Faithful Friday #8

Joy, began Faithful Fridays as a way to share our Christian faith in the blogging world, in hopes that it would encourage others in their Christian walk as well. If you would like to share, please leave Joy a comment.

Do you also see what I saw in these thorns?

So often one hears the words of love. Specially during this week it was all over the shopping centres, shop windows even on some streets. But mostly it only means; come give your money for this or that (mostly useless things anyway), some or other selfish reason why this love is being promoted.

Even people with most sincere intentions often does not have a clue what that word means. I have to hastily add not that I know or have an understanding of what the meaning.

I am thinking of GOD who IS love.

Seems to me we have only an understanding of GOD gives love. Totally different from the BEING who is "made up" of love, being love.

Oh, if I could have a revelation of this. Not just a revelation, but that I would live a microscopic bit of this! I'll be close to the true gospel. As John G Lake apparently said; the strong man's gospel.

This is what I saw

In unexpected places we can experience GOD showing HIS love.

Lesson 4: ISO

I am a day or so early with this lesson maybe 'catching up' with the rest is possible, will see. To learn how to venture beyond auto on your camera join Aimee. If you put the all purpose cleaner in the fridge then look for it all over the house, she can help. I have not experienced my brain being held together with this tutorials, but it is easy enough for me to have a bit of understanding of the how to.

To blow my own horn, firstly she said I may give me a pat on the back for finding the button to change the ISO on the back of the camera without consulting the beginning. WOW, I did get that right.

This was much easier than shutter speed. I got so excited I took lots of photo's and am putting many here.

It might be too small to see, enlarged you will also see that the photo's become grainier as the ISO increase. Clearly visible on the left hand bottom corner.
This photo was taken close to a north facing window (remember I'm in the Southern hemisphere) we do not have a west facing window, as Aimee said.

The window is a bit far from where I took these. It was taken without a flash or a light on in the room.
One can see how the photo's become brighter, and the graininess increases as the ISO increase.

Just to show my newly acquired knowledge to Jason I took photo's while cooking our supper.
The difference is wonderful!

Feeling hungry for that food now.

UFO in the eye

I like to have the house neat and tidy directly after we have supper. Specially on a Sunday evening, Monday morning arrives so quick. When I had the normal done plus a few things extra I was pleased with myself.

Went to lie down with Ethan before he sleeps, I still don't know how, I got something in the eye. Jumped up to use a mirror to get it out, no I didn't use the mirror, only for seeing... But nothing, none of us can see a thing. In a second my carefully created environment of peace was scattered.

Darkness! What happened, I can't see I can't see. No, I did not think that everyone knows when electricity goes out.

I tried 'rinsing' my eye with water and eye drops. Nothing doing it. That thing is staying.

Jason insisted  we go to the hospital, good time for being insistent. Why do these things always happen after hours. As far as we drove the power was out.

There I received a few drops of this and that, a local anaesthetic and a drop of yellow colour. Apparently that helps the doctor to see if there is any damage to the eye. Even the doc. could not see this unidentified foreign object in my eye.

With a nothing wrong there, a prescription, and a patch stuck over some hair, nose and the eye we were sent off. Oh, and don't forget the money. They are more expensive by the 10 minutes than what it is for lamb per kilo.
Ah, the power is back.
To find an open pharmacy is not possible. We ended at another hospital but the dispensary was closed too.


At the other hospital - just note, around the corner from us! and we went miles away. They were busy with a real emergency. The municipality was working on some municipality things to do with electricity and something happened. "There was an explosion"  how I was told.
Two guys got burned, one not too bad the other a bit more serious. Then I has happy for not having the electricity! What is a few minutes, even a whole week without power compared to the life of another's husband, father and son.

Longer story much shorter. It still felt like I had Table mountain in my eye when I woke Monday morning. Jason already left for work - yes, yes it does happen at times. I could not drive with one the eye shut, so Ethan and I took a walk to an eye specialist close by. Benefits of staying down town.


 What ever was there is not there any more. After he explained to me about corneas, cells, and nerves he said it is not too serious. Just use the drops and it must get better, even slightly worse is not good come back immediately.
With a "that I WILL do" we could get the drops next door from the pharmacy that was open by then.



Edited: I am confused, all the above is truth except the part about Sunday. No, I do like the house to be tidy, its the day it happened. It was actually already Monday.  Somewhere during the last three days I lost a day. Today is Wednesday, today is Wednesday, today ...

Lesson 3: Shutter speed

Remember Aimee, she is the one I am following to be able to use the camera better.
Like the previous time, this is just evidence of  the bit I learned.

This time our lesson was how to set the shutter speed.
She took photo's of her spraying sink tap, seeing our water comes in one stream I did no think it will work to follow this time. Tried to think of something that falls in a similar way. My solution was to use rice poured from one container to another. I suspect it had something to do with me using one had to pour and the other to hold the camera and take a picture, suffice to say unsuccessful. 

The area we were at this week got some rain. As I sat on the stoep (veranda) watching the rain it dawned on me;
rain = drops = shutter speed photo's

Firstly, I did not have a pen or paper ready to write the numbers down for each picture.
Specs = fast shutter
Streams = slow shutter.
That much I was able to remember

Fast shutter
The rain drops are visible.
Maybe because of the photo being out of focus does it look like there was just a sprinkling of rain.
Some photo's are brighter than others - I did not use the flash on any of them.

As the shutter speed changed the photo's became lighter and lighter.

 

After the next photo, it was completely white. 

Why would you say this happens?

The bottom photo was closer to where I sat.

 

Back at allowing the camera to take the decisions.

 

I can clearly see there is lots more I have to look at and master, before my snaps will start to look like photographs, but I'll get there.

