June 30, 2021 a thought for today, No attention is paid to him who is always complaining. Kenyan Proverb

Yesterday I got a call to see if I could come and help with our church food pantry. It has been about a year since I have helped (it was being held in the parking lot as curbside pick up, I don’t use a computer well outdoors), except for one time when one of the others couldn’t be there. The way we were serving is going back to the familiar and now traditional way of assisting. However, there are a few changes in the works. I went and helped and was surprised that most of it came back to me like riding a bicycle. I’ll help out as long as I am capable and physically able. I will be heading in that direction in a few minutes for the second day.  

Yesterday’s photo challenge was “floating”. I went to the park in search of some ducks floating on the pond but they didn’t seem interested in that particular spot for relaxation and hunt for food today or at least not at the time I was there. As I was driving away, I took a good look at the sky and there were some gorgeous white clouds floating along lazily that was my hint. 

The sky is really dark right now. We just had some thunder and a pretty good down pour. What a way to end the month of June. 

I started the bulletin Monday and finished it today. I sent it out to be proofread and got an ok to go ahead with the printing. I will do that tomorrow. 

Since I knew I was going out this afternoon I cleared the frig of a few left overs and ran the dish washer. I also managed to get one photo captured for the photo of the day before the rains came. I’m not sure it will be a good fit for the theme but as least it is one choice. And I got the bills paid. So I shouldn’t have too much on the agenda when I get home from helping at pantry. 

Today’s word is blessing.  An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. Henry David Thoreau.  Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty; it is a blessing that must be earned before it can be enjoyed. Charles Caleb Colton.  A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world. Joseph Addison. Life has no blessing like a prudent friend. Euripides. The harvest of old age is the recollection and abundance of blessing previously secured. Marcus Tullius Cicero. Power is no blessing in itself, except when it is used to protect the innocent. Jonathan Swift. Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament; adversity is the blessing of the New. Francis Bacon. Young men, trust God, and make the future bright with blessing. Old men, trust God, and magnify him for all the mercies of the past. Charles Spurgeon. Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it, Thomas Paine. Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some, Charles Dickens. However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts, John Calvin. Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us, Socrates. The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings! Henry Ward Beecher. All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors, John Calvin. 

Today’s photo theme is “sharp”. The one that came to mind the quickest was the thorns on my young Fire Thorn plant. Any time I try to lift one of the branches I get a quick and hurtful bite. In the post processing I realized that the thorn I captured may be slightly difficult to find so I will have to admit I added a touch of a Photoshop feature to give the thorn a slightly more pronounced hue.

Photography is a big part of my life. It both teaches and entertains me daily. As you can observe by my writings, I like to share my photos. So I thought this might be a good article to share too. “As It Were: Photography business grew from risk to reward”. The article started with the fact that anyone who has a cell phone can take a “high-quality” photograph. Cameras became available for personal use in around 1888. George Eastman said of his invention “with his camera, you would take the picture on a clear day with a steady hand and send the whole camera back to him”. The photos would be “extract(ed)” and printed. The prints and the “reloaded” camera would then be sent back to you. Over the years there were improvements to the photography field. All sorts of cameras have come along. Water resistant, immediate “prints”, panoramic features, stereo views (viewmaster). Early on photography was “a risky business”. The development of the negative had to be chemically exact and the paper used for the print had to also be exacting. Being in the darkroom for long periods of time using the necessary chemicals could be “potentially deadly”. Some of the first professional professional photographers traveled from town to town and used wagons as darkrooms. In 1856 a German photographer came to Columbus and was later joi8ned by a few other famous photographers. The article mentioned that the American Civil War attracted photographers (*). There were 20,000 troops and 10,000 Confederate poisoners in Camp Chase prison camp. Many wanted to have pictures taken and many folks wanted to see those photos. After the war two of the notable photographers established businesses here. One died in 1899 and his wife kept his business going until 1924. The other photographer established an art gallery. He shot “quality portraits”. His son followed in the business and photographed Presidents Hayes and McKinley as well as Annie Oakley. His business lasted after his death in 1924 through his partners until 1955.  The works of these two photographers are located at the Ohio History Connections in Columbus.

Today is the last day of June so I finished my composited photos of the day for the month and uploaded it to the group site. 

I think it will be creamed beef on toast for dinner or something from the freezer. 

Joy

More “left behind”. 

(*)I would like to note that one of the earlier famous photographers could possibly be a distant relative of mine although we have no definitive proof of that. (From Google:) Mathew B. Brady was one of the earliest photographers in American history. Best known for his scenes of the Civil War, he studied under inventor Samuel F. B. Morse, who pioneered the daguerreotype technique in America. Brady opened his own studio in New York in 1844, and photographed Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and Abraham Lincoln, among other public figures. When the Civil War started, his use of a mobile studio and darkroom enabled vivid battlefield photographs that brought home the reality of war to the public.  He is credited with the being the “father of photojournalism”.