Around 4:45pm I looked outside, and it was near white-out conditions. Nothing was sticking to the ground, but the snow flakes were swirling around in such density that it was like a thick fog.

Turning in to the weather report, I hear the announcer saying that this will be the last storm of the season. He claims that once this storm passes, spring will be here and we won’t get any more of these cold fronts moving in.

But then, when have weather men ever known to be right?

I came back to the studio and worked on e-mails and studio office stuff that needed to get done.  By 3:30pm I was ready to call it quits.  I’m still struggling with this respiratory stuff.  It just sucks the energy out of me.

President and Sister Christianson were our speakers in church today. I’m sure going to miss them. Their mission ends in June.

We now have 3 pairs of sister missionaries in our ward, and 1 pair of elders. Sisters Davis (new) and Jones came to dinner tonight. I had taken the rest of the chicken zafrani sauce and made a chicken zafrani stew with it. It had a very nice mellow flavor and the richness was cut by diced potatoes.

We had purchased a cheese cake at Lyons National Bank (they were having a bake sale in the lobby for the diabetes foundation). We had it for dessert. In all, it was a nice Easter dinner.

The History Channel has been running a series called The Bible. Talk about some scriptural inaccuracies. They also left quite a bit of important events out.

Here’s an example of inaccuracies…

Sampson was black. Anyone with any knowledge of the Hebrews would know that he was a Hebrew. Ancient Hebrews had very strict marriage laws, and Sampson was one of the judges. It is highly unlikely he was anything but a pure Hebrew.

When they came to the tomb, there were no angels. Mathew records an angel coming and rolling back the stone. Mark records they found the stone rolled away, and an angel nearby addressed them. Luke records “two men in shining garments” asked them, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” And, John writes that two angels, one at the head and the other at the feet of where Jesus laid, stood by. This TV series had none of that.

It really made me appreciate the work that the LDS Church puts in to their biblical films and movies. If you want to watch some well produced Bible videos you can at http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/?lang=eng

Here is one that is especially applicable on this Easter day.

http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/he-is-risen?lang=eng

By about dinner time, I decided I better call it quits. Well, as things would have it, as soon as I slowed down the congestion came back with a vengeance.

Tomorrow is Easter. Fortunately, after church there isn’t a lot going on. The rest will be welcome.

D. Brent Walton is a professional photograph. His studio specializes in weddings, beauty and glamor portraits. His studio is featured in the March 2013 Professional Photographer Magazine, and you can see his work in The Friend Magazine (issues January – April 2013).

What I do like about Cici’s is how they treat the customers. I’ve been to three different Cici’s: One in North Carolina, one in Dallas, Texas, and the one recently opened in Henrietta, New York. When you walk through the door, the employees yell, “Welcome to Cici’s!” When you are serving yourself from the pizza buffet, you are told, “If you don’t see what you want, let us know and we’ll make it for you.” And, you might have the manager come to your table and ask if everything is to your satisfaction.

I enjoy businesses that teach their employees to be mindful of the customer and show that they care. One of my favorite restaurants back in California is Zio Fredo’s. The owner often makes his way around the tables to check on his customers. That’s good business sense.

—–

Today it is starting to feel like spring, but my lungs are still telling me to take it easy. It was one of those days that I wish I wasn’t so congested so I could grab my camera and go for a walk.

Flowers Coming Up at the Beckwith Mansion

We also received a few guests today. A family from Star Valley, Wyoming, is vacationing in Palmyra the right way. They are staying until next Wednesday. None of this rush-the-sites-in-one-day stuff for them. (And, if you ever come to Palmyra, spend some time here. There’s a LOT to do in this area.)

Before they got here, I went to turn the boiler on and it wouldn’t start. The sticker on the outside said, “Electronic Ignition”. So, I looked in the manual, and the electronic ignition picture looked different than what I have. I looked at the picture of the pilot light style ignition, and it looked identical to mine. Sure enough, my pilot light was out and I had to re-light it.

What a pain.

The pilot light couldn’t have been more inconveniently placed. Not only did I have to get down on the cold concrete floor to get to it, I had to remove some screws and a plate in order to light it. There is a tiny access hole where someone could, if you knew exactly where it was, shove a thin splint through the hole to light it, but you would not be able to see if you got it lit or not.

I managed to bleed the gas line and get the pilot light lit. It took three attempts, but it finally stayed on after the third.

