Love

Canon 5D Mark ll, 24-70 2.8L, 2.8 aperture, 1/13 shutter speed, 1250 ISO, tripod used to avoid camera shake

I couldn’t resist photographing someone in front of the spot lights and drizzling rain tonight. It was magic waiting to happen. The perfect subjects? My lovely Annie and my sweet horse Jackie. It was precious. I didn’t know how Jackie would  react to the house all lit up with Christmas lights, but she didn’t seem to notice. In fact a couple times she fell asleep with her chin resting on Annie’s hands. She is simply wonderful. She might come into the house if I ask her. Maybe later.

I have my Santa girl and a Christmas pony. That will bring a heart cheer, even in the rainy mist. Lots going on here at the Morgan house, as I am sure there is at yours. I am endeavoring to slow down and breathe in the beauty and joy of the season. Usually all I have to do is open my heart and eyes at the same time. I found it tonight in a spotlight, the rain, and a couple of very special subjects.

May the God of all hope meet you this day and cheer your heart.

Happy Thursday.

Romans 15:13 ~”May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Favorites

Horse Whispers

Sweet Friendship

Green Booted Cutie

Washing Mediocrity

Canon 5D Mark ll, 100 2.8 macro, 2.8 aperture, 1/125 shutter, 400 ISO

Have your ever noticed how deep the colors run in the rain’s washing of the earth? It as if creation reveals her truest self, and laughs like a child, face to the sky. And as mediocrity washes away with the dust, the colors gleam deeper.  All comes to life in the cleansing, including me.

Come and walk with me in the rain? Perhaps we will find the face of our Creator reflecting on shiny red leaves, glistening webs, or in the puddles at our feet. I think I can see Him resting there on your cheek, with your face to the sky.

Isaiah 6:3 ~ ““Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Gleaming Crimson

Face to the Sky

Reflections of Glory

Rain Kisses

Canon 5D Mark ll, 50 1.2L, 2.2 aperture, 1/100 shutter, 320 ISO

(In these images is the lovely LeeAnna Hoffman and her fiancé, Scott Channell. They are an amazing couple with one of the best love stories I have ever heard. Once they are married they will head to Hawaii with YWAM. They are both missionaries at heart. Love them.:))

It all started with an image I saw on Pinterest. It  looked like it was straight out of the movie The Notebook. If you have seen the movie, you know about the famous rain scene. Who can resist the raw emotion and passion depicted in that scene? Every girl wants to live it.  I wanted to try shooting it, but needed a willing couple. Enter LeeAnna and Scott, two artistic young lovebirds about to be married, and willing to try something new for the fun of it. They agreed to go out on a limb with me. The problem was I needed rain, and it wasn’t in the forecast. I put an inquiry out on twitter about creating rain for a photo shoot.  It wasn’t long before a couple friends sent a suggestion on how to make a rain-maker. Johnny put it all together in a couple hours today, and the results were fantastic.  I am including a few images from his creative process below, as well as some more stunning rain images.

Thank you LeeAnna and Scott for going on this adventure with me, and thank you Johnny for building it!

What you will need for your own rain-maker:

2  2×6 boards placed crossed over one another and screwed together at the center

4  1×2 pieces of wood used as braces around the center of the cross

50 foot garden hose

32 plastic zip ties

drill

long piece of rope to secure it in the tree you will be placing it in

end cap for the hose

One sweet young man to build it for you if you can’t figure it out.:)

Basic Structure

Securing the Hose

Handsome Hardworking Boy

And then you have this. Because love should be passionate, and because the best line of all time is  “Hey, rain looks good on you.”.

Let it Rain

Free in the Rain

Serious Moment

Rain Looks Good on You

Shine

Play

Be Mine

Holding Love

Canon 5D Mark ll, 50 1.2L, 1.4 aperture, 1/100 shutter, 400 ISO

I call him down to the muscadine trellis, just as the rain begins to fall. It is our haven, a place we both dreamed of. I brought the vines home ten years prior, and he and Johnny built the frame to hold the heavy tendrils. Now, the vines hang with fruit, ripe and ready for picking. They are just out of my reach, but he gathers them for me and we pop sweetness into our mouths and smile. We are not completely sheltered from the rain, as the drops run down his cheek and fog up my lens. I am trying to capture this, endeavoring to frame this moment. We are veterans of the rain. We fell in love as we walked in it, over 25 years ago. He told me it looked good on me back then and I swooned. I still do.

Frame This Moment

He is wearing my new favorite shirt. He is handsome and huggable all at the same time. I move in closer, breathing in his warmth. It is just us, under the muscadine vines. I cannot believe how blessed I am. This moment, this husband, this place.

Favorite Shirt

The rain gets heavier, louder. We are both getting soaked now. He gently smiles and I know he is graciously obliging me. He knows me now. He knows I am trying to capture the moment, to hold it awhile longer. The rain does not hinder me. It holds me, deepening my awareness, my skin coming alive with my heart. He has spent many years a willing student of all that is me, and he loves me, in spite of my many weaknesses. He has taught me much about love, this man.

Faithful

I wrap up my images and my thoughts and kiss him. I love this man. I am so grateful that after all these years, we still rendezvous in the rain.

Rainy Rendezvous

Me and You

Shelter

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ~ “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

Kingdom Reflections

Canon 5D Mark ll, 24-70 2.8L, 4.0 aperture, 1/1000 shutter, 100 ISO

Seemingly out of nowhere, it comes. The drenching, thunderous rain of a summer storm. Limbs humbly bend  and flowers bow their heads under the weight of the pelting drops. The parched earth drinks quickly but not fast enough, and the water puddles into soft shapes on the driveway.

