Lillian

Lillian was confined to a wheelchair after an accident injured her spine. She has not allowed this to dampen her spirit and she gives glory to God for what He has done in her life. She has a dream of taking a course to learn how to be a professional dressmaker.

From Kenya December 2009

I've Seen A Lot

This lady may have rarely traveled outside of her village, but I think that she has seen a lot in her lifetime.

From Kenya December 2009

Why did the Ostrich Cross the Road?

The answer to the question in my previous post is "an ostrich". We must have seen about 20 last Saturday at Nairobi National Park. There were both males and females at different locations in the park. I believe that this is a male. The females have a pretty uniform brown color. On the last visit we only saw one ostrich. The visit this past week definitely had a 'fowl' theme with many different birds being spotted.

Can you guess what animal this foot belongs to?
This was taken during our photo safari at the Nairobi National Park last Saturday with Anita Brown Hinson and her nephew, Matt.

Drinking Your Bathwater

These three Zebras are in a waterhole at the Nairobi National Park. You can't see it in this photo, but there are probably 50 storks from my last post in the water as well.

This Stork Doesn't Bring Babies

When we were at Nairobi National Park yesterday, we saw this large bird. It is a Marabou Stork. It is a very large bird with a huge wingspan. They can weigh up to 20 pounds and have a wingspan of 10.5 feet. The beak is huge and looks to be sharp. It has a bald head that is reflective of its eating habits which include putting its head inside an animal carcass. If it had feathers on its head, they would become matted with blood.

The first one that we sighted was sitting on top of a dead cow and seemed to be keeping the vultures and other birds at bay. Later, we saw about 50 of them at watering hole. Overall, it was a bird day with many sightings.

Zebra Crossing

This is one of the Zebras that we saw on our visit to the Nairobi National Park. There was a large dazzle of them crossing the dirt road in front of us. Actually, they weren't doing much crossing as they were just standing in the road--creating their own Zebra Crossing (my British friends will appreciate the connection as that is what they call a crosswalk). When we finally started to move forward toward them they did not move very quickly and we passed within 3 feet of the few that decided to stay right next to the road.

A Big Belle

Belle is one of Philip and Kelli's three dogs.
They are all big dogs, but isn't she loveable?
It was tough to get this shot before she licked the lense.

Eyes Open to the Need for the Gospel

CSM Reuben started the Army's work in Isiolo in the mid-1990s when he was transferred as a teacher from Meru to Isiolo. He had been an active Salvationist in Meru and realized the Isiolo needed the Army. Reuben was educated at the Army's Thika School for the Blind and became a teacher. He continues to teach music to children and involve them at the corps. Recently Isiolo was upgraded from an outpost to a corps and it has started two more outposts. They don't have an officer and it is difficult to raise funds to support the corps. The people of the Isiolo Corps are full of the Joy of the Lord.

Pool Party

The week before we left the USA for Kenya, Dave and Karin Dickson were in Ohio to pick-up Abby (our God daughter). We were fortunate enough to have them come and visit us in Middletown at my parents' house. Abby inaugurated the pool for the year with a little wading.

Wheel of Fortune

I took this photo during our stop-over in London on the way to Nairobi. This is the London Eye. It is a ferris wheel with capsules that hold about 25 people. It is always crowded there and it costs about 15 Pounds to ride.

Disability Is Not Inability

This young man is a student at the The Salvation Army's Thika Primary School for the Visually Impaired. As we toured, he was sitting in one of the classrooms reviewing the notes that he had taken using his Brailler. I have changed the photograph to b/w and added a softfocus effect.

Touch Typing

This photo was taken at the Thika Secondary School for the Blind. I love the quality of the light and the blurred focus on the edges. This is a young man taking notes in chemistry class on his Brailler. Unfortunately, there are not enough Braillers for all of the students so some use a frame device in order to take notes during class.

Bokeh

The top photo was taken with the new lens that I received for my birthday. It is a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens for my Canon EOS Rebel XTi.

Because this lens has a lower f-stop available the bokeh is pronounced. Bokeh is derived from a Japanese word meaning blur or haze. The pronounced effect is that the subject of the photo is sharp while the background is out of focus. The effect helps to tell a story.

Compare the two photos above and you will get a better idea of the effect that is produced. I am glad that I added this lense as it allows for photos that were not possible with my kit lens that had an f-stop of 3.5-5.6