Through My Eyeballs

Best Friend

2012-01-30T12:42:00.000Z

Pierced

2012-01-26T15:11:00.000Z

The sun in this picture is our heart. The clouds and the contrail passing in front of the sun are our sadness. Our sins. The clouds/darkness may be all around us and actually pierce our hearts sometimes but the warmth and light of our hearts and God persist.

Reflective Beauty

2012-01-24T16:34:00.000Z

These photos from the church on the grounds of The Franciscan Monastery reflect God's beauty through man's hands.

Controlled Beauty

2012-01-24T06:03:00.000Z

Some of the bonsai trees at The National Arboretum in their full autumn glory taken inside to preserve it...I assume.

In Awe

2012-01-24T03:41:00.000Z

The stumps of these tree are awe inspiring. The movement I see in them, though they are still, is beautiful. I see movement between the tree that God created and the manipulation of God's creation by men.

Late

2012-01-22T03:09:00.000Z

This nest is right outside the visitors entrance to the Franciscan Monastery. The lone flower under it caught my eye.

Cloud Trippin

2012-01-19T03:03:00.000Z

More shots from my trip home from my parents house. The first I thought looked like cotton. The second is right as I was getting on the highway. The specks in the pic are from the dirty windshield. The third is of the same scene I posted a few days ago but the tower up on the hill is more prominent. Reminds me of Lord of the Rings...as do many things I see these days.

How Some View The Church

2012-01-18T22:39:00.001Z

These photos represent the different ways people see the Catholic church.
The first represents the clear view of what the church is and what it stands for and is about. Those that take this view see the good and the bad in the church and the people in it.
The middle two represent the view of the church that is distorted. Hidden behind all the misunderstandings and problems people have with the people who have committed sins who are associated with the church. The gold dome represents their thoughts that their is still good in the church but it is hidden. Diminished by the dark cloud cast by the misdeeds of some priests and the leadership.
The last represents those that believe the church is evil. The light coming from behind it represents God. Visualizing the idea that some people see the Catholic church as being this dark evil thing that actually blocks God's truth and light which is coming from behind the structure in this photo.
Just for the record I didn't thunk of any of this while taking these photos but as I was posting them all together I am also listening to someone discuss the video from YouTube "I hate religion but love Jesus". That's what inspired this interpretation.

Statuery

2012-01-18T15:55:00.000Z

Some of the statues at The Franciscan Monastery.

Beauty in the Tangle of Our Vices

2012-01-14T03:39:00.000Z

To find this one solitary rose still blooming out in the bitter cold was very symbolic to me. Of what, I'm not sure.

Cause and Effect

2012-01-13T15:59:00.000Z

More twisted shapes. Gnarled. Like us humans. The difference with tow of these is that we are allowed to see what's inside of the gnarled shape. To possibly see what caused it and the beauty that exists inside.

Leonard On A Road Trip

2012-01-12T02:54:00.000Z

Lenny gets very thirsty on our road trips as is evident from the tongue wagging in the first photo. The second is of him zonked out after the trip and the third is him resting in the big comfy chair in th computer room at my parents home. It was a great trip.

Twisted Beauty

2012-01-12T00:25:00.001Z

This gnarled tree is beautiful to me. There is beauty in everything. Even the most twisted people have something beautiful to offer. This is on the grounds of The Franciscan Monastery.

Mosaics

2012-01-11T00:55:00.000Z

Two of the many mosaics at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington DC. The first is of Jesus and the second is of St. Jude.

Attention

2012-01-10T19:36:00.001Z

I made my first trip to the Franciscan Monastery in NE Washington DC yesterday. As I pulled up this was the first structure that caught my attention aside from the actual church. The white spots are snow flakes. It was flurrying while I was there. The shots are from outside the gate and inside the park on the property.

Church Beauty

2012-01-09T15:39:00.000Z

Two more shots from a church my mama and I visited when I was on vacation.

