My name is Gabriel. I am a Christian, a born-again, Blood-bought child of The Living God.

My Hometown is Mesa AZ.

My Favorite Bible verse is Matthew 6:13b: "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."

I am a web designer, among many, many other things, and would love to assist you in any way possible with regards to HTML, CSS, etc. Please feel free to contact me at warriorofthecross@cox.net.

Here are some sites which I have built or assisted in the construction of:

Ashley's Mountain

June 2008

May 2008

April 2008

Older Posts

Do Not Grow Weary

Homemaker In Progress

Beauty and Light Photography

Mr. Doug Phillips' Blog

Made By Me! Creations

My Shepherd's Flock

Do You Have The Wits?

Patriot Post

Face.net

Visionary Daughters

Ladies Against Feminism

Our church website may be reached by clicking on 'Our Church' on the menu.

Light Painting

8/13/08

Alright, Mrs. K. told me to blog this, so thusly: Light Painting:

Mrs. K. told me about this technique, but I did not try it, as I thought that it would be time consuming and hard. It turns out, however, that it takes all of a minute to do a quality light painting. All that one must do is set up his camera on a tripod (Yes, you MUST use a tripod) in a pitch dark room. Then have someone stand in front of you with a flashlight or candle or whatever. Go to shutter-priority mode or manual (my favorite mode to shoot in ; )) and set your shutter speed to something like 25 seconds. If you are shooting with a Canon or a Nikon, then set it to "Bulb" mode. The Rebel XTi does this, and it is quite nice. This setting causes the shutter to stay open for as long as one holds down the shutter-release button. Then, leave the shutter open while your assistant draws a picture with the light. Ta-da! Oh, and speaking of tripods, I was recently blessed with a very good-quality- though rather old- tripod. Many thanks to the persons responsible! It has already proved invaluable.

This effect also works with motion, and can produce some really neat effects. I like the surreal look that this technique gave to the computer game (Activision's Battle Zone) in the following pictures.

"And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."

~ John 3:19-20

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Nature and Macro

7/24/08

Here are shots of flowers outside of my piano teacher's home:

With macro lens, but set on zoom, not macro:

With macro lens set on macro:

"The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."

~Isaiah 40:8

With the standard Canon zoom lens:

"I will also praise Thee with a harp, Even Thy truth, O my God; To Thee I will sing praises with the lyre, O Thou Holy One of Israel."

~Psalm 71:22

"Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created. He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away."

~Psalm 148:1-6

Alright, I know that that is not a picture of a harp- though I did get a picture of one recently. However, we all know that pianos are not in The Bible. But the piano and the harp are very similar, you know. Anyways....

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DSLR

7/21/08

Alright, if you are wanting rants and raves about how good DSLRs are, you will not find them here. Now that I am using a DSLR, I have noticed little difference between it and my old video camera, which I really miss. *cough*

Yes, that was entirely satire.

The LORD has answered my prayers and has provided us with a (large) upgrade from my most highly beloved Sony Handycam (which actually did take first in a photo contest, in case you were wondering). No, I do not miss the video camera at all. So what camera did The LORD provide?

This is a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. Wow, what a name. Could they not simplify that a little?

The next question: Is it better?

Try doing this with a video camera....

Yes, it is. I have yet to master it, but praise The LORD, 'tis simply another area in which to take dominion for The King, The LORD of Hosts.

"Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' then you shall say to them, 'Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.' So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever." And thus the sons of Israel did, as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the LORD spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place, and put them down there. Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day.

~ Joshua 4:6-9

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Gilded Sunbeams

7/10/08

I know, I know, long time no blog. After hearing Mrs. K. talk about vignettes (vin-yett-s), I decided to try them. I am also making use of the technique which I learned from Bethany which Mrs. K. terms 'watermarking.' I call it a signature, and see no reason why photographers have to use really odd words instead of ones that actually have something to do with what they mean.

I also tried to make my signature more hidden and subtle on this one.

Isaiah 45:6&7: "That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these."

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Rolling Thunder

6/1/08

One of my favorite ways to learn is by looking at what others have done and then figuring out how to do it myself. This photograph uses techniques which I have learned from two photographers that I know. Their work can be seen at Beauty and Light Photography and Do Not Grow Weary, both of which are in the 'Links' section of my About Me box.

This picture reminds me of the hymn 'The Love of God,' a stanza of which reads:

Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky.

Isaiah 51:15-16:

"For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea and its waves roar (the LORD of hosts is His name). And I have put My words in your mouth, and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, 'You are My people.'"

VICTORY OR DEATH! TO THE KING! TO THE KINGDOM! CHARGE!!!

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Separation of Church and State my eye!

Disclaimer: This is not an actual photo. In case you were wondering.

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Broadway at Night

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As Close to the Ant as Possible

"Proverbs 6:6: Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise,"

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A Twisting Pathway Into the Caverns of Grafiut

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MYbox

4/29/08

This was done entirely using Photoshop CS3. I am entering the world of graphic design (which is closely related to web design and photography), which, LORD willing, will become another area in which I may take dominion for The Kingdom of Christ Jesus!

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Photoshop and a video camera

4/21/08

James 1:11: "For the sun rises with a scorching wind, and withers the grass; and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away."

(NAS)

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