Moments later, it is over. The clouds recede and the sky turns azure blue, relieved of its burden. Now is my favorite time to peek into another world. It is a brief time, when water and light mix just right, and I get a glimpse of eternity. Puddled up, there in the gravel, I can see traces of Heaven. A Kingdom that is both near and far away. Can you see it too? Held there, in the mundane pebbles of earth, a glimpse of glory, a reflection of a life we remember somehow but do not yet fully know. It’s like Lucy finding the wardrobe, in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, remembering that she is part of another world, but just can’t place it somehow. I can feel the pull, as I gaze into the puddle. I belong somewhere else.

Traces of Eternity

The traces are everywhere, after a storm. It is almost as if the clashing of atoms has forced open a window. A window into another life. Drops cling to all that will have them, mixing with the brilliant sunlight, scattering prisms of color over the earth. My heart flutters. There! And there again! Each drop is like a tiny mirror, reflecting the upside down Kingdom, where a great King comes to serve, and being the greatest means loving the least.  

I capture what I can, as the window softly closes, the rain soaking into the earth. My heart full, I am grateful. I know it is just a preview of what is to come. Until then, I will linger when I can where water and light meet, hoping to get another glimpse of eternity.

I Corinthians 2:9 ~ “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”–

Happy in the Rain

Canon 5D Mark ll. 50 1.2L, 1.2 aperture, 1/13 shutter, 1250 ISO, two continuous spots aimed at the house behind Katie. Tripod used to keep camera steady.

Initially, I just asked her to stand in the rain under the umbrella. She really didn’t want to. She was studying for an exam and not feeling well. We both were tired. But as the storm rolled in, I found myself wanting to get out in it somehow. After some ( gentle) urging, she disappeared and returned wearing her rain boots. Suddenly, there she was. Katie, my little girl again.

Funny how the rain can do that. Return us to childhood. Make us forget why our jaws are clenched, our hands gripped tight. Just the feel of it pattering down, soaking clothes, smearing the lines between childhood and adulthood. Fingers unfurl and reach out to hold it.  Instantly, we are in a moment, feeling free, laughing, suspended over the worries that tether us to the earth. Yes, rain can do all of that.  Once in the rain, Katie danced. We laughed. It was magic.

Sometimes we just need someone to edge us out there. C,mon. It’s raining. Let’s go dance in it.

Rain Dance

Let it Rain

Soaking It In

Mary Janes in the Rain

Canon 5D Mark ll, 50 1.2L, 1.4 aperture, 1/25 shutter, 1600 ISO

Ever since I can remember, I have been a “get in the middle of it” kind of girl. I don’t know really know what to call it. My mom always called me “Pig Pen” from the Peanuts Gallery. Looking back, I don’t think this was really a criticism. It was just how I was. She said she would get me all cleaned up, only to find me sitting in a mud puddle again, or playing with some animal in the dirt.

While working on this project, I have loved the feel of paint spattering onto my face during Katie’s paint drumming session, the shavings flying all around me while capturing Johnny cutting wood, and the cold rain on my face and hands while Johnny swung around a lamp post for me in the rain at the mall.

Chris and I went to the movies tonight and it was miserably rainy and cold on the way in the theater and even worse on the way out. These days I bring my camera with me everywhere, so I had it with me. Upon leaving the theater, I was immediately captivated by the site of my patent leather Mary Jane heels in the rain. The juxtaposition of the conservative nature of the shoes and the childlike freedom of the rain was so compelling to me. I ran through some puddles and began to photograph my feet, all the while getting completely soaked. Immediately, I was that little girl again, feeling alive and free. I laughed out loud as Chris watched me from the side of the nearest building, just looking at me and smiling. He has learned to be patient with me, and even appreciate these parts of my personality. This is more than I could have ever asked for, to be doing something so seemingly absurd, and yet feel completely supported and loved. I am a blessed woman.

Before long, I was jumping up on brick walls, iron grates and looking at my shoes in every possible texture and light. (Can you picture this?) Unaware of my surroundings, I heard a soft laugh coming from an older man who was walking past me, umbrella in hand. He was still smiling as he crossed the street. I don’t think he was making fun. I think the sight of  me and my shenanigans just took him by surprise.

This project has already helped me become more comfortable in environments where I once would have worried about what people thought. I am learning life is just too short for that, and I would rather get the shot then worry if people think I am a little strange. There is too much life to be had, too much to feel, too many puddles to sit in for that to hold me back. I am strange, and I kind of like it.

Time to live.

Holding onto the Light

Canon 5D Mark 2 50mm 1.2L, 1.4 aperture, 1/100 shutter, 2000 ISO

This taken on the eve of finding out a close friend of one of our daughters is missing. All of our hearts are heavy, but still looking to God for a miracle. For hope. We seek the the Light in the darkness, in the rain. We are lost without Him.

“He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.”  ~Daniel 2:22

Yes, oh great God, we look to You. Shine your light. Hold our hearts.

It has been raining here in Atlanta for weeks now. We are breaking all kinds of records and several lives have been lost.  It is very hard on everyone, the constant day in and day out of rain, rain, rain. We have also had all kinds of sickness going on in my house, including a stay in the hospital with my youngest last week.

So, I am continuing to stroke the chords of hope and creativity by looking through some of my favorite photos, and happier times. Here are a few more of my favorites. I am hoping to hang some of them as canvasses someday soon. Praying for sunshine…