Monday 6 June 2011

Yes, I'm Still Alive!!!

HUGE apologies for being away so long. A combination of things have kept me away from my blog. Firstly; I'm willing to bet that I have one of, if not the slowest computers in the UK, if not the world! Seriously - I do not exaggerate. It takes 5 to 10 seconds just for a box to appear when I click on an icon, then anything up to 3 minutes for a new page to load. That's if it loads at all. Sometimes I get timed-out just trying to log in somewhere! I know - I need a new laptop. Well, one is forthcoming. Hubby and I celebrated (in a very low key and modest fashion: Pizza Hut with our son) our 11 year anniversary on the 8th of July and, being at a total loss for what on earth to get each other (what do you get the man who has nothing?!) we decided to pool our resources and buy a new laptop to share. Romantic or what?!! Posh 'n Becks have nothing on us!

Secondly; we've had one ridiculous crisis/near-death experience after another. In January we had to replace our fridge freezer, which suddenly gave up the ghost. We then had problems with our (ancient) boiler, which started when the pilot light kept going out, due apparently to a build-up of... wait for it... carbon monoxide residue!!! Nice, huh? After it was cleaned-up and reignited it worked for a bit then conked out completely. At the same time the electric timer fizzed, sparked and died, in sympathy I assumed. Turns out water from our tank upstairs had been seeping into the wires and shorting them (!) British Gas then condemed our boiler officially, hanging a warning notice on the front, presumably in case anyone decided to try and relight it. Not likely, matey, when we'd been told that the flue going through our loft and out the roof had 3 large holes in it, which had been leaking noxious fumes into our home for goodness knows how long!!!

Since then there have been a few more 'interesting' episodes, including illhealth and financial problems, but as none of those tales are particularly exciting when compared to the above, I shan't bore you with them.

Anyway, somewhere in the midst of all this I have managed to actually do some photography! I finished my Lent project, which you can view HERE and I'm glad to say it has been a big success in many respects. It got me back in touch with my Christian faith, has opened up conversations with people who I wouldn't otherwise discuss God with, both online and in 'real life' and images from the set have been used in our church's 24-7 Prayer Room, on websites such as GoodNewsNow.com and the St Peter's Lent pages.

Several people have asked me to put all the images together in a book and as I already have customers lined up I'd better get that sorted soon!

We (hubby, son and me... or should that be hubby, son and I?) went to Cornwall with my parents for a week in April. The odd hiccup, but overall a lovely break and it gave me the chance to stretch my landscape photography wings again. They'd been almost completely tucked away while I hibernated during a particularly long, frozen winter! I was working on my Lent project at the time, so I was duty-bound to take good, considered shots every day. I'm still sorting thorough those photographs, but will upload them to Flickr asap. At the moment I have quite a backlog of personal photos to wade through: several school events including sports day, a church camping weekend, a church sports day, Royal Wedding Day (sorry, no pics of the Wills and Kate, only my Wills!) Father's Day, hubby's morris dancing events, etc. I also have the usual fine art photos to process and print. I'm sure I'll find the time... somehow!

So, that's me up to date then. Better go now and feed my son, I suppose.

Take care!

Love,
Emma

Sunday 13 March 2011

Lent - the 1st project of the year!

Hello again, friends! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I had a big creative block during the winter, which has been particularly long and especially cold in the UK this year. I'm a complete wimp when it comes to cold weather and the combination of that and the grey skies, while being fantastic to photograph, affect me negatively and I pretty much just hibernate 'til Spring!


Anyway; I'm back with a new personal challenge! Here's the details:

As some of you know, I'm a committed Christian and so for Lent this year I've decided to incorporate my photography into my Lent vow. I've made cursory attempts to give things up during past Lents, but I always either forget or simply give up. Also, giving up chocolate is a very good idea and very beneficial for my health, but it doesn't really get me any closer to God, which is the point after all! So... my vow for Lent 2011 is this:

Every day I shall take a photograph and upload it to Facebook and Flickr, with a relevant verse from the Bible. By Easter I should have 40 uplifting and inspiring images, which I will give to my church, St Peter's, to put in their photo library.


The tasks and aims will be:

* To break my creative block and get 'out there' with my camera.
* To read my Bible each day of Lent and get into the habit of picking up my Bible every single day.
* To inspire and encourage others with the resulting images and verses.
* To spend some time every day with God and to get into the habit of setting time aside to just 'be' with God.
* To spread the Good News!


The challenges:

* Making and finding time to take the photographs.
* Taking good shots, no matter where I happen to find myself and despite my personal limitations.
* Travelling to and staying in Cornwall then Wales for two weeks of Lent, including 4 days on the road and having to find an internet connection!


Jesus went into the desert for forty days, ate nothing and faced down the devil. I think I can manage to take some photos..!


If you want to follow the daily uploads; you'll find them on my Facebook page in THIS ALBUM and in my FLICKR ALBUM. (I usually post the photos in the evening, by 8pm GMT.)

I'll also do a weekly round up here on my blog, too, although the images will be a bit smaller.


Here's the first five:
1 Peter 1:23


Luke 19:10


Isaiah 40:8


Matthew 16:19


John 13:34

So far the response has been amazing, from both Christians and non-Christians alike and I'm so grateful for all the support and encouragement. It's also wonderful to know that people are comforted and inspired by these little daily offerings!

So, until next time, take care!

Emma ♥