As a teenager I remember the malls, stores, gas stations, etc., largely being closed on Sundays. There were some restaurants open on Sundays, but for the most part, they were the only businesses open on Sunday. And, I’m told by friends my age and older, some states had “blue laws”, that required businesses to be closed on Sunday. (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Blue+Laws) Although, I don’t agree with the concept behind laws that restrict behavior based on religious beliefs, I do think many business would close on Sunday if good Christians honored the Sabbath day…. but that’s a little off topic.

It seems that the Sabbath-day observance seemed to sneakily disappear except in Jewish quarters. (Many Jewish owned businesses are closed on holy days and the Sabbath. I very much respect them for this.) Jews and Christians both are supposed to keep the Ten Commandments.

Bit by bit, corruption has set in to society to the point where they are treated more like the Ten Suggestions than the Ten Commandments. So, I thought I’d list them as they are found in Exodus Chapter 20:3-17:

I. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

II. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

III. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

IV. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

V. 12 Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

VI. 13 Thou shalt not kill.

VII. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

VIII. 15 Thou shalt not steal.

IX. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

X. 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.

Like the Sabbath day observance, many Christians have thrown aside the 7th Commandment – Thou shalt not commit adultery (or anything like unto it). It wasn’t long ago when a couple were living together, but not married, people would say, “They are living in sin.” Homosexual acts were called sins against nature, and those acts, along with adultery were considered criminal.

In many ways, as a society, we have advanced in our civility towards each other. Racial bigotry has waned greatly since in the last generation. Yet, in other ways, be have become less civil. Television, movies and entertainment contain graphic images (both violent and sexual) that would not have been tolerated 30 years ago. As soon as someone speaks out against indecency, they are called bigots, haters (a word I loath), and are shunned on social media.

Entertainment also tries to justify the sin as a means to an end.  For example, a popular T.V. show, White Collar, is based on a con man and his criminal friends, helping the F.B.I. solve cases through breaking the law.  I’m sure many in their audience see it as entertainment and like the story of Robin Hood, when the day is over, they know Robin Hood was a criminal.  However, there are those who think the crime is an entitlement because someone was wronged.

Another show is Leverage.  High-tech modern Robin Hoods set out to right the wronged.  Laws are broken and the Leverage team gets away with things that should place them in prison.  In real life, anyone who believes in the Ten Commandments would agree both sides should be arrested and tried for their crimes.  (Thou shalt not steal.  Thou shalt not bear false witness.  Thou shalt not covet.)

One wrong doing never justifies another wrong doing.

Entertainment also bombards us with a false sense of love and security.  I would challenge anyone to watch a T.V. drama (including the two I have already mentioned), and find someone who epitomizes a good Christian.  We used to have a few of them on T.V., but that was back in the 60s.  Well, I take that back, Touched by an Angel, was a pretty decent show, and Blue Bloods shows a good Catholic family that prays together and holds to their beliefs.

Today, it seems that every show has to have someone who is outwardly gay, or a gay couple.  Two couples meeting for the first time end up having sex before the sunrises on the next morning, and people in the workplace are referred to as family and depicted as being more important that the character’s own family. (Thou shalt not commit adultery.  Honor thy father and thy mother.  Thou shalt not covet.)

There are also shows that justify murder.  The one that comes to mind is Burn Notice.  A burned CIA agent, his buddy Sam Axe, girlfriend and mom are out to find out who burned him as they leave a wake of dead bodies.  These are the heroes of the show?  (Thou shalt not kill.)

I believe intelligent adults can sift through this stuff and understand that much of what goes on in entertainment is wrong.  On the other side, there are young, impressionable children watching this stuff whose parents don’t care, whose parents do not teach them the commandments.  I worry about the kids who were raised that way, who are being raised that way, and who are raising their children that way.

The Ten Commandments are divided in to “do” and “don’t” commandments.  I do not believe that laws should be made to force the “do” commandments.  On the other hand, we have to have some governance over the “don’t” commandments.  Imagine how bad this world would get if it suddenly became legal to kill?

I think it is going to become harder and harder to be a good Christian.  Perhaps the best thing we can do is renew ourselves and vow to keep the commandments.

A while back, we contacted another bank, and they wouldn’t have anything to do with re-financing us because our equity was upside-down. I tried to explain that it was in their best interest to do it. (It almost seems like a no-brainer in cases like this.) Thank goodness they sold the loan to M&T.

