House Full of Canon

Our brand-new Canon EOS Rebel XSi camera arrived in the mail this week and we're excited!!

(Actually two of them came. After ordering from Dell, then learning the camera would not ship for another week, I got them to cancel my order then bought one through Amazon.com. Meanwhile, Dell shipped our camera anyway. Long story short, the Dell product is on a UPS truck heading back to the warehouse, and my credit card is eager for a store credit.)

I know that was impatient of me to not be able to wait a week for my new camera. But the way I see it, our trip to DisneyWorld is fast-approaching (34 days, 16 hours, and 19 minutes as of this writing), and since Karen crowned me the photojournalist for the trip I figure I need as much time as possible to learn the whole "DSLR" way of taking pictures.

The need for a new camera started its real fever just over a week ago, when my wife blogged about the flowers I sent her. The picture was awful, and this was more or less the tipping point. She had a right to complain. Our point-and-shoot camera (a Fujifilm Finepix E900) has never taken pictures that were very good - usually snowy, not clear at any zoom level, bad battery life and generally very disappointing. What's frustrating about this is that we bought it on recommendation from Consumer Reports. Note to my beloved readers: Do not use Consumer Reports for decisions on any sort of electronics.

So it turns out one of Karen's friends has been blogging about her camera and her pictures are wonderful. And her other friend's pictures are wonderful. And her sister's pictures are wonderful, and our sister-in-law's pictures are great... and, well, you get the idea. It was time to go camera shopping.

... We interrupt this blog for a guilty conscious moment.

Alright I have to be honest. I've dreamt of buying a fancy SLR for a long time now. I'm a pretty patient fellow. Despite the long talks with people who know (you know who you are) and the many strolls through the photography section of Best Buy, I have not pushed very hard for one of these gizmos. You could say there might have been a subconcious part of my psyche that conceived of buying one, final, terrible "point and shoot" camera that would then bring Karen to ask for an expensive Digital SLR. And you would either be correct or slightly delusional. And who am I to judge? But I'm not actually here to dispute the past, just revel in the present....

I have to give most of the credit selecting this camera to my brother in-law, Joseph Scott. Thanks Joe! He is a walking photography encyclopedia. For those thinking about buying a camera, I would recommend talking with him first. As I struggled to make my final purchase his advice helped me finally do it. In the end, I bought a Canon EOS Rebel XSi, two 8 GB HDSD high speed memory cards, an HDSD memory reader, and a fantastic book to teach us how to take good pictures called "Understanding Exposure".

Our camera is amazing!

Notes: The first picture on this blog was taken with the Fujifilm. If you look at the large version you might see some of the snow (maybe better called hail than snow). The other pictures were taken using the auto mode on our new camera.

Building Bridges

On Saturday a group of us from our Church spent last Saturday in Bridge City, TX helping those who were flooded by Hurricane Ike. There were probably 200-300 volunteers from our area who drove about two hours east of Houston to help those who are still clearing the mess left by the storm. Until the mess has been cleared, there can be no rebuilding.

The overwhelming storm surge left tremendous flooding in areas that might have otherwise fared well. Other than a faint water line about halfway up the first story of the houses, the outside structures of these homes looked relatively normal. On the inside, however, there is a much different story: Rotting wood, sheet rock, insulation, food and other items left behind; Mold growing up the sides of walls and furniture; Cups, pots, and bread makers inside china hutches and on shelves full of water.

We met at our church building at 5 a.m. then drove the 2+ hour trip to receive work orders. We found our assignments and promptly put ourselves to work. We worked throughout the day "mucking out houses". This is a process that involves removing flooring (carpet, linoleum, tile and wood, etc.), sheet rock, furniture, insulation, cabinetry, and so forth. Much of the items are moldy and rotten, requiring us to wear protective breathing masks.

It was a bittersweet experience to sit with one of the homeowners and talk with her about her losses and hopes. It was heartwarming to see how unshaken her faith is. She spoke of rebuilding her home, and that she sees an opportunity to design her home the way she wants it. What a great example.

Many in the area kept up their humor, posting clever signs ("for sale", "everything must go", "don't loot or we'll shoot", etc.) We also witnessed children in water fights and laughing. For all the problems these good people are facing, they are incredibly resilient.

As my friend Brad Green, who was one of the volunteers from our congregation put it, "The devastation is overwhelming. Imagine 5 feet of sea-water inside your home.... and then to see everything you own sitting at the curbside about to be hauled away. Many tears were shed. Please keep the good folks of this area in your prayers."

My faith was strengthened and my heart warmed by this experience.

Thanks to Brad for the pictures in this blog.