Tag: Photography

Inside Boyd’s Jig & Reel

We wanted live music, but not in an overcrowded bar. We thought about going down to Nashville and finding something there. But there are too many tourists. This wasn’t the case at Boyd’s. It was really a quiet night for the pub, since it was a Tuesday, but it had the sound of Bluegrass music, and some decent food.

Here is the view from inside the pub for a dash more photography.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons.

 

The Hope of a Slow Growing Burr Oak

When we moved into our home, almost 2 years ago, it became obvious that the previous owners had one love in life: watching NFL football. We gathered this because there were televisions mounted to the walls in the living room, every bedroom, and there were three in the den. They were kind enough to leave us all the wall mounts, which we quickly put on the curb for disposal. I don’t think they ever imagined we wouldn’t follow their lead, and mount 15 televisions throughout the house. We have one.

But the real problem with people like that is that they don’t care for the yard, or the house itself. People like the previous owners should be renters, not owners. Just look at the pictures of the back yard when we moved in back in August of 2022.

Sparse.

But they did try to add some curb appeal out front. In fact, the yard out front under the big oak, was actually in good shape. It was filled with St. Augustine grass. The rest of the yard was mostly weeds, and three, newly planted trees. One of which was this Burr Oak.

As you can see, this burr oak isn’t very big. Maybe a foot tall, and it has been about that size since we moved in back two years ago. There were times where the weeds and grass in the front yard almost obscured its existence all together. I had to put those yellow warning flags around it, so that my boys wouldn’t mow over it when they were helping me in the yard.

It’s a small tree.

This morning, while cutting the grass, I had to stop, get the hand shears, and cut the St. Augustine away from the trunk. I got my shovel out and worked to get the roots of the grass out, then added some mulch around the base. I love this tree.

Some might say: why not plant a Bradford Pear, it will grow 25 feet in 5 years? Because it will be dead in 15 years.

Not a burr oak. The burr oak is a tree that can last as long as 400 years. It only grows about a foot every year, so it is a slow growing tree.

I need to remind myself of this. I’m not caring for this tree, for my benefit, but for some future homeowner. I seriously doubt I will ever sit in the shadow of this tree, unless I pass out from the Texas heat, an just so happen to fall next to it.

But there is a deeper spiritual truth illustrated by this tree that is helpful to me in my ministry. The way this tree grows, is often times the way the LORD chooses to grow the church. The roots of this tree are going deep, and the branches are slowing going upwards. This is exactly what ministers should want in the growth of their churches. They should desire that the roots of the gospel are going deep in the parishioners, while they slowly produce sprititul fruit of their own.

This burr oak may not produce any acorns for some time, but it will. It may not provide any shade in the near future, but when does, it will be magnificent. This oak may not even be noticed for years, but when it is noticed, it will point back to God and His glory.

All these truths help us to see the greater reality of building Christ’s Kingdom and the church. Elders and pastors have to ask ourselves: what are we trying to grow?

Sure, we can use the ways of the world, with flashy concert-like worship services, lots of entertainment, smoke machines and loud praise teams to build the church. In fact, that is more often than not, the approach many take. But to do so, has consequences and those consequences are not good.

Paul put it like this in 1 Corinthians 3.

For no one is able to lay another foundation than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, straw, 13 the work of each one will become evident. For the day will reveal it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the work of each one, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work that he has built upon it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but so as through fire.

The question is: what are you going to build the church with? Gold, silver, precious stones, which Leithard see as true believers in the church, or wood, grass, and straw, which are more like tares. Who are we going to appeal to?

This has always been my fight as a pastor. Yes, we can put on shows, adopting the ways of the world, and draw large crowds, but Jesus told Peter, “Feed my sheep.” In doing that, we must realize that we don’t have the freedom to use the wisdom of the world. For us to be faithful, and truly feed His sheep, we must use the means HE has given us: the preaching of the word of God, prayer, and the sacraments. These are the things that work in the lives of believers. These are the tools He has given us to work in the body of Christ.

In doing so, it’s going to take a long time. This is why the burr oak gives me hope. It reminds me, that what I’m doing as a pastor, is slow work. We might not produce a great deal of noticeable fruit for a while. We might not provide a lot of shade in the near future. But we are not working just for the near future. We plow in hope, grow burr oaks in hope, not for our benefit. We may never see the fruit of our labor. For the tree we have planted is not a Bradford Pear, here today with lots of entertainment and smoke machines, but gone tomorrow. We a planting for the future.

That takes time.

I’m grateful the former owners planted the burr oak. I shall water it, fertilize it, keep the St. Augustine off of it, and let God cause the growth.

Here is our backyard as of a few a moments ago. I believe we are to take dominion of all that we have been given. Hopefully you can see the difference.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons, 2024.

Pericope!

It’s been a while since we’ve had a cat update. Turns out that Pericope is obviously the more photogenic. She is always climbing in or on something. Her sister, Synecdoche, is the more timid cat. In fact, we call her Lard Butt since she is bigger, and rarely tries to jump on anything higher than an Ottoman. She evens struggles jumping up onto our bed.

Not Pericope. She finds a way to get onto and into everything.

And finally, one of Synecdoche.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons, 2024.