I’m still fighting this respiratory crud. I think today has been the worst of them all. And, a good measure of how bad it is, I have no interest of picking up a camera and taking pictures. So, you know I feel like trash.

As a result of being slowed down by this stuff, I’ve got work piling up. I’m hoping in the next few days, I’ll at least have the energy to get caught up on e-mails and some of my desk work.

It also meant I missed the open house at the E.B. Grandin Building. I was looking forward to it, but just not feeling up to it.

Other than that, it has been a quiet day.

Between readings, I watched a few episodes of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. If I could go in with my camera, I’d want Guy Fieri’s job. Of course, I’d have to have a protective case around my camera as he eats some pretty messy foods.

It’s not often I watch the news. I find watching the news just brings to the surface how degenerate our society has become. The very fact that the U.S. Supreme Court is going to decide what constitutes marriage is evidence of how low we have stooped.

I’ve made my views on the matter clear from the very start. The government has no business deciding on the matter. Marriage, in and of itself, is a religious sacrament – a rite, not a right. Thus, my fear has nothing to do with what two adults consent to do, but it has everything to do with the government deciding what we can and cannot teach our children, and what we can and cannot choose to support. My beliefs are in what God defines as marriage, and not what man (i.e. the courts) defines as marriage. And, if man ends up defining marriage differently than what God does, then man’s definition must not trample my rights (not rites) to believe and honor God’s laws.

I hope the men and women of the Supreme Court make the right decision.

Well, I managed to make it, but the sauce was enough for a dozen servings. So, we ate all the chicken (with the help of the sister missionaries), and had lots of sauce left over. It was also very rich.

I think it becomes paradoxical. At what point do gun owners protect their 2nd Amendment rights when someone comes to disarm them?

Is it too late for the 2nd Amendment? Has the nation got to the point where citizens would not be able to protect themselves from an evil uprising within the government?

And, if it is too late for the 2nd Amendment, does that mean the rest of the Bill of Rights is of no significance because you can’t make a stand?

There has been a lot of reference in the LDS Church about Joseph Smith, Jr., having said that the day would come that the U.S. Constitution would hang by a thread. Although there is no evidence of him ever having said that, it seems the statement is prophetic, nonetheless. Even Ron Paul (not a Mormon) has used that phrase recently.

It seems ironic that two people, in unrelated circumstances and admittedly liberal, think Cuomo’s SAFE law is over the top.

After the Rochester Referral Network meeting, I drove to visit one of the member’s print shop. Postersource, in Rochester, has several laser printers, a wide format inkjet, and an offset press, as well as die-sub and screen printing. The owner, John Hernandez, is friendly and helpful. He sent me home with some paper samples and I’ll be getting some marketing materials printed by them. (http://www.postersource.biz)

Elizabethe has been setting things up for a Relief Society dinner tonight. She asked me to take her over early and take some photos of what they set up…

Relief Society Dinner

Relief Society Time-line

After dropping her off, I went over to the temple to take some photos. The sky was dramatic.

Palmyra New York Temple
First Day of Spring 2013

So, I get to my dermatology appointment this morning to learn that I was an hour late. I don’t know if something got screwed up in my phone due to day-light savings time, or if I entered it as 9:45 instead of 8:45 am. They were nice and saw me anyway.

The doctor put me on some sort of topical cream that is like chemo for the skin. I’ll look like I have the measles for 3-4 days once I start it. They did remove all the cancer, but all the other little spots on my forehead and temples are pre-cancerous.

He gave me a coupon for the treatment. Holy cow! This stuff cost around $300. I think I’m more upset about the cost than having to go through this treatment.

We had a nice evening at the temple. There were a lot of people from our ward in the first sessions. It was good night.

So, today a company came to schedule an energy audit (this time, no money out of our pocket). It will be interesting to see what they say about the work that was done (and the work we paid for, but was never completed.)

There are a few things I’ve learned owning this big, old house.

1. Always ask a contractor for a letter of insurance
2. Always get three quotes or more
3. Never pay until you are assured 100% of the work is complete.  They have the power to put a mechanic’s lien on your home if you don’t pay, so don’t get suckered in.

When it comes to energy audits, I’d watch out for contractors who use the energy audit as a means of selling you on products or services.  There are companies that just do energy audits and make their money off the $250 the state pays them.  Many of them have approved contractors, but you can use any contractor you WANT!  You don’t have to go with their recommendations.

