Pastor Paul - Wiser than ever.

Pastor Paul playing on the River Rats Baseball Team

What does courage look like?  You see it in the actions of the one who has it.  It is not a static quality, like height or IQ.  You may not even know it is there when it is not needed.  After all, courage is only ever seen when it is needed, and not everyone possesses it in the same measure, or even at all.

Pastor Paul has done some amazing things in his life.  He had a successful career as a sports broadcaster for a popular radio station.  Then he received his calling for going into the ministry.  He stepped up to the plate, figuratively speaking.  No doubt there was a certain amount of uncertainty and soul searching - the kind it takes when making such a monumental transition.  Yet he went to bat with a 100% conviction that it was what had to be done.  That took courage.

We have enjoyed Pastor Paul at our church for a little over two years.  His education and training complete; he stepped up to the mound and gave it his all.  He was well received, and evidence was all around that it was the right move.  Just settling into his new position, with things just starting to settle down and form some assemblage of routine, then he had a serious curve ball thrown at him - and from out of nowhere.  He had a heart attack.

A strong, vibrant young man with a family to care for was suddenly struck down, and at the beginning of his new career no less.  It could have been devastating - like a triple play in the world series - with disastrous consequences.  Yet Grace was on his side, and he received three stents in his coronary arteries to return the flow of blood to his ailing heart.  Stricken, but not out, he chose to play on.

Some would have called it quits then and there.  Some would question why this would happen, give up hope and fall into a deep depression.  Pastor Paul did what all courageous people do when they are down and the odds are against them; he fought back.  With determination in his eyes and hope in his soul, he overcame the chasm between where he was and where he wanted to be.  He would tell you that it was God who healed him; that it was all part of His plan and that he was only doing what any good servant would do.  But inside is still the man that made it happen, and pushed his way to better health with a positive attitude.

It has not been that long since his stent operation, but Paul has been making a comeback.  He has joined the church's baseball team.  He is taking other precautions to make sure that he does not face the same hurdle again. I have had the pleasure of playing with Pastor Paul on the baseball team.  He plays with the same determination on the field as he has while struggling with other challenges life has thrown at him.  His actions on the field are a metaphor for his behaviour in life.  "Well done, good and faithful servant, well done."

River Rats Run Rampant

Maple Ridge Alliance Church  -  River Rats baseball team at play.

Yesterday, from 3:45 until 7:30, the River Rats, a church fielded baseball team, was at play in the Langley Christian Baseball League.  We (me included) played three games in a row on Saturday; some of us were still feeling the strained muscles and sore bodies from our game on Friday, the previous day.   Not that those things prevented everyone from showing up.  Commitment to team and a naturally competitive spirit allowed each to rise above such minor annoyances.  Besides, no one wanted to be a wuss.

The weather was excellent, as was the company, and I very much enjoyed playing in a league where winning, although desirable, was not the ultimate achievement.  I found the comradery between players, on both sides, jovial and light-hearted.  There was the usual banter found in baseball, with a side of good-natured ribbing thrown in.  I gave as good as I got, and no one left with hurt feelings.  I suppose the exception to that was my legs - the feelings in them were plenty hurt.

I am far from an accomplished player.  In the spectrum between novice to professional I fall between incompetent and almost useful.  I felt I made a few good plays, and I have to admit to a certain primal satisfaction at smacking the ball at what, for me, was a considerable distance.  The fact it made it past the infield was worthy of being remembered in a song of lore, or maybe having my name inscribed in the sand somewhere.  I also can attest to making it past first base when my turn to bat was up, but only because I was walked, and a lady was next to bat.  If you don't know what I am talking about, let me fill you in a bit.

I never played baseball, other than scrub, as a kid, but I feel I have a good grasp of the rules.  I have to tell you though that the rule book for this league must put the New York Telephone Directory to shame for its size.  There is a rule for every conceivable play.  There are rules for what a foul ball looks like.    A foul ball after two strikes makes you out.  Pitches have to be higher than this but lower than that, and that is before the ball even gets to the plate.  Outfielders have to stay behind a certain line when a lady bats, and they can't throw them out at first base by a direct toss.  Then there is the lady on deck rule I previously mentioned.  If the batter is walked, he or she gets two bases.

Admittedly, much of the jargon and language used during the game was lost on me.  It did not stop me from having fun though, and I felt well supported by my colleagues who summoned all kinds of positive banter when I was involved in a play.  It is nice to be accepted, even appreciated, when you are not the top one out there, or even close to that.  That, to me, is a true mark of sportsmanship.

