Dedication of John Carroll Collier's The Sower

 

My wife Kimberly and I decided a couple of months ago that we needed to be present for last Saturday's dedication of John Collier's (my father-in-law) sculpture for his alma mater, Central Christian College, located in McPherson, Kansas.  It was an incredibly meaningful trip in a multitude of ways.  First, we were incredibly proud of John's wonderful work and happy to be able to be part of its dedication.  Second, with this particular college having a close connection to both the Collier and Ferrell families, it was interesting to connect and learn more about the family history in this way--not to mention meeting more of my wife's family.  Third, as you may know, this community suffered a terrible tragedy just a few weeks ago on a soccer field filled with children at play.  We have all become so inured and accustomed to these evil events on the evening news, and there is something powerful in visiting a community like this after a traumatic event like this.  You don't see dour people raising their fists at God, but just everyday souls trying to continue to put one foot after the next as best they can and love their neighbor.  We also learned of a family connection to the heartbreak, and it is all just incredibly sad.

We did not arrive smoothly in McPherson, by the way.  On our little journey to Kansas, we managed to (1) miss three consecutive flights in Denver due to someone’s apparent medical emergency delaying our plane's arrival at the gate, (2) experienced new adventures in jogging across terminals to mismarked departure gates, (3) learned from TSA, after a full search minus only the foot massage, that some camera cleaning chemicals are also used in explosives. (No, don’t know specifics thanks to national security.)  After changing from Salina to Wichita, no rental cars were available at the airport, and our rental price jumped by leaps and bounds. Only bright spot: United Airlines put us up at a nice hotel and gave us meal vouchers (after everything was closed), but the hotel did have a few food items available.  So, it felt like a Planes, Trains, and Automobiles kind of adventure.

The Sower, based on Christ's parable from Matthew 13, was definitely worth all of the trouble of the journey, and we were so glad to have come.  The family we had not seen for years was welcoming as well, and the bright blue Kansas skies were a nice reprieve from the darker November skies of Oregon.  It was my intention to use a newly available piece of software called FilmCraft to create a video of my GoPro recordings as well as select photography from our trip.  I was able to get the video features to work fairly well in this open-source software, but when I tried to insert photos like I used to in iMovie...it did not work well.  Besides not having any kind of pre-set viewing pattern for still images, the software kept insisting on displaying my photos for periods ranging from five minutes to five hours.  So, I decided to proceed with a video-only production for now.  Unfortunately, subsequent versions of the video kept reporting ghost images remaining in the video.  All in all, I can't recommend this software at this time.  I was also rather disgusted with the commercially available sacred music tracks for videos such as this. If you would like to access the photos, you can view the Flickr album that's now available.  

Apologies for a lack of stability at times with the videography.  I have issues with my left leg that sometimes cause problems when standing for long periods of time.  While kneeling helps (I am Catholic, after all), it doesn't help the picture's perspective so much.

The FilmCraft video will be placed below as soon as the processing is complete, and I have successfully transferred to YouTube.

Cameras vs iPhones for Young Families

An interesting sea change is taking place in the camera industry in response to the rise in popularity of the iPhone.  One Japan-based camera industry group, CIPA, reports that orders shipping out of Japan have fallen by more than 90%.  Before the rise in iPhone quality, the camera market had been seeing a fairly steady rise in sales. That's now a thing of the past.  

It's not necessarily a bad thing; competition can be good, of course.  What I'd like to point out (especially to young families) is that the iPhone isn't necessarily a good substitute for either long-term archival options or image quality itself.  A good illustration of the iPhone's insecurity is what happened to me on my first trip to the UK in 2017, when I inadvertently changed my Apple cloud settings and lost most of the trip photos I had saved to that device.  Fortunately, the iPhone was just a supplement to my regular camera, so it wasn't a disaster.  It did, however, prompt some reflection.  In general, some people are pretty tough on their phones.  If you're using it, for instance, as the primary device of record to store memories of a growing family, you might be headed for a costly mistake.

The other area to consider is image quality.  While iPhones are getting better, they still rely upon computational photography to take as good a photo as possible...instantly.  Rather than relying on tried-and-true optical photography, computational photography takes a completely different approach.  According to Science News Today, computational photography combines hardware and software to improve image capture beyond the limitations of traditional optics. Unlike conventional cameras that passively record light, computational photography uses algorithms, AI, and neural networks to actively interpret scenes, adjust settings, and merge multiple images into a single optimized photo. 

You could even argue that an iPhone photo is less representative or "real" than true optical photography because of how it works under the hood.  This might be pushing it a bit, but it approaches how I see this category of photography.  For example, some photographers think nothing of running their photos through multiple levels of enhancement before sharing.  At what point, it must be asked, does a photo cease to become a true representation of life and become something more akin to a lie or a misrepresentation?  (Here is an interesting YouTube presentation on this topic.)  

Recently, I planned to interview a well-known photographer from Fresno about AI in photography, but the interview fell through because we repeatedly couldn't coordinate.  There are definitely multiple camps on AI's role here.  I can accept using Adobe Photoshop (or Lightcraft) to improve lighting or remove that bit of lens lint from the image, but when does software manipulation become too much?  Some photographers argue that the photo remains true and authentic even after multiple enhancements, but I am skeptical of that position.