Here’s the state link: 
http://www.nyserda.ny.gov/Residential/Programs/Existing-Home-Renovations/How-the-Process-Works/Comprehensive-Home-Energy-Assessment.aspx

We live and learn.

A Bit of Green

I just read in the Smithsonian Magazine that corned beef isn’t Irish. In fact, anything with beef in it is probably not Irish. Just throwing that out there.

Even thought I’m not Irish and I’m not a Catholic, I decided to fix something green for dinner. I made an aspic with celery, onion and bell peppers. It turned out quite tasty and I’ll publish the recipe under Cooking With Brent.

The elders came for dinner and it is Elder Brown’s birthday. Hearing this, I fixed a yellow cake filled with chocolate mousse and frosted with a chocolate fudge icing.

While we’re on the subject of dinner. I made beef stew and served it in sour dough rounds. I made the stew 100% from our food storage. Most of it was stuff we canned – potatoes, beef, carrots, onions. Because home canning is in jars, it doesn’t have that tin taste store-bought canned foods have.

One of the things I’ve got to correct, after reading the first few chapters, is TV watching. I’ve fallen in to a habit of watching TV when I’m just too pooped to do anything else. So, I figure I’d replace that with reading. But, it’s kind of a Catch-22. When I read, my brain races and I come up with all sorts of ideas. Then I can’t sleep because the ideas are keeping me away. So, I have to lay their and write my ideas down, or toss and turn worrying that I’ll forget my ideas. I’ll figure out what works… eventually.

I know there are a few of you out there who read my blog on a regular basis. I have a favor to ask you.

The favor is this… Will you tell at least one person next week about my photography and share with them http://www.dbwalton.com and http://www.FineArtbyDB.com ?

I’m especially interested in people who have had life changing events. I.e. They are getting married, just had a baby, bought a new house, etc. These are people who will be interested in capturing the event through a fine art portrait or picture. For example, a new home owner might want a nice commissioned picture of their new home. New parents might want pictures of the baby or the family with the new addition. And, I do travel – especially for weddings.

When I travel for weddings, I do ask that expenses are covered. That said, expenses coupled with the quality of my work are typically less expensive than hiring someone local of the same caliber of photography.

Speaking of weddings, I’ve prepared this graphic for people getting married…

Why Hire A Professional Photographer? Read this and find out.

I realize some might think this belongs in my photography blog, but the people who read my photography blog already know why this is important.

If this little graphic results in someone hiring me, I’ll be elated. But, if they hire someone else, I hope this keeps them from getting burned.

D. Brent Walton is a Photographic Craftsman and Certified Professional Photographer located in Palmyra, New York. Walton’s studio is featured in this month’s Professional Photographer Magazine (March 2013, pp55-56), and his work has been seen in magazines and on magazine covers. His tag-line, Capturing Beauty, says what he does best.

Elizabethe is getting a lot of calls about rooms at the house. Pageant is a few months away and it seems a lot of people have waited too long to book rooms. We are also getting a lot of calls for non-pageant season.

For anyone planning on visiting Palmyra, I want to share some tips about travel here and staying here:

• The nearest airport is Rochester (ROC).  I highly recommend this airport.  It is very efficient and one of the best airports I’ve ever travelled in or out of.  It is about a 30 minute drive to Palmyra.
• If you are coming during Hill Cumorah Pageant (mid-July each year), plan your trip 1 year in advance!!!  There are not a lot of hotels in the area, and the rooms go quickly and prices go up during pageant as a result.  Again, do NOT wait for the last minute.
• Spend time in Palmyra.  There is more to do and see in Palmyra than what you can fit in a day.  You’ll wear yourself out and miss a lot of this beautiful region of you try to see it all in a day.  For example, plan on a full-day to go see the Whitmer Farm, and do so in the morning.  Then, head down to Watkins Glen (see picture below) and check out our beautiful waterfalls in this land of many waters.

Cavern Fall

• Spend money locally.  I’ve heard good and bad from business owners about the tourist here.  (That’s to be expected, but I’d like to hear less bad and more good.)  Visit all our small little shops.  You might be surprised at what you find.
• If you don’t like crowds, come visit some time other than pageant.  We have 4 seasons, and the most beautiful season is autumn.  (I offer an autumn workshop for photographers www.palmyra-ny.com.)  Remember, Joseph Smith, Jr., had the First Vision some time near the end of March/beginning of April.  Joseph’s birthday was in December.  So, these are times of historical significance around here too.
• This area is rich with history:  Susan B. Anthony (house in Rochester), Frederic Douglas, George Eastman (Kodak Founder), invention of motion pictures (Auburn, NY), underground railroad, and more.  Stay and take some of that in.

