"When thou saidst, seek my face; my heart said unto thee, thy face, LORD, will I seek." -Psalm 27:8

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas Lights 2013

Jesus is the reason for the season.  When they tell you that you can only wish folks Happy Holidays, as Pastor Young says, smile and say that is fine.  Because what you are still saying is Merry Christmas because they are Happy Holy days!!

I spent a wonderful evening this past Sunday, exploring the different sides of the Sacramento Metro area.  We have so many beautiful things to look at during this time of year.  We have our capitol,  the Tower Bridge,  Old Downtown Roseville, other areas of downtown Sacramento, and the country out in the Elk Grove area. Here is only a sample of what is out there.  Please enjoy!  Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.  May God continue to bless you this coming year!!


 
 












Wednesday, November 13, 2013

The Wild Horse Sanctuary: Shingle Town


God has made many magnificent things in this world and wild horses are most definitely one of them.   The wild horses near Shingle Town, California are incredible.  Their strength and beauty are absolutely something to behold.  

When we arrived on the first Saturday I thought that we would be told to stand outside a gate and view the horses as best we could.  However, to our surprise, we were told that we could venture out among them.  We were told not to move too quickly, not to attempt to pet them, and all would be fine.  Jill, one of the leaders at the Sanctuary, told us to just make sure to close any gates behind us and that she trusted us completely.  She also told us that the horses would not harm us and we would be fine.  I never ever expected to be told that we could walk in the midst of them!

So, I opened the gate and ventured out, with Robin following closely behind.  In a matter of seconds we were surrounded by about 70 horses!  We were among incredibly powerful animals that could do whatever they wished to us if so inclined.  However, they watched us, attempted to draw close to us,  and seemed fully at ease with us being near to them.  When they would come too close to us we both would attempt to persuade them, by the flailing of arms and telling them to shoo,  to stay at a distance so they would not get too used to humans.

 However, there was one in particular who wanted to get as close as possible to Robin.  She raised her arms, attempted to shoo him away, but he would have none of that.  He kept on getting closer and closer to her and would not leave her alone.  So Robin turned around and began walking away from him in order to discourage his advances.  I was startled when I suddenly heard a loud shriek coming from off to my side where Robin was standing.   The horse had not liked the fact that she was turning away from him so he decided to push her between the shoulder blades with his muzzle, as if saying, "Hey turn around and pay attention to me".   He in no way was being aggressive to her,  A short time later I was concentrating hard on photographing the horses when all of a sudden I felt a warm breath  on the back of my neck.  I was startled and my heart most definitely jumped a beat.  It was one of the horses curiously sniffing me.

We found this experience to be both thrilling, yet humbling.  God has recently opened doors that for a very long time appeared would never be opened.  I had initially contacted the Sanctuary about 2 years ago, but never seemed to be able to get everything arranged. This was one of those things on our bucket list.   It was most definitely a door that Jesus opened.  It was truly one of the most awesome experiences we ever had.  To be allowed to stand amongst wild horses and to be able to photograph their majesty was simply wonderful. We were allowed to come up on two consecutive Saturdays, driving three hours each away at 4am in the morning.  It was most definitely worth it.  All we can say is Wow.  Not many people have this opportunity and we were allowed to have it on two separate occasions.  Just amazing.  We are so grateful.  Diane and Jill were so gracious to us, along with all of the volunteers.  Everyone was so warm and welcoming.  Robin and I want to thank them very much.

Thank you Jesus.  Blessed to be a blessing.





 



































Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Fall Colors 2013

So my shooting buddy Jeremy and I spent last weekend down in Bishop, California.     We stopped in at various places all along the way,  up and down Highway 395 on the Eastern side of the Sierras.  Virginia Creek Settlement area, The Bishop Creek Area, The Alabama Hills, Mt. Whitney, The Bristlecone Pines, and Convict Lake were all part of our stops.  This was a great trip as always.  Some of the areas were past their peak, but that just made us work harder and photogrtaph more things that we might not normally have photographed.  It was a great time and the fellowship was awesome.  God always blesses us, each and every time.  We are both very fortunate, in that we have wives that are encouraging and understanding, allowing us to go on these trips together.  We got to see things this year that we haven't seen before.  Things like the Bristlecone Pines, hiking  back into an area where I thought for sure that one, the other, or both would get lost,  trying to find an elusive waterfalls.  Up at 4am, dinners at 8 or 9pm, going, going going.  We both love it and revel in the experience of capturing God's awesome creations!  I hope you enjoy and God bless you all.