A tribute to my father, Eric A. Svendsen.

Eric A. Svendsen in front of a cold war era plane, a submarine hunter - the Neptune.

My dad, Eric A. Svendsen, was born in 1932 on a farm in Stettler, Alberta.  His five brothers and two sisters grew up working the land and appreciating what you can achieve through determination.  He, like my uncles, joined up with the Canadian forces.  Too young for the second world war and too old for Vietnam, most of them did not see much in the way of combat, although one of my uncles served with the United Nations in Cyprus.  Papa, as we called him growing up, and Pop later on, served his country for a total of 23 years in both the airforce and the army.

He became a navigator of larger aircraft.  Stationed out of Gander, Newfoundland, he flew in Neptune anti-submarine planes looking for foreign U-boats off our eastern coast.  He met my mom there and eventually married her.  They eventually moved to Ontario where they had three children; I am the oldest and have both a brother and sister.  In 1977 at the age of 45, he retired from the armed forces and moved us all out to Alberta.  It wasn't long before the economy turned upside down and he lost everything he had worked for.  The family was struggling as well with serious issues, and he soon found himself out of work.

His commitment to family and the belief that hard work and determination will pay off brought him through some very tough years.  I have always appreciated how he persevered when many others would have faltered.  It is difficult to imagine how he must have felt; his generation was never given to sharing thoughts and feelings.  I believe he did the best he could with what he was dealt.  What more can be asked of someone?

My dad's number one physical attribute is his height.  At six feet six inches tall, he towers above most in any room he enters.  He always enjoyed watching me attempting to procure something from an upper shelf, stretching to my limit even when standing on a chair.  He would stroll over, taking only a few strides to cover whatever the distance was and reach well beyond my augmented grasp with ease.  The funny part about this is that he continues to do it today.  He just loves being tall, although the scars on top of his head could make you believe it is not always such a great asset.

My mom developed pancreatic cancer and passed at the age of 65.  He looked after her to the end; she died at home.  Pop was not sure if remarriage was for him, but a loving lady, ten years his senior, changed his mind.  They had three great years, but then she developed Alzheimer's.  Three years later Mary also passed, and at home where he cared for her.  Then came the whirlwind called Roberta.

If ever there was a woman to be his equal in spirit and determination, it was her.  My dad phoned me to tell me the news about their upcoming nuptials.  She took the phone and told me, and I quote, "Your father is an honourable man."  Truer words were never spoken.  They married and traveled the continent.  My dad's passion was driving.  He could drive for 48 hours straight, although Roberta wasn't fond of the notion.  Whether it was a Sidekick, Towncar, or their class A diesel pusher, he was often found behind the wheel.  I enjoyed traveling with him when I was young as it gave me a chance to spend some one-on-one time with him.  

After ten years of a wonderful partnership, Roberta also developed pancreatic cancer.  Again, as before, he looked after her until her time was up.  She did spend a few days in hospice, at her request.  Looking after the dying was getting harder for him.  Being an octogenarian was challenging enough, let alone one with a pacemaker and congestive heart failure.  

Today he is with Janet.  Theirs is a unique friendship.  They enjoy each others company and look after each other.  My dad has always enjoyed the company of a lady, and Janet is certainly that.  He fell and broke his hip two days ago.  She was there to get him help and has stayed by his side through it all.  Yesterday he had surgery and today he is up doing physio.  He will meet this new obstacle as he has met all the others.  One day he too will pass.  But it is not today.  No, he still has a fight in him and there is little that will prevent him from pressing on.  'Way to go, dad!  'Way to go.

A Go Kart Birthday Party.

Celebrating Hudson Silk's Birthday.

It was a day to remember.  Not the actual day Hudson was born on, mind you.  That wouldn't have worked out because his birthday wish was to experience the thrills of Go Karting, and it was not open during the winter months.  So, he had to do something all teenage boys hate - wait.  Yet he did it with composure and stamina; the day would eventually come.

It was on Easter weekend that his wish would come true.  His family and a close friend traveled to the nearest race track and braced themselves for what was to be Go Kart Glory.  His adopted uncle came along to photograph the event.  Each heat was to last seven minutes; an eternity when adrenalin is attempting to remove your heart from your chest.  There were to be three heats all together.  The whole event, from start to finish, took about an hour.  It was glorious.

Now, I could be making up how much Hudson really enjoyed the friendly competition.  I shot about 670 at the venue; many of them featuring the birthday boy.  His smile stretched from ear to ear in many of them.  He didn't just like it, he loved it.  It takes only a brief examination of the top photograph to see that.  He reveled in the challenge.  Each curve fraught with excitement, the strait-a-ways exhilarating with acceleration, and the chance to pass dad was priceless.  Everyone was on equal terms here.