Like the question: how does a millipede climb stairs?

One little leg, by one little leg, by one ....

(hoe klim 'n duisendpoot trappe? Voetjie vir voetjie, voetjie vir voetjie ...)

Remember Aimee is the place to go.

The good in forgetful co-workers, Mrs. Susan and sickness.

We were scheduled to leave on Sunday, back to the quiet place we stayed at last time when Jason did work. Rushing like a mad chicken the previous two days to get all done and fit in a social or two. We were all packed and ready, I dropped Jason to fetch the vehicle he will use. Three quarter way back home, he phoned saying I must come fetch him.
One co-worker decided to change the training schedule, for what ever reason omit to inform Jason. I have learned a bit to not be angry for such things, but to look and see the good that is there for us. To unpack a neat suitcase is so much easier.

My guys left to go play soccer. Jason came back with an injured hamstring. Again! At least as he gets more fit the intensity decreases.

During the month of January Mrs. Susan kept a record of who post a comment on that days post. At the end of this Bloggoversary of hers she would give away a book. Knowing I will be away for much of the month of January I did feel a tinge of disappointment. While Jason was busy injuring his muscles I relaxed at home catching up on a few blogs. Mrs. Susan revealed the book is coming to me.

It is a book written by Andrew Murray on prayer. Andrew Murray was a preacher in South Africa. I am aware that he was instrumental in many being saved. But have never read anything he wrote. I have heard of his words;
"May not a single moment of my life be spent outside the light, love, and joy of God's presence."

  In 2009 we visited the house where he grew up. It is now a period museum. His father was a preacher. I am not certain if he had one or two brothers who also became preachers.
He was the first president of the YMCA

In a sense this book is coming home. Home to its origin, also home to have a piece of Mrs. Susan whom I hope to meet some day.

Another exact fitting puzzle piece, Jason and I have been thinking and speaking a lot about prayer. Specifically on the LORD's prayer. (just a side note There are so many sermons, theories and theologies out 'there' that is so close to what is in the WORD, but it is not truth.)

On Monday morning Jason was sick. Sick because of his stretched muscle as well as something he thought at first to be a flu. Turned out he has tonsillitis.
Another good reason for us to rather have been at home than trying to have a peaceful time in the bush. We did not go this week we are still going.

Lesson 2: aperture

So you will know; this post is only about me taking lots of photo's of the exact same thing, one right after the other. The only objective to learn something, without spending lots of time at an institution nor paying a whole heap of money.


Found Aimee via a blog, via a blog, via ...You get the picture, I sit and doodle much it seems.
I have always wanted to take photographs instead of the pictures and snaps I do.Timelessly, I have given up reading through books, manuals and blog posts. This is the first time I have understood enough to actually take the camera and waded into the depths of changing one setting off auto.

I like how she describes the feeling of fear and anxiety I experience, shows me she knows exactly how it feels not to know. Totally different from what I used to experience, being shown I do not know and won't be or should not be able to know because this is rocket science. She is demystifying the numbers and language of  taking photo's.

 Enough of Aimee's praises. I am going to do what she shows, although I am already a few lessons behind some others, I can do what I can. Rather late than never is what I am focusing on.
(Yes, I know my packing and buying list has lots more to accomplish.It is there and lists are patient. So now I am doing THIS.)

All or any pun has been unintended.

We have one camera, I am the main user, I am the one turning out the worst infront of it. It is a FinePix S5600.
Aimee said for us to make sure the white balance and the ISO is set to automatic.
The white balance was easy enough to find. ISO? After referring to the manual I could still not find a place to check it. Will use it just like that and see what happens.

Try it all at once sister! While you're at it try upload a picture from the cell phone.
Go dig up the manual. Only a manual does not exist. After you loaded it onto your PC from a very small CD that you did not know is the CD with all the knowledge you are ready to go.

What I saw after I've gone manual on aperture.

As you can see, or not see, difficult to get those scribbles readable. In the rectangle, next to the 40 that is next to the red block with the A, is written F8 with an up and down arrow. I don't know  if it is the camera or my setting selection but I can only see 9 F numbers, compared to Aimee's 19!
(exactly why I don't like science, it is the same my experiments does not do what it should.) Then maybe photography IS rocket science. Or maybe I have reach my saturation point for electronics after the above mentioned cell(mobile) phone picture.


 
What I did find, is that nothing exploded and here is my first try at manual aperture.

 f 3.2

 f 3.6

 f 4

 f 4.5

f5

 f 5.6

f 6.4

f 7.1

f 8

Al right, I  am showing all, my brains was or is a bit slow. For this lesson I should rather have taken a row of objects. Following the principal of monkey sees monkey do.

Even still I am able to see 

a) the lower f number the more blinding the picture

b) my candle piece is not clearly distinguishable on the lowest f number.

Suppose I have then learned that if I am standing right infront of a window taking a photo of one specific thing, it is better to use the highest f number. On this camera.

Now a REALLY have to start with my list so we can leave tomorrow. 

I'll be printed versions of the next lessons maybe there will be opportunity to try these things.

The week in the bush

 This last week we have been away, again with Jason working and us two being on holiday 

while trying to also do some learning.

The morning started so much earlier there.

Always beautiful to have a brand new day. And knowing one has it makes it even more amazing.

The geese walking freely,

luckily they were not behaving like guarding geese,

else I would have been scared be outside.

Have you ever experienced a guard dog goose!?

Then to a forbidden spot for some respite.

Every day on our walk down the farm dirt road

we came across this small herd of cattle.

Their curiosity is a bit intimidating. 

To have a few meters between one of these and me was not really what I planned.

Believing they are used to people I chose to continue as if I am used to walking past them everyday too.