Blog Archive
The November sun sunk below the horizon soon after we crossed into Canada. On previous travels to Quebec, my destination to visit friends in Sherbrooke would have only been about half an hour north across the border. But tonight, things were different. There was...
I love a good story. Especially if it amplifies a good life lesson or a Scriptural truth! Well, earlier this year, I happened to be part of a little story that happened in the life of my sister-in-law and fellow photographer, Lydia Bennett. She kindly obliged to...
The other day, I started reading the book of Ezekiel. Chapter one is quite an interesting read as it describes how the “word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest” to prepare him for his ministry to the rebellious house of Israel. I noticed something...
I was looking at a professional landscape photographer’s blog the other day. His photos were taken from all over the world. As I flipped from page to page, that discontented feeling of “Oh, I wish I could go to those places!” started to steal over me. But few of us...
The day after exploring Snowshoe, we headed over to another iconic West Virginia attraction. The old, historic Cass Scenic Railroad! The 11-mile long heritage railroad takes you back in time to an era when steam-driven locomotives were an essential part of everyday...
It’s a long drive from West Virginia to Connecticut. Sometimes, on our trips up there to visit family, we get off late and don’t have time to stop and take pictures at random places along the way. Other times, if we can get off early like we did this time, we...
On our way back from the HEAV Convention last week, Julianna and I met up with some friends to go for a hike and spend some time together! The hike we decided on was Bear’s Den Overlook on the Appalachian Trail. I hadn’t ever been there before, but it seemed like a...
I have driven down Route 50 through Grafton, West Virginia, many times. But it wasn’t until yesterday that I realized that all these years I had been driving right by a National Cemetery! It is up on a hill, set apart just enough that you can’t see it from the...
The other morning, I was reading Matthew 12. As a photographer, verse 36 popped out to me: “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”“Idle” in that verse literally means lazy, the trait...
Workflows increase efficiency. They help me get a lot done in a shorter amount of time. So when a workflow breaks, either things don’t get done efficiently, or things just don’t get done at all. And recently, two Lightroom problems interrupted various of my...
I stumbled on a waterfall 11 years ago that I’ve never been able to get away from. In 2011, I visited Kent Falls State Park, Connecticut, for the first time. It was a cool, mid-October morning. With not a soul around, I enjoyed several hours by myself exploring and...
I love running Lenspiration! But running Lenspiration is also a lot of work. . . . A few weeks ago, things were piling up. On top of the the regular weekly tasks, I was dumping lots of time into the Lenspiration calendars. Time was ticking, and decisions had to be...
It might as well have been a dream. A stair case winds up into the sky.A ball of light dispels the pre-dawn darkness.My best friend stands by my side.Invisible currents carry autumn leaves through a sea of golden light.A photographer’s heaven!But it wasn’t a dream,...
Hi everyone! I’m Lydia Bennett, assistant here at Lenspiration. This past weekend, James Staddon, founder and owner of Lenspiration, became my brother-in-law! While he and Julianna are on their honeymoon and I keep things running behind-the-scenes, I thought I’d...
The Lamplighter Summer Guild had just ended! Despite going to bed around midnight, I was up early and heading to the airport. From Mt. Morris, New York, to the airport in Pittsburgh was about 4.5 hours. It was important that I get there no later than 2:00pm so I...
Julianna and I have a date set for our wedding, now! It will be August 19, 2022. It will be an important date in our minds forever! But, has it always been? No. I’ve walked around on many an August 19 oblivious to the fact that it would ever be an important date to...
For last month’s photo assignment, 6 photographers submitted 44 photos. There were some fantastic photos among those 44, but there was one in particular that I really liked. This photo was submitted by Samuel West: When critiquing everyone’s photos on the Coaching...
With the next assignment coming up, I spent last Tuesday shooting and filming it with some friends out in eastern West Virginia. But shooting the assignment wasn’t the only thing we did! We played Clue and cracked riddles around the campfire and scrambled through...
A new photo assignment is launching next Friday! We’ll be shooting once again for Suzanne Shera of Lightlab Etc! I first met Suzanne at the CHAP convention in 2019 and we’ve been in touch ever since. She wrote a book, Lightlab, that teaches children around the ages...
My brother Michael works as a beekeeper at a giant apple orchard on an abandoned coal mine site in southern West Virginia. The abandoned coal mine site is giant too. Like, ginormous! Hundreds and hundreds of acres of empty West Virginia wilderness. The bee yards he...
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