Weekly picture #11.

Where The Streets Have No Name

U2's The Joshua Tree. 

Where The Streets Have No Name

I want to run, I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside
I want to reach out and touch the flame
Where the streets have no name

Anything

Third Eye Blind's Blue. 

Anything

Jackie O with the top down open
All the words to what's unspoken
Put together everything that's broken

Just to see you
I'll give you anything

A Long December

Counting Crows' Recovering the Satellites. 

A Long December

All at once you look across a crowded room
to see the way that light attaches to a girl

And it's one more day up in the canyons
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think you might come to California...I think you should

Two Days In February

Goo Goo Dolls Hold Me Up.

Two Days In February

I hung your picture on the wall
And that's all it is
I break my fingers to make a call
And that's all it is
I know you're living way out west
And I don't think that I confessed
Everything I feel

Not the One

Collective Soul's Dosage. 

Not the One

I waltzed around you
Seven times
Only to become
A melody you never sang

The Hardest Part

Coldplay's X&Y 

The Hardest Part

I could feel it go down
Bittersweet I could taste in my mouth
Silver lining the clouds
Oh, and I, I wish that I could work it out

Give it back!

I helped lead worship with the youth band at EPC this past Sunday. It went well from what I could tell, but then again it was my first time to play and sing with a worship band during a church service. Apart from breaking a string in the middle of a song during the first service and Garret breaking one of his own during second service, it went smoothly.

I'm having a rough start with Travel Photography. Our first assignment was to photograph some architecture that was "unique to the community." So like fancy museums, city halls, churches, and the like were among the things to shoot. I didn't think it'd be difficult to find some places to photograph, but after the fourth option I found fell through over a period of two days, I gave up in frustration. I'll turn in the assignment a class session late. I hate that.

The re-examination of why I'm doing photography came up again this week. Why am I doing photography? I used to identify myself as a photographer as a photojournalist, but a friend of mine stated that he is, ultimately, a photographer. He is a photographer. I'm seeing that I shouldn't place myself into a single category of photography, but on the contrary open myself up to different fields. Exploring different areas of photography and taking various classes at Brooks has helped me realize this. I don't need to commit fully to one field of photography. I am a photojournalist. I am also a landscape photographer. I am also a wedding photographer. I am also a travel photographer. I am also a portrait photographer.

In the end, however, I would like to find myself photographing for the progression of missionaries around the world. I may be a photographer, but I am firstly a son of God and live to His glory and calling. God has blessed me with the talent of photography; giving this talent back to Him is what I now live for.



P.S. I love comments and everything, but the stuff from the July 13 post is just ridiculous. It's one thing to talk about alcohol. It's totally another thing to talk about my love life, alcohol, and the level of dependency they have on each other. So shut it, chumps. Yeah, you know who you are.

Weekly picture #10.

Noooooooooo!!!

I almost cried when I saw this.

"When I in awesome wonder..." (Weekly picture #9)

The family went camping with old Davao friends at Yosemite. Unfortunately, Kuya couldn't make it, but that didn't get stop us from going. The trip was awesome, though a bit rushed. Because of all the moving Mom and Dad were doing the day before we headed out to Yosemite, we got to the National Park at the end of the second day of the trip. That only left us with a day and a half of camping there.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed relaxing and sight-seeing the beauty of Yosemite Valley. Uncle Lloyd, Uncle Roger, Robert Sheldon, Joe, Janel, Clint, and I hiked to the top of Half Dome on Friday. We got up real early at 5:30 am to head out on the 8.5 mile hike to the top. I was pretty reluctant to go the night before since I haven't hiked in a good two years and a 17 mile hike sounded like sure death considering my physical state.

I was almost right.

Due to lack of some kind of nutrient, both my thighs began to cramp a little under half way into the hike. I think it was just because I didn't drink enough water before the hike, and I was trying to conserve water in the in the middle of the hike. So I slowly but surely made my way to the top of the dome, though it took me five freakin' hours to do it. Uncle Lloyd stayed with me the whole way, which was very nice of him. The rest got to the top 45 minutes before we got there. Man, those cramps blew.

Getting to the top of Half Dome made the hike well worth the pains I endured. The view was amazing and magnificent. God simply has a creative mind! Going on trips to the Grand Canyon or Zion or Yosemite really brings you back to love and adore and fear God's power and Creation. Though Joe did bring up a good point later: People are God's greatest creation, and we shouldn't forget about praising God for making Man and making them in His own image. How special are we!? We are be seen so highly and differently to the rest of creation.

The rest of the camping trip was pretty chill. We just hung out at the campgrounds and caught up with old friends we hadn't seen in a long time. Being a photographer, I took pictures...naturally. I didn't go for that whole "I'm going to go hardcore and take shots like Ansel Adams!" approach. I just took pictures, and they're mostly of people. I did do some landscape stuff but nothing amazing. I would like to go back someday for the sole purpose of photography. This time, however, I wanted to just appreciate Yosemite as it is.

I posted the pictures on Flickr. By the way, apologies for missing a week in the Weekly Pictures. I was really busy that week, and I didn't take a picture that week anyway.

I end with a hymn that we sung the night before the last day of camp.

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Happy birthday, America. (updated)

Update: We did go to that party, which turned out to be like a mini bbq restaurant that Rachel and her girl friends set up. It was nice to have waitresses bring us our drinks and cheeseburgers and "mega ultimate chili cheese dogs." Good stuff. The girls had fun, and it was convenient for us. Everyone wins!

We also did play X-box. Groovy!

-11:39 pm, Monday, July 4, 2005

------------

Happy Fourth of July to all! What will you do to celebrate?

I believe our family will be going to some party at a friend's place down here in Escondido. Oli and I are not particular friends of the family since there's no kids around our age there, but they do have an X-box along with Halo. We'll enjoy ourselves just fine.

To keep in spirit of Independence Day, I'm going to talk about War of the Worlds, which Oli, David Youngman (he's in town for an internship, so he came to visit this weekend), and I went and saw last Friday. Okay, it doesn't really have anything to do with the Fourth of July, but it reminded me a lot of the movie Independence Day, which had a lot to do with the Fourth of July. By the way, I liked that movie. I love its cheese and overrated special effects.

Anywho, I liked War of the Worlds for the most part. The special effects were phenomenal...I couldn't see anything that looked obviously CGI throughout the movie. The acting was great. I'm a big fan of Tom Cruise as an actor, though, so I may be biased. It's not Oscar-worthy stuff, but he is convincing as a regular chum who is a lousy father. Even Dakota Fanning was great in the movie.

A lot of people complain about the ending, but I don't know what they expect considering it's based off a book and there already was a different movie made back in 1953. (Dude, that is an awesomely bad sci-fi flick if I've ever seen one.) Spielberg couldn't really change the ending of the whole story. I do think that there are some odd parts in the movie, and I thought the ending for the characters was wrapped up a little too fast for any real satisfaction. I do like the whole idea that it followed a few normal people merely trying to survive rather than following a scientist trying to find a way to stop the aliens.

All in all, it's worth a watch in the theatre simply because of the special effects. If you wait for this on dvd, it won't have the same effect. I personally liked the story of Tom Cruise's character and his two kids, but I've heard a lot of people say they hated it, so that's just me. As far as the cinematography, Spielberg continues to amaze me with his directorial skillz.

Oh, yeah...Batman Begins is awesome. Go see that movie too. Awesome.