Mother Nature Says Even Though the Calendar Says It's Spring--

Winter isn't over yet.

  

Not enough to close roads, but enough to cover the ground with beautiful, beautiful snow.

Wedding of Jessica Miller and Kevin Fetsch

Since my regular lens is currently out-of-commission (in need of fixing), when I attended the wedding of my friends, Jessica Miller and Kevin Fetsch, I used only my iPhone for all my images. Since it's not the latest, the sharpness is limited by its 5 mega-pixel camera, but I think I was able to capture the essence of the event. I instagram'd the highlights of my edit, with the #Mr&MrsFetsch.

    

   

Finally! Let It Snow!!!

Riley (left) and Dudley check out the yard after the big snow.

Punxsutawney Phil predicted that Winter would be ending early. And I groaned, because I like cold weather and we'd had so little snow this winter. While Phil said early Spring, Mother Nature had other ideas.

Within two weeks, she dumped two major snow storms on the Kansas City-area, the first brought over 12 inches of snow, the second another 12 inches. Kansas City being Kansas City, that meant road closings and I ended up with 4 snow days from work.

    

Because my dogs are so short, I had to dig out a trench along the side of the house that they could do their business in.

        

Traveling to Chicago for Labor Day

For Labor Day, I traveled to Chicago with my friend, Taylor. These are some Instagram images from the trip.

    
    
Chicago architecture. Top left is one of the city's libraries. The bottom right is one of the glass buildings. As we were walking by this building, I realized that it was really the reflection of the building next to it that I was seeing. I thought that optical illusion was pretty cool, so I took a picture of it.

Portrait for Advances in Nursing Science Blog

 

In the Volume 35, Issue 3 issue of Advances in Nursing Science, one of the faculty in the School of Nursing, Martha Baird, had an article published, Well-Being in Refugee Women Experiencing Cultural Transition. The article focused on her research which led to her development of the Theory of Well-being in Refugee Women in Cultural Transition, a situation-specific theory of wellness among South Sudanese refugees living in the Midwest. Along with the article in the journal, the research was highlighted on the ANS: Advances in Nursing Science Blog. The journal requested a picture for the blog and I was given the task of taking a picture of Martha and her friend and colleague, Rebecca Mabior. It can be challenging to photograph darker skin tones, because the camera can meter wrong and then things are over exposed. I have much experience with it, so I was confident, when I took on the task, that it would not present too much of a challenge. I searched out a location in the School of Nursing whose background wouldn't be too distracting but would provide enough light to make a good picture. Martha and Rebecca liked the idea of the plant in the background.

These images were taken in the atrium of the School. I white balanced in-camera before taking the picture, so that I wouldn't have to do it in post-production. Dealing with their height was a little challenging, and I would have like to have a step-stool for Martha, but one wasn't available. I think they turned out quite well.

Ethnic Enrichment Festival in Swope Park

Pictures from my trip to the Ethnic Festival in Swope Park. Put on by the Ethnic Enrichment Commission, this "Taste the World" festival features more than 66 different cultures selling their native foods and crafts and performing ethnic music and dances. The festival is held during the third full weekend of August near the front entrance of historic Swope Park. All but the bottom picture are Instagram pictures.


The crowd walking toward the Ethnic Festival.

The Wedding of Melissa Goodell and Janus Abello - 24 June 2012

The part of the ceremony officiated by Vince Hawkins, lead minister of the Columbia Church of Christ.

This past weekend, I traveled to Columbia, Missouri, to attend the wedding of my friends, Melissa Goodell and Janus Abello. Both the ceremony and the reception were held at Columbia College. They chose to have their ceremony on a Sunday, which is a little unusual, but I liked that I could drive down to Columbia after church.

I first met Melissa when she moved to Columbia to be closer to her then-boyfriend, Brandon. Being from Boston, we instantly bonded over our shared love of the Red Sox. One of my earliest memories with her is watching 'Fever Pitch' with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore and relishing thoughts of Fenway Park. That and helping her learn how to drive a manual-transmission car. And Janus, I can't remember when I met him, but I've known him for a while. He's originally from Anchorage, Alaska, and came to Columbia to study at the University of Missouri. I think it's pretty cool how God brought them both thousands of miles from home to meet each other, took them halfway across the world to Novosibirsk, Russia, for them to fall in love, and then solidify that love into marriage back in Columbia, Missouri.

Here's some of my favorites:

   

Maks, the lead minister of the Novosibirsk Church of Christ, traveled to Columbia to be part of their wedding. He prayed in Russian (left). The vows portion (right) was officiated by the other minister in the Columbia church, Jason Touchatt. Melissa cries as Janus read his vows. I cried, too. They were great. He talked about how parts of Melissa's character initially scared him because they were so amazing.

A Baptism in Omaha

While up visiting friends in Omaha, I was able to volunteer to photograph a baptism of Amanda Meyer. Beyond her salvation, the baptism represented the joining of the couple in a common faith.