View From The Trip

2012-01-07T04:23:00.000Z

This were the cloud formations that I saw on my way home from my parents house today. I added shadows. The contrast of darkness and light symbolize the loss of my godmother today and the knowledge that she is no longer suffering. God rest her soul.

Little Lenny

2012-01-05T16:03:00.001Z

Little Lenny out in the snow in my parents backyard.

New Camera

2012-01-05T01:30:00.000Z

Just wanted to let people know that all the photos posted on here after December 25th are from my new camera. It's a Canon Powershot ELPH 300 HS.

Vibe

2012-01-05T01:22:00.000Z

These unimpressive photos got a totally different vibe just by adding a color filter.

Stained Glass

2012-01-04T23:52:00.000Z

Beautiful stained glass windows at a local church.

Beautiful Blondie

2012-01-04T22:14:00.000Z

More shots of my friends beautiful dog Blondie.

Flag In The Tundra

2012-01-04T18:42:00.000Z

I took these outside yesterday in the frigid cold. The view of the flag flapping in the breeze caught my eyeball.

Church

2012-01-03T22:31:00.000Z

Shots from a Catholic church me and my mama visited. I've altered the lighting for dramatic effect. It wasn't this dark in the church.

Beautiful Dogs

2012-01-02T17:57:00.000Z

These are photos of my friend Debbie's dog Blondie. Sweet hyper little puppy. The first is of my mama and old man Leonard.

God and Man

2011-12-19T20:23:00.000Z

I don't know what to say about this. Amazing is all that comes to mind. God and man working to create beauty.

Wise Men

2011-12-19T16:24:00.000Z

More of the miniature men used in the rock sculptures at The National Arboretum Bonsai Gardens. Reminded me of the three wise men from Jesus birth story.

Lothlorien

2011-12-16T14:33:00.000Z

These photos reminded me of the home of the elves in Lord of The Rings. Trees make me feel very peaceful for some reason. The scenes from Lothlorien in the movies had the same effect on me.

Paper

2011-12-15T18:22:00.000Z

The leaves on these trees and plants looked like paper. Especially the middle photo. Very delicate. Beautiful but easily ruffled or upset. They had been brought in from the outside to keep their beauty from being disturbed by the rough fall weather. We need to do this for some of our more delicate members of society. Protect them from the roughness of the world so they continue to radiate beauty.

Little Details

2011-12-12T14:17:00.001Z

This is a mixed miniature rock and tree sculpture at The National Arboretum in Washington DC. They add these little figures which brought the whole thing to life for me. They were about the size of my thumb. Had to get in close to see they were even there.

Sunrise

2011-12-05T20:47:00.000Z

These trees are kept in an area where the walls are painted white. This is what I saw in my mind as far as is these trees were growing on a hill and the sun was rising behind then on a hazy/smoggy morning.

Details

2011-12-05T15:06:00.000Z

From a distance this rock sculpture was beautiful but it wasn't until I got closer to it. Got to know it better so to speak that it's true beauty became visible. Similar to our relationships to one another and to God.

Awe Inspiring

2011-12-03T04:53:00.000Z

Beautiful fall colors. Not much more I need to say about this. The mix of sunlight and beautiful warm color was breathtaking.

Twisted

2011-12-03T02:47:00.000Z

I don't know what it is about the trunks of these bonsai trees but every time I photograph them I see something different. They are captivating. I could stare at them for hours.

Giants In A Pot

2011-11-30T22:12:00.000Z

These look like trees that are hundreds of years old that were shrunken down and potted. I can imagine myself as Lilliputian standing on the ground looking up in amazement at the beauty of these huge trees.

Barren Beauty

2011-11-29T23:59:00.000Z

Trees have such variable beauty. Beautiful green foliage in the Spring and Summer, warm vibrant colors in the Fall and as we head into winter the beauty of their structure shows through. Reminds me of people. Beautiful for different reasons all through the seasons of our life.

Church Hat

2011-11-29T20:42:00.002Z

This is at the entrance to the Bonsai Gardens at The National Arboretum. It reminds me of many of the fancy hats I see women wearing to church around here.