I could give you an itinerary that would keep you busy for a full week and you wouldn’t see it all.  We also have some great places to eat.

Perhaps I got a little side tracked.  Summer is coming, and if you plan to visit in the summer, you better make your reservations soon.

It’s been so long since I’ve had a non-digital brush in my hand (I’ve been doing digital paintings with a Wacom tablet) that I need to work on my brush techniques.

This is one of those areas where I strive to separate myself from my photographic competition. Anyone can take a picture, few people can take a good picture, and even fewer can paint a picture. Those digital programs that automatically make a photograph look like a painting create images that look like you simply ran a program to scramble the pixels. But, a digital painting will have technique, brush strokes that make sense, and it will look like a painting – not a digitally modified photograph.

It was sponsored by Rochester Business Alliance (RBA). Joining RBA is pretty expensive, but I figure the $50 for a non-member to attend this event was worth it. I’m glad I went. Even if one job comes from it as a direct or indirect result, it was worth it.

From there, I went to the Rochester Referral Networking group. This is a weekly meeting I’m involved with. We share referrals and one member each week gives a short presentation about their business.

It was snowing like crazy when I left Rochester. The morning started off warm and nice, but then it turned windy and snowy. It was crazy. I entered my meeting without a jacket, and left wishing I had brought my jacket.

The rest of the day was just working. I spent the afternoon retouching images from yesterday’s portrait session.

Next, it was time for the Greater Rochester Professional Photographers meeting. Our presentation tonight was on infant photography. The photographer presenting gave a great presentation and I learned a lot of tips. It was time well spent.

I shouldn’t whine. Once I was all set up, I asked for a drink of water. I noticed the 5 gallon water bottle on the cooler. Those are about 60 pounds each. My heaviest bag was 40 pounds. I thought, “Someone has to carry those water bottles up here too!”

It just goes to show that when you think you have it rough, someone else has it worse.

The shoot went very well. I’m the type of person who agonized over doing a good job. That’s a good thing for my clients. That means I put my best game and they can rest assured I’ve given a lot of thought in to what is going to make their images look their best.

Doing a job like this, I learn a lot about companies that many of us don’t even know they exist. They quietly do their jobs in the background while our lives merrily roll along. Of course, they add jobs to the economy. They are not high-profile jobs or companies, but in many cases, they are vital to our day-to-day lives. It is pretty neat getting to meet people like this and learn about their companies.

After all of that, it was time to head to the temple for our evening shift. I’m pretty glad I had assignments that allowed me to sit for a portion of the time because today’s photo shoot (carrying equipment up and down stairs) wore me out.

After work, Elizabethe and I headed to our bishop’s (also our home teacher) house for dinner. We always enjoy visiting with them.

Here’s 2000 words to say the rest of the story…

Chili Verde

Jicama slaw, Mexican rice and Chimichunga

After a very busy morning in the temple, I headed home in this spring-like weather. I pulled in the driveway and we must have had 5 cars parked in the circle. There was a group of young couples from Ithica there watching their kids while their spouses were at the temple.

Having a lot of work to do, I headed out to the studio to work. Next week I have a big commercial shoot and it is time to pack up the lights, backdrops and stands. It is also time to re-format the memory cards and charge the batteries. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been with other PROFESSIONAL photographers who have dead batteries or no flash cards. I’m to obsessive to do that… or at least I hope I am.)

The cards arrived for the networking group. It’s now time to get them out to the public.

From there, we had a few other errands to run in the Henrietta area. After hitting Harbor Freight Tools to see if they had some sort of jig for my router, I ended up buying a router table. I’m building a room divider screen, and this will work out nicely.

Our next stop was the builder’s home show in Rochester at the Main Street Armory. (What a cool building.) The show was small compared to the shows they would have in California. There were lots of roofing, window and siding companies.

Parking there was a joke. Of the two guys directing traffic, the one was standing there texting on his iPhone and not even paying attention. (He’s lucky he didn’t get run over.) Had these two yoyos been doing their jobs, they could have fit about 50% more cars in the lot. We ended up parking about 1/4 mile away in a residential neighborhood.