Lenspiration Blog

Welcome! Wherever you are on your photography journey, learn to take better photos through the photography tips and stories you'll find in the following free articles. By learning from the experience of others, you can also start taking pictures that you're excited to share with others!

Tips & Tricks
How Would You Take It?

How Would You Take It?

The evening was warm and blustery, the gusts of wind bringing with them the suggestion of an approaching storm. Then feeble flashes of light could be seen on the distant horizon, easily perceived from my vantage point on the front porch of the Wilkes new home in...

Stories & Expeditions
Northwoods Tubing

Northwoods Tubing

When I get the chance (and when I’m not on the tube), I like to ride along in the motor boat to see if I can capture some of those split-second wonders of tubing. I’ve taken thousands of pictures of people tubing, yet the lure for a better shot is always too strong...

Tips & Tricks
More than Smooth Water

More than Smooth Water

I was going through pictures today and came across two practically identical waterfall pictures I took last month at Bond Falls State Park, Michigan. Notice how the second picture looks so much better than the first one. Both were taken on a tripod only 26 seconds...

Stories & Expeditions
God Provides

God Provides

God provides in both small ways and big ways. At the Conference last week, I lost some small, yet relatively important items. The first thing I lost was the little eye piece that fits over the viewfinder of my camera. I guess this isn’t that important, but it sure...

Perspective
Be Doing and Daring

Be Doing and Daring

Photography is so much fun! It forces me to do things I would never otherwise want to do, takes me places I would otherwise never get to go, and introduces me to people I would otherwise never know. Last week, at the Indianapolis Conference was the perfect example...

Perspective
Over the Next Week

Over the Next Week

Just a heads-up: the Lord has worked it out for me to be a guide on a young men’s Journey to the Heart over the next week. Therefore, I will be unable to post anything here on Lenspiration.com until after the 1st of August. I’d appreciate your prayers for...

Updates & Opportunities
Feedback Wanted

Feedback Wanted

Believe it or not, though we are scarcely halfway through 2011, I’ve been working feverishly on the 2012 Lenspiration calendar. I’ve reached a point now where I need some feedback. Even if you only have a few minutes, I would really appreciate your comments about...

Impressive Places
Clingmans Dome, TN

Clingmans Dome, TN

One of the last places we stopped on the way back from Texas was the highest point in Tennessee, a mountaintop in the middle of Great Smokey Mountains National Park. At 6,643 feet above sea level, Clingmans Dome affords a 360 degree view up to 100 miles away on a...

Tips & Tricks
Texas Shed

Texas Shed

After Robert’s wedding, we stopped at a few places in Texas in the Dallas area. This old shed, now out of commission, was on a chicken farm that we toured. It was a drab picture originally, being taken in early afternoon. But I found a new Adjustment in Photoshop...

Tips & Tricks
Taking Panos

Taking Panos

Over the past month, while traveling through the Appalachian mountains, I have begun experimenting with taking true panoramic images. Not one image cropped to a 3:1 ratio, but a series of images side by side that, when stitched together, create a true high-res...

Updates & Opportunities
I’m Back!

I’m Back!

It’s hard to believe I’ve been unable to post for over two weeks! With very little Internet access during the trip to Houston for my brother Robert’s wedding, we returned home to find that our Internet here at home was out for another week due to an electric storm....

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What are we up to?

Follow along with Lenspiration travels…

New month - new photo assignment! And this one is pretty sweet. :) Our goal is to take beautiful photos that reflect the truths of Psalm 119:103, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Get all the details at the link in bio!
New blog post! The last bit of light after sunset doesn't take long to disappear. Sparkling stars were peering through the pinyon pine boughs above us. We were in the deep shadows of dusk as we picked our way down the rock strewn trail back to the parking lot.  Read more at link in bio.

#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
Happy Memorial Day! Let us honor their sacrifice by using our freedoms not to do as we please, but to live as we ought. #freedom #integrity #selfcontrol #memorialday #Godblessamerica
New blog post! Rain poured down in torrential waves as we made our way through the Smoky Mountains. We had gotten up insanely early—long before dawn—to make the most of our time photographing at the high-elevation overlooks before the storm. But now the rain was coming down so hard that even the most dedicated among us didn’t feel like stepping out of the car for a photo. Until we rounded a bend and saw... Read more at link in bio.

#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
Join me for some LIVE photo coaching on Tuesday, May 26 as we look at "Glowing Scenery" photos. . . Register at link in bio!
Foreground element, framing, leading lines, human element, vibrant color.... Definitely one of my favorite shots from EXPLORE Springtime in the Smokies. 
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Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com 
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#photographycomposition #photoworkshop #composition #landscapephotography #springtime @greatsmokynps @blueridgenps
"For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills." Deuteronomy 8:7-9 Every time I photograph a waterfall I should thank the Lord for letting me live in such a blessed land. 
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Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com 
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#waterfall #verseoftheday #landscapephoto #thankful #godsblessing
New blog post! The photographer who makes decisions based on comfort won’t get out in the field, even in a place like the Smokies—and therefore won’t come home with any photos. Read more at link in bio.

#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
The photo assignment for May is live! Take beautiful, landscape photos that have a warm, glowing sense to them. Photos could include warm sunlight glowing at the end of a path, over water, over a stream, in a field, or over a mountain. Details at link in bio.
New blog post! Read more at link in bio.

#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
Someone got a photo of me taking the group photo at Family Conference last week! @familyconfs @alertacademy #familyconference #eventphotography #groupphoto #eventphotographer #adventurous
A quick stop in Paris for a selfie! 😄 #paristexas #travel #selfietime #texas
So much fun to photograph a family conference as an actual family! (Thank you Rebekah for the photo!)
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Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com
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#family #behindthescenes #together #teamwork #wvphotographer
On the lookout for puddles on a rainy first day of Conference!
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Family-friendly place to learn photography! www.lenspiration.com
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#rainyday #homeschool #conference #familylife #puddlejumping
Join me for some LIVE photo coaching on Tuesday, April 28! Register at link in bio.