Have Yourself A Macro Christmas

One of the things I love the most about snow and ice is the exceptional beauty in miniature that appears in so many different ways.  Here in Scotland we have had several feet of snow, frozen ice, fog, temperatures of -19 C, and rain...or some combination of all these, many times in the one day.

And I love getting up close - sometimes very very close - to that beauty, because it reminds me that all this beauty was designed by a Great Designer.

In photography we call that 'macro' - or 'close up' photography.  Let me encourage you to get very, very close up to the creation this week.  

 

After all, there is a molecule in the human body called laminin, which literally holds our bodies together.  And if you looked very, very closely, you would see that laminin is in the shape of a cross.

Now isn't that beautiful.  Happy Christmas.

Reconnecting Beauty With Truth

"In the last hundred years, we've started to reconnect beauty with truth, and I think Makoto's work represents a fusion of that."   

-Alissa Wilkinson, Curator Cultural Clinic

Makoto Fujimura - The Art of "The Four Holy Gospels" from Crossway on Vimeo.

Let's Hear It For The Red, White, and Black!

It's always a beautiful day at Reyburn Photography when our KISS wedding albums arrive!

Helen & Darren's wedding was in red, white, and black. The 10x10 album and all the little mini albums went together so well we had to blog about it!

They had a big album...


...and a whole pile of little mini albums.


It's cold here in Scotland (let's rephrase that: the air is like ice), but fortunately all these albums came with protective album covers.


Don't they look cute in their little jackets?

This next photo is a nod to the KISS team, all of whom are stellar, fun people with really cool job titles like "Ambassador of Hotness" and "Helpful Hottie". I thought there was someone called the Bookbinding Badass, but he has been replaced by the Book-Building Black Belt. Either I made that title up in my head, or the black belt can really kick ass!

Anyway, they're great people and will help you no matter where you contact them from, even a little red British phone booth.

Here are the bride and groom with all their guests, most of whom went with the colour scheme. Very impressive!
Congratulations again to a beautiful couple, who are now the proud owners of some very beautiful albums!

Waterford Crystal and A Tribute

Recently I had the opportunity to visit the newly-opened Waterford Crystal factory in Ireland. Read through to the end for a visual tribute to the rescue workers of 9/11.

Let me walk you through the process. I'd have forgotten how it all went, but my trusty camera was there with me to help you see it all for yourself - from simple wooden mouldings to exquisite handcrafted work.

Before you go into the factory, you get to wander about looking at the finished product. You think it's amazing now, just wait until you've seen how it all comes about!

There are dinner place settings so you can imagine how your own table might look...

...and chandeliers that sparkle like a million diamonds.


Now that you're ready to be impressed, we set off. First is the making of the moulds (from wood):
...then the shaping and blowing of the glass...

...which is then checked and put into the kiln.

If it's not absolutely perfect, it's flung into "the blue bin" (official title), smashed, and melted down to begin again. There are no 'seconds' of Waterford Crystal.

Some of the materials and implements:

Next comes the hand marking. The marks are made on the crystal so that those who cut it know exactly where to make the cuts.
I talked to a few of these workers, many of whom had been working in the Waterford Crystal factory for over 35 years.
And finally on to the Sculpting room. Here's where they make the most amazing works of art, many of which take hundreds of hours to complete.

The most amazing one I found was a depiction of a rescue scene at what is now Ground Zero in New York. It was created by one of the factory workers on his own time, spending over 200 hours to honour those who gave their lives to save others on 9/11.

Today is the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. I don't have the skills of this crystal sculptor, but with these photos and this blog post I honour all those who gave their energies, efforts, and even their lives on that day.

Even if we don't know who they were.

"Not a day passes over the earth but men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great words, and suffer noble sorrows." - Charles Reade

Make Salad While The Sun Shines

So, despite the fact that it's been exceedingly soggy this week (hence the new wellies), it's still summer, so I'm having salad for dinner.

Plus, the sun came out today :)

I got this recipe from Tesco Real Foods, but of course being me, I had to document the whole process! So, if you're stuck for a light snack today, or a side dish with dinner, may I recommend the Greek pasta salad?

All you need are baby tomatoes...

Half a cucumber, cut into quarters...

Red onion (sparingly!)

Fresh basil (mmm, nothing nicer!)

(And don't forget to save the rest of the fresh basil in water - it will last for almost two weeks!)

Just bung all this into a bowl while you're chopping everything else...


...like the feta cheese...

...which you will drizzle with olive oil and white balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, salt, oregano, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.

Then some twirly noodles (fusilli is the fancy name, but you can call them curliqueues or spirals or whatever you like)...

...and toss it all together and put it in a beautiful blue ceramic bowl that your friends brought you from Cyprus! :) (Thanks Santamas family!)

I had to taste it to make sure it's okay. Whew - it's excellent! Try some yourself tonight!