At any rate, the AI dimension is a bit of a digression from the larger issue of relying too much on an iPhone for all of one's treasured memories.  It just seems like a bad idea.  Avoid putting all your eggs in one basket and diversify how you save those precious memories by using an authentic camera in addition to your iPhone.  Don't fail to record those memories as well...  Many years ago, I had a relative who avoided having his photo taken at family gatherings.  He was embarrassed about his weight.  Then, he suddenly passed away at a relatively young age.  Some of the only recent photos were mine, but there were not many.  Someday in the future, you or your descendants, will greatly appreciate the family record you have created and safeguarded in photography.

Top 5 Worst Moves by Politicians, Statesmen, or Fed Agencies this Political Cycle

 

It's election season again, which invariably means you have to grit your teeth and not explode in a verbal meltdown at the nearest television or radio.  While I am indeed a conservative Republican, it sometimes seems my party is bent on looking as ridiculous as possible.  There seem to be many lost and confused sheep out there this time of year.  That's why I'm bringing you the Top 5 worst moves by politicians, statesmen (supposedly also of a conservative persuasion), and federal agencies.

1.  The top spot has to go to Ramaswamy and his tone-deaf and arguably unethical campaign commercial featuring the mentally unbalanced parent of his opponent: the parent who lost custody because of child rape by the other "parent" decades ago.  It's hard to know where to begin with something like this, except that I sincerely hope that Amy Acton beats him.  Perhaps, because of his terrible judgment and lack of empathy, as shown in his choice of commercials, she will succeed.

2.  US special envoy Steve Witkoff told a smiling Putin that he was indeed a humanitarian.  If a humanitarian is defined as someone concerned with, or seeking to promote, human welfare, one is left wondering about Ukraine and Kyiv in particular.  Perhaps Witcoff would like to tour some of those obliterated apartment buildings?  Oh, I am sure they must have been military targets, right?  Of course, there is also the whole business of Putin having been a KGB Agent, and they are not known to be particularly humanitarian chaps, are they?  No, and this is also a fellow known for his knack for making his political enemies around the world suddenly die from mysterious causes.  Wonder if Witkoff has ever read Solzhenitsyn, the writer of novels like the warm and cheerful Gulag. 

3. President Trump, while I applaud much of what he has accomplished, seems intent this political cycle on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the upcoming primary.  Case in point: renaming New Mexico New America.  If he could just pause the renaming proposals and the attacks on Canada, France, and the Pope for a month or so, that would be... hot dog terrific!  In fact, could we generally stop attacking our allies in the press?  It's just a thought.

4. Hegseth's televised firing squad plans for the Fort Hood mass shooter have got to be included here too.  Talk about lacking class and misunderstanding the whole idea of martyrdom, which this could have cemented in the minds of many misguided individuals.  Do we really need to give Al Jazeera news material?  More importantly, though, is this the kind of USA we want to create for ourselves and our children?  We are better than this, folks.

5. Homeland Security is getting a tad careless.  This is being said by a guy who actually moved to Texas with his family decades ago because he had been told by US Border Patrol that he should make preparations for federal law enforcement boot camp.  Thankfully, perhaps, the job fell through in the end. Still, the impression from the outside today, at least, is that there are too many cases of US citizens getting arrested (and injured) by Homeland Security.  I am all for border enforcement, but I also don't see where it is cost-effective (or particularly ethical) to tear away law-abiding citizens (okay, maybe not immigration law) from their families.  We don't seem to be going after the worst of the worst anymore.  I suggest we're moving too far in the opposite direction from the Biden Administration, and the next administration will likely just play the pendulum game and swing too far the other way again.  What's needed is a little more moderation and much better, clearer, and tailored communication with the American people about what you're doing and why.    

Adobe & Monthly Subscriptions Meet ArtCraft

If you're anything like me, you have come to really hate subscriptions these days.  Some apps (with their own subscriptions) are even dedicated to discovering how many online subscriptions you have.  From applications to streaming services, it's easy to rack them up.  I think we have managed to keep our total count to about half a dozen, but I am probably missing one or two. 

One of the worst offenders has been Adobe with their Creative Cloud collection of applications running just under $35 a month.  A software engineer named Brandon Thomas, who writes in Rust, tried to cancel an annual membership and got hit with hundreds of dollars in cancellation fees.  This sparked enough motivation to reconstruct the entire Creative Suite offerings in open source in Rust.  This was reportedly accomplished using AI.  Since the underlying Adobe code is private, this wasn't copied per se, so it isn't piracy as I understand it. This may be a moral gray area, however, so I am open to others' thoughts.

I have periodically been asked to demonstrate my skill in these applications or needed them for other reasons, but I've never maintained a subscription.  However, we do own a slimmed-down version of Photoshop called Photoshop Elements.  Anyway, I decided to download them all this morning, and we ran a test using PhotoCraft, their answer to Adobe Photoshop.  It did not disappoint.  Using the first photo below from Oregon's beautiful Wallowas, we digitally removed the picnic table.  It worked remarkably well.  In fact, as a newbie, I was rather astonished.

There's a lot of information online about this software now, as Adobe's stock price plummets.  One good YouTube video on this topic is below.

So, what are your thoughts?

Be Careful Out There!

 

Coming up on the final days of summer 2026, I was reminded recently of the need to take common sense with you when you travel into the backwoods of Oregon--or anywhere else.  On a hike a few weeks ago, a companion and I encountered a man in shorts and a t-shirt carrying no water or a backpack. His face was sweaty and turning