Forest

2011-11-14T17:58:00.002Z

This is an altered photo of two bonsai trees and their shadows with the shadow from the wooden beams that is above the bonsai garden.

Eerie Beauty

2011-11-11T17:06:00.003Z

I just love this. I don't know why. It speaks to me.

My Elderly Buddy

2011-10-12T05:32:00.002+01:00

Some photos of Lenny resting his old bones in the sun a few days ago.

Remnant

2011-10-04T19:17:00.001+01:00

All the flowers that normally come out in the fall in my backyard were trampled during the replacement of part of the fence this summer. This is one of the few that made it through.

Me and My Boy On Vacation

2011-06-19T23:52:00.001+01:00

Photos taken by my mama and altered by lil ole me.

Beautiful Summer

2011-06-16T19:45:00.001+01:00

A beautiful summer afternoon in upstate New York.

Two Towers

2011-05-17T20:01:00.001+01:00

Two photos of a church steeple near my job.

Sky

2011-05-16T23:54:00.001+01:00

The sky has displayed some beautiful colors lately. Been able to capture these two just walking out my front door. I am trying to get back into taking photos for the beauty of the photo not for something I can go and alter and manipulate. I have gotten away from that recently. I think these are a good start.

Wooden Flowers

2011-04-21T01:36:00.001+01:00

I have never seen flowers, until I saw these, fall off the plant they grew on and retain their beauty as they...rot I guess is the best word.

Flakes

2011-04-20T21:36:00.001+01:00

Spring snow flakes.

More Bouquets

2011-04-19T05:35:00.001+01:00

These are from my trip to The National Arboretum today. Lots of beautiful little miniature looking bouquets around.

Forgotten

2011-04-14T04:40:00.001+01:00

I've been busy with some personal issues and totally forgot to post these photos. The snowy one is from the last bit of light snow we had a few Sundays ago and the blossom is from my last trip to The National Arboretum.

Watchin Me Watchin Him

2011-04-11T06:03:00.001+01:00

As I was coming in from a walk with Lenny this squirrel was running up the tree. He stopped on this little stubby branch and stared at me for a moment before he decided it was safe to start eating. I am calling it a he without having checked. If he/she reads this sorry for the assumption.

Antenna

2011-04-09T05:10:00.001+01:00

Looked like antenna on this little flower I saw at The National Arboretum.

Icy Cabbage

2011-04-07T05:04:00.001+01:00

The last light snow we had on an ornamental cabbage I believe...or lettuce or some kind of vegetable. ;)

Me And My Boy Again

2011-04-06T04:33:00.001+01:00

These are photos taken by a friend of my mother's named Pam. When I find out her last name I will add it to the credits on the photo. This was when Lenny was only a year or two old. I had to have that pinch collar on him to get him to be still. My mom thought it looked mean so I took it off. She agreed it needed to be on within a minute or two.

Twinkle Twinkle

2011-04-05T05:22:00.003+01:00

Little spring stars.

Ripple

2011-04-04T05:05:00.001+01:00

A Different View

2011-03-31T00:44:00.001+01:00

A local flowering tree.

Power

2011-03-30T03:30:00.001+01:00

This was a photo of reflections of power lines and the sun in a puddle that I added shadows to.

Frosted

2011-03-29T22:26:00.003+01:00

Another photo I got in the morning after the very light snow we had last Sunday. Like a light frosting all over the spring flowers.

Jets

2011-03-29T20:59:00.001+01:00

This is an art installation on Griffis Air Force Base in Upstate New York. Not sure who the artist is but the sharp angles drew me to it.

Almost...

2011-03-29T05:24:00.001+01:00

Another shot of my friends two year old with papa. He's almost tall enough for the NBA. Doesn't have the criminal record for it though...aha.

