Praise House

Her Only Hope, Mt. Pleasant, SC  -  2013

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Of all the buildings we saw at Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant, the one that touched me the most was one of the slave cabins that was used for religious services and called "Praise House". The Praise House and its story has so much to say about that period of history, and also speaks to many of the same challenges facing people today.

Although the plantation owners made a sincere attempt to introduce their African slaves to Christianity, they also used religion to try to advance their own agenda of justifying and preserving the practice of human slavery. Christians today find those circumstances abhorrent and unthinkable, yet the practice of religious manipulation of masses of people continues unabated in the 21st century. On any Sunday morning you can find any of several false gospels still being preached. Whether wearing expensive suits or religious robes, you can find numerous "preachers" preying on the ignorance of their eager listeners. You won't find anyone promoting slavery today, but you'll have no trouble finding men and women, on TV or in your community, waving Bibles, quoting Scripture, and promoting nothing less than crass materialism. They reduce the God of the Bible to nothing more than a genie in a bottle who can make all your worldly dreams come true. Deception is deception, no matter what the century.

Initially, only white preachers were allowed to lead the services for the slaves, and they used their sermons to try to show a biblical justification for slavery. Eventually, a few trusted slaves were allowed to learn to read the Bible for themselves and lead the services for their slave brothers and sisters. As slaves began to discover the true Gospel, and in time began to learn to read the Scriptures for themselves, the light of God's Word began to shine through.

And therein lies the answer to all religious deception: don't depend solely on any man or organization to do your thinking for you, but pick up a Bible and read it for yourself. And don't just read "selected verses" chosen by someone else. Read the books and letters as they were intended to be read, in their entirety. Yes, you will no doubt come across things that are hard to comprehend, but the more you read, the more you will understand. You'll also learn to discern which preachers and Bible teachers are worth listening to. There are still men and women out there committed to pushing God's agenda instead of their own. The more you read, you'll begin to discover that the Bible is not an incomprehensible riddle, but God's revelation of Himself, and His plan of redemption through Jesus Christ. Don't allow the fakers to turn it into anything else. Take a lesson from slaves and learn to read the Bible for yourself.

First Stop

Tatooed Moose Bartender, Charleston, SC  - 2013

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We arrived in Charleston around lunch time, so our first stop was for food. Tatooed Moose is a Charleston restaurant and pub that was featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" on the Food Network. Since this show always features the kind of local food I like to eat, it seemed like a good place to begin this year's Charleston experience. Guy Fieri did not let us down!

I ordered the low country Cuban sandwich, and a basket of duck fat fries for the table. I'm no food critic, but I know what I like, and this was a great sandwich! The duck fat fries were slightly on the greasy side, but just enough to make them good. Hey, if you're really health conscious, you're not ordering fries anyway, so don't worry about a little duck fat!

In keeping with my intention to photograph more people this trip, I got a shot of one of the bartenders instead of a photo of my sandwich. (I think Pinterest has the "Here's A Picture Of My Lunch" category pretty much covered anyway.) For good food and enjoyable atmosphere, Tatooed Moose gets a thumbs up from me!

From the Archives

Mona Lisa Smile, New Orleans, LA  -  1983

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Something from my early days with a camera:

I just happened to be strolling around the French Quarter in New Orleans one summer day in 1983 when I came across a movie crew who was working in Jackson Square. I never did find out what movie it was, but everyone was dressed in very early 1900s costume. The crew was taking a break, and this young woman had just sat down on a bench in front of St. Louis Cathedral. She looked up just as I raised my camera and gave me a big smile. In my nervousness I pressed the shutter release a little too soon, just before she smiled, but catching one of those Mona Lisa-type expressions instead. I also got the picture just before she pulled a cigarette out of her purse, which would have ruined the period look that I wanted. I still love this picture and her expression, even if I caught it mostly by accident.

A Typical March

Battle Of The Seasons, Canton, NC  -  2013

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It's been a typical March for the western North Carolina mountains this year. A little sun, a little snow, a little rain; sometimes all in the same day. Here's a close-up of the contest as currently being played out in my wife's flower bed.

Simplicity

The best photos are usually the simplest photos. If a photo has too much content, too many things going on, your eye doesn't know what to concentrate on. Your mind gets bored and is soon ready to move on to something else. Simple compositions, with as much extraneous material as possible removed, are usually more pleasing and interesting to the eye.

Green Shutter, Charleston, SC  -  2012

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At first glance, a single shuttered window on a blank wall of the slave quarters at the Aiken-Rhett house didn't look like much of a photo op. As part of a larger composition containing the entire side of the house, this single shutter would be lost and insignificant. As the subject of its own composition, I think it becomes much more interesting. We can examine it's brilliant green color, the texture of the wood, the obviously home-made hinges. Since this building pre-dates the Civil War, we can wonder how many times this shutter has been painted in the last century and a half. What did the slaves who lived behind this window see and think as they looked out? Simplicity - there is usually more where there is less.

Sometimes Rough Is Good

Texture Study, Shining Rock Wilderness Area  -  2013

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An old, dead tree whose bark had long ago disappeared caught my eye as I was scrambling along the rocks on the river bank. The hard part of this photo was trying to find a steady way to set up my tripod among the rocks. After much trial and error in adjusting leg lengths and angles, I finally got the tripod into a position that was both steady and safe for my camera. This was one that I imagined as a B&W before I snapped the shutter.

Finally, a hike!

In Between, Shining Rock Wilderness Area  -  2013

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Two and a half months into 2013, and Sunday afternoon I finally found time to do a little hiking. The weather was better on Saturday, but Saturday is usually my "catch up on chores day". There was a slight chance of showers predicted for late Sunday afternoon, but I decided to take a chance since I had a pretty good case of cabin fever. Theresa wanted to stay home and work on a PowerPoint presentation for work, so with hopes of cooperative weather, Courtney and I headed off to the Shining Rock Wilderness Area.

At the lower elevations in our area, the first faint signs of spring are beginning to appear. Not so higher up. The portion of the trail we were on was mainly around 3800', about 1200' higher than where my house sits. Winter is still in control up there. Except for a few tufts of green grass sprouting up in the wet areas, brown and grey are still the dominant colors. No budding trees, no early wildflowers, just bare trees in every direction. I made a few photos of the river, but my search for early spring photos was a bust.

Despite spring still being weeks away at that elevation, we had an enjoyable afternoon. The rain held out, the temperatures were mild, and it was good just to get out, stretch our legs, and breathe that mountain air. Courtney and I still believe that a day out on the trail beats sitting around the house any day, even if it still looks like winter.