When it was finished the party-goers received a printout of their times.  Average track times were near a minute for each complete circuit.  Hudson's were near the top.  But achieving top rank was not the goal, and Hudson came out a winner.  His birthday wish fulfilled and everyone excited about their experience, we headed out for ice cream.  A suitable reward for champions.  Happy Birthday Hudson!

Children have to move. Hudson Silk.

Hudson Silk doing Parkour

Movement.  It's that simple.  The colloquialism, "Move it or lose it" is well founded.  It doesn't matter what your age is, it doesn't matter if you are too busy, and it certainly doesn't matter if you don't feel like it.   How many other excuses are there?  Thousands.

A great example of this is captured in the above image.  It can be hard to encourage young people to be active.  There are so many other things to do, and the commanding presence of electronics in their lives is constantly drawing them away from more important activities.  This is hardly unique to young people though.  How many of us are prevented from being active because of the lure of brightly coloured screens compounded by the deterrence of laziness?  The trick is to find a passion.

I want to encourage parents who have "tried everything" to get their children to be active but feel as though they have failed.  Keep at it.  Even the process of looking for something encourages them to move.  With each contraction, the muscles and bones grow stronger and the brain improves the body's coordination.  Even if they stop after six months, they just had six months of movement which would have not otherwise happened.

Hudson, the boy above, has parents who also have tried numerous things to get him interested in something; anything.  Then came along parkour.  This involves a gymnastics facility and the goal is to get around things blocking your way.  What's cool about it is that there are lots of ways to do this, and each technique exercises different muscles and all of it develops coordination and gross motor skills.

There is a solution out there, not only for the children but also for you.  Keep moving, you will only be all the better for it.

It's all about relationships.

Photograph relationships, not just people.

As a photography instructor, I help others improve their photos through a variety of technical and practical suggestions.  One of the non-technical methods is simple; photograph relationships, not people.

People could be a group of individuals with nothing more in common than belonging to the Homo sapiens club.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it is our common history, genetics, and interests which facilitates relationships.  People bond, they develop friendships, and they become part of each other's lives.  When possible, I like to shoot that relationship.

The above photo was taken at a wedding I shot yesterday.  I do not know much about the people in the shot, but you don't have to.  The way they are interacting tells you a lot.  They have a common history, they enjoy the company of the other, and they are at ease together.  Whatever their particular relationship, it is clear that they are friends.  Maybe they are related, maybe they are neighbours, maybe they have been friends since grade school.  None of that matters, what matters is the relationship they have.

If I took the above image, cropped it so that it was just individual faces, and presented each one with a shot of themselves, we could probably predict what their reactions would be.  Few people like to see pictures of themselves.  We tend to be overly critical of the way we look.  There is always something negative to focus on.  On the other hand, give each one the shot above and you will have a different reaction.  It is not a shot of people pers say, it is a photo of a relationship.

When you are shooting an event with an aggregation of people, look for relationships.  Look for natural groupings which occur.  You can even prod some by asking them to find someone to be in a photo with them.  "Can I take a picture of you?" is much more daunting and uncomfortable than, "Can I photograph the two of you together?"  People care about relationships.  Use that to improve your photos.

Thanks for reading.

Introducing Andrew and Hannah Croswell

The Croswell wedding party.

Today Andrew Croswell and Hannah Musick were married at a small church in Maple Ridge.  I had the honour of photographing their ceremony and reception.  It was a small event; the church could barely hold more than 60 people.  The reception was pot luck, and there were no speeches.  What the wedding lacked in pizzaz though it made up for in warmth, charm, and plenty of love and affection. 

As a photographer my job is relatively simple; run around with a camera and photograph anything that looks like it is important.  Be there early, bring way too much equipment because you never know what you will need or what may go wrong, and help without getting in the way.  The church was small and dark and presented some difficult challenges.  Good equipment and some idea of how to use it goes a long way.  I really appreciated the effort that was put in by the family and friends of the couple to make the atmosphere attractive and easier to shoot in. 

It was wonderful to see Andrew and Hannah begin their new life together.  They were surrounded by the people that love them and that they love.  Celebrating the start of their new life together and making the whole thing fun and memorable was the theme of the day.  There was tremendous appreciation and great respect for every person present.  I am thankful that I had a chance to be part of that.

All the best Andrew and Hannah in your marriage.  You started it off right.