A Painted Garage

I hate white walls so much, I had to paint the walls in my garage. I love doing things in there, so it does matter. But before any of you say those wretched words: “man cave,” please note that my garage is not a man-cave. It’s a garage. If something needs the adjective “man” before it to make it acceptable, then it has already failed. Men don’t need to apply the word “man” in front of what we do, for legitimacy. We don’t wear buns. We don’t carry purses. We don’t need rooms labeled “man this or that.” In fact, in a man’s house, every room is his. If he is married, like I am, every room is ours. OK, enjoy the photo.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons, 2024.

Colors

I’ve had a dry spell lately in photography. Not that I have pulled out the camera, but I haven’t been pleased with the results when I have. Here are a few that jump out at me, especially the coffee cups.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons, 2023. 

The Iconic Churchill: A Story for My Fellow Photographers

I found this wonderful tidbit about the photographer who took the most iconic picture of Church in Andrew Roberts biography, Churchill: Walking with Destiny. I immediately thought my fellow photographers would enjoy the story. If you have ever had to work with people in setting up a photo, you will appreciate Yousuf Karsh’s persistence. The photo was taken after Churchill gave a speech to the Canadian Parliament in 1942.

Roberts writes:

Immediately after the speech, Churchill was led into the Speaker’s chamber by Mackenzie King, where the young Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh was waiting to take his picture. He seemed reluctant as he had not been warned this would happen, but conceded that Karsh could take one photograph. ‘I offered him an ash-tray for his cigar but he pointedly ignored it, his eyes boring into mine,’ Karsh recalled. ‘At the camera, I made sure everything was in focus, closed the lens and stood up, my hand ready to close the shutter for release, when something made me hesitate.’  Karsh then said, ‘Forgive me, sir,’ and without permission removed the cigar from Churchill’s mouth. ‘His jaw tightened in belligerence; his eyes blazed. I clicked the shutter. ‘ The result was the greatest of all the thousands of images of Churchill, capturing his resolution, defiance and solidity, and, as Karsh noted, also his capacity for belligerence. It was not the only photo of Churchill taken by Karsh that day – he was allowed to take at least eight others, and one with Mackenzie King after Churchill had assumed a more benign attitude’ – but it is the one that fully deserves the overworked adjective ‘iconic’. It was the cover of Life magazine in May 1945 and became the defining image of him, and can be seen on the dust jacket of this book.

I’m glad Karsh had the courage to remove the cigar. It’s a great picture, the one on the cover below.

 

Monochrome Monday: Aggieland

I always enjoy being able to take photos at Texas A&M University. It is where I really had my photography skills refined back in the late 1980s when I was a student in the journalism department.

Going back with a digital camera is a delight. I was using a Canon AE-1 back in the day. Working for the Aggieland Yearbook, we rolled our own black and white film, processed it, and spent hours in the dark room printing photos. The senior in charge of photography really taught me how to take black and white and get it to pop with contrast. He was always telling us that he wanted to see both the whitest whites, and the blackest blacks in every photo. I still hold to that principle today and rejoice at the ease editing software makes the task. Those who actually worked in dark rooms developing photos will remember the countless filters we would go through getting the right level of contrast.

For the record, I didn’t have my digital Canon on this shoot. I had to use my iPhone. Since the boys and I were there to see the Aggies play, we were told that I wouldn’t be able to bring my camera inside the stadium, so I left it inside the car.

Amazing that my iPhone SE actually takes better pictures than my old Canon AE-1. No one could have imagined that I would be walking the A&M campus with a phone, much less, one that took really great photos.

My son Andy in front of the statute of John David Crow. He was the first Aggie to win the Heisman Trophy back in the 1950s.

The 12th Man statue.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons, 2021. 

Monochrome Monday: Pine Creek Country Inn

Heidi and I took off for an evening over in Nacogdoches again. We were meeting up with a pastor and his wife on Saturday night, and then attending church on Sunday morning. In the meantime, after our last visit there and the experience of staying in a disComfort Inn Suites, she went to work finding something off the beaten path.

Pine Creek Country Inn was deep enough in the woods that we didn’t have cell phone service, wifi, or internet. About the only use for our phones was telling the time, playing Toon Blast, and taking pictures. Which is why I have some pics this morning.

It is the perfect place to get away. We needed peace and quiet that comes deep inside a forest, away from the constant and irritating hum of a city, the never ending flash of the news cycle on social-media and all they hype therein. The only thing we forgot was a good book to read. However, we did have the Good Book and spent time reading that, which was far more profitable.

Overall, a great place to rest for a day or two.

I’m not sure what makes a section of the woods a bird sanctuary, but they claimed we were in one. I didn’t see any birds to speak of. Now cats????

Lots of cats. Hhm? Don’t cats chase and eat birds? Seems like there was some educational films regarding the phenomenon when I was a kid, involving a bird named Tweety.

We stayed in room number 20. It’s one of the cheapest rooms at the place. It’s just a bathroom and a bedroom. The rest of the lodging were actual cabins.

Just a tad bit too cold.

Did I mention cats?

All photos are copyright © Timothy J Hammons, 2021. 

Rocky Rock Art — Summer Rerun

Originally run in February 2019.

These wonderful rock formations are done in Grenwelge Park on the Llano River, in Llano, TX. I’m sure there are some religious connotations to some of them. But the rest are just rocks on top of each other, which we can call “art.”

The Llano River busted its banks recently and I would love to drive back and see how many of these formations still remain. But then, that is probably the joy of it for those who take the time to stack the rocks. They know they can do it all over again. Kind of like the people who find fascination in building castles in the sand while at the beach. Only, the rock formations have a tendency to last longer.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons 2021.