with his feet. I do not have the words so I will let him describe them in his own.

The piece that struck me in this video was the act of touching feet of this gentle soul. For those that are unaware, here is a little background on the cultural implication of this act.

For about a year or so, I have been taking photographs and trying to better myself at the craft. On my search for yet more information on how to be a better photographer, I stumbled across Chris Jarvis' site where he does an interview with Jeremy Cowart. A good portion of the video interview is invested in getting started in photography and the how did they do it. One piece of the discussion struck me silent; Help Portrait.

The video does it more justice than any words that I can provide.

The final story is of a young women that I work with. For the past 10 years, she has been leading by example in helping the community. She and her family, in preparation for the winter holiday season, spend their time making polar fleece hats & scarves and bundle them with gloves and socks for those in need. Every year she has done this and simply has grown this effort year over year.

These three stories of people giving of their time, effort, thoughts and of themselves to better those around them exemplifies the following quote that I strive to live by.

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

In this holiday season, take the time to be thoughtful, considerate, and mindful of others. Happy holidays and may this holiday season bring you all the gifts and thoughts you wish for.

Make the time to inspire others and be inspired.

Lens Hero

As I have gotten more and more into photography, I have been looking for different options for how to shop for a lens and the subsequent accessories that are necessary (at least that is what I keep telling myself). You can search online for comparisons, but the site that I feel has given the best opportunity for doing comparisons so far is LensHero.com.

The breakdowns by camera body and price range to start with allows for quick and easy searches. However, that is not where the real benefits come from. The ability to look at lens based on the type of photography you are doing allows for even more flexibility.

For the maximum effect and with the most starting options available for filtering, I would recommend starting with the camera body type (at the bottom of the page). From here you can add filters for brand, type of photography, price range, aperture, wide angle versus telephoto, image stabilization, or focus motor.

With this many options to begin with, it gives any photographer options for quick searches. This coupled with the ratings being pulled in from B&H photo and quick links to Amazon for purchasing make it an effective search tool.

Thanks LensHero!