Mixing Seasons

2011-03-28T21:42:00.001+01:00

It snowed a bit in DC on Sunday morning. A friend asked me to try to get a pic of a blossom with snow on it. Unfortunately the snow was such a small amount I didn't think I'd find any actually stuck to blossoms but I got out of my car where I parked and found a sapling tree with one of it's blossoms facing straight up. It caught a few granules of snow in it.

Detail

2011-03-27T05:14:00.001+01:00

I am amazed at the level of detail this Nikon picks up.

Night

2011-03-27T03:00:00.001+01:00

Two shots I took on my way home from doing a clients hair. They have been altered. I like the grittiness oft he moon shot and the blossoms around the street light caught my eye. I added a tint because the light from the lamp was too bright.

Dream Weaver

2011-03-22T23:48:00.002Z

I was listening to the song Dream Weaver while editing this photo. Seemed appropriate to me.

Bouquet

2011-03-22T18:54:00.002Z

This flower looks like a bouquet to me with all the different colors and shapes. It was in the Asian Gardens section of The National Arboretum. If anyone knows what it is please leave it in the comment section. Thanks.

Weathered

2011-03-22T17:18:00.001Z

This stump is beautiful. I love the texture . Just amazing.

Jewel

2011-03-21T17:29:00.001Z

Trunks and Blooms

2011-03-16T01:07:00.001Z

More from my trip to the parts of The National Arboretum that I had not discovered until today. Some trees were poppin out their spring colors while others only hinted at what is to come with touches of color here and there.

Aromatic

2011-03-15T22:25:00.001Z

I could smell these as soon as I got out of the car...and then started sneezing. TOTALLY worth the allergy attack.

WOW

2011-03-15T20:19:00.001Z

I went to a part of The National Arboretum in DC today that I hadn't visited before and this is one of the first trees I saw. It made me emotional. I wanted to touch it for some reason so I did.

I CAN Still Photograph People

2011-03-15T13:51:00.001Z

When I first started taking pictures I preferred taking pics of people. In the last few years nature is much more interesting to me then people. I thought maybe i wouldn't be able to shoot people anymore. A friend asked me to take some photos of her son recently. I was nervous I wouldn't do a good job. Thankfully my fears were unfounded. I am happy I didn't give in to my fear. I love some of these shots. I will be posting some more as time goes on. Thanks to the mom and dad for allowing me to use them on my blog.

It Has Begun

2011-03-15T01:50:00.001Z

These flowers let ya know spring is on it's way. Makes me smile.

My Boy

2011-03-11T15:26:00.001Z

He's gotten pale in his old age.

More Bonsai

2011-03-09T16:42:00.001Z

These are the same Bonsai trees I have photographed for the last two seasons at the National Arboretum. I am frankly getting a little tired of them as they never really change much aside from getting leaves and losing them. I found out yesterday, from my mama, the the Arboretum is MUCH larger then I realized so I hope to go out over the next few weeks and find more beauty in the unexplored parts of the grounds.

Elderly

2011-03-08T16:23:00.001Z

Old trees have sooooo much more character then younger immature trees...just like people.

Naked

2011-03-08T02:09:00.001Z

Some naked trees I saw at the Arboretum today.

It's On It's Way

2011-03-08T01:31:00.001Z

...Spring that is. I went to the National Arboretum today and though there wasn't much poppin these flowers said "It's on it's way G". I felt it. Just FYI there is a LOT of construction going on. If you plan on going be aware.

Surprise At The Protest

2011-03-07T20:11:00.002Z

As I was leaving the protest last week I saw the roots on this tree and was happy to see a squirrel in among the. He posed for me but got tired of all the attention after a few seconds. Not sure if he/she was with or against the protesters.

Kept Me Company

2011-03-04T15:38:00.001Z

These geese were all around the lake as I went on my excursion last Monday. Kept me company. Beautiful creatures. The texture and design in there feathers is beautiful to me.

Touched a Nerve

2011-03-04T05:37:00.001Z

I was at a protest today in front of the White House. I have no problem with police being around to protect people from other people getting out of hand. This cop car at this angle to the White House just popped out at me. Very representative of how we are viewed, I feel, by politicians now a days. Republican, Democrat and Independent alike. Like they need to be kept separate from us. Protected from the citizens.

Simple Beauty

2011-03-03T02:39:00.001Z

Saw this shadow on a wall on a home while walking Lenny today. The top photo is one of my favorites of mine in a a long time. The simple beauty of it makes me emotional. Nature has such beauty if we just take the time to notice.

Different Feel To 'Em

2011-03-01T23:49:00.001Z

I loved this old dead tree still standing next to the lake at Cosca Park. The second one is one I just posted previous with my spin on it. makes it look like something out of Lord Of The Rings to me.

Stumps

2011-03-01T17:34:00.001Z

I just love trees and there stumps after they are gone. Probably goes along with my love of texture. I wanted to retouch them but decided their natural beauty is enough.

Ripples

2011-03-01T01:56:00.001Z

LOVE this from my walk today. In the darkness looking towards the light.

The Woods

2011-02-28T23:49:00.000Z

Some photos from my short journey out to Cosca Park in Clinton Maryland today. I went there to find some peace and was successful. I will live in an environment like this someday.

A Touch Of Color In A Sea Of White

2011-02-27T04:54:00.000Z

Spots of color in the whiteness of the storm.

Skeletons

2011-02-27T04:13:00.000Z

I love trees. Inherited it from my mama I think. Something about there different shapes speaks to me. Took these in the white out that trapped me in upstate New York a few weeks ago.

Flavored Ice

2011-02-26T04:56:00.000Z

Icicle photos taken in the dark in my folks backyard that I altered.

Back Yard Ice

2011-02-26T02:30:00.000Z

These formed over the days I was at my parents for my rehab. They grew as my strength to resist drugs did.

Battling Seasons

2011-02-24T03:33:00.000Z

These were taken in my hood on the same day. Sure sign spring is on it's way.

Journey

2011-02-22T22:14:00.000Z

This shot was taken from the car on the way home after rehab. It reminded me of a picture my dad has in his den. He said when he looks at it he thinks of me. That I have a long path in front of me and that even though we can't see whats around the bend in the road we stay on the path. That may not be exactly what he said but that's how it stuck in my head.

Art In a Blizzard

2011-02-22T02:52:00.000Z

These are shots from Griffis AFB in upstate New York during thew white out that kept me from returning from my trip on time a few days ago. The art is cool alone but with the blowing snow I was mesmerized.

Serenity

2011-02-21T04:48:00.000Z

Photo my mama took and sent to me. Very peaceful. I can feel the warm spring breeze.

Breaking On Through

2011-02-20T00:21:00.000Z

This is what the sun looked like today as it tried to break through the clouds and snow. I added some shadow for dramatic effect.

Blizzard Art

2011-02-19T21:10:00.000Z

This is art on Griffis Air Force Base during the heavy snow and wind today. It was so much fun being out in this with my mama. VERY heavy snow, 40 to 50 mph winds at times and 19 degrees. Had a great time. I will have videos posted on my YouTube channel from the day at www.youtube.com/gfreakj . These look unreal to me. Almost like I photo shopped the art into a photo of a snow storm .

I Looove Texture

2011-02-18T22:49:00.000Z

Lots of melting ice around my folks house in New York. Beautiful to me.

Chandalier

2011-02-16T21:58:00.000Z

Beautiful icicles on a local church in upstate New York.

Satellite Images

2011-02-16T19:02:00.000Z

These looked like satellite photos of icy earth.

Ice Ice

2011-02-15T18:53:00.000Z

I just love icicles. I love that I was able to catch the dripping water with my camera. Good to have a camera that takes the shot with no delay. I am lovin my Nikon.

God Caught My Eye

2011-02-01T21:58:00.001Z

The cross on this old church caught my eye. I have walked past it many times but this day it spoke to me. I liked it both with color and sepia. Hope you do too. Makes me emotional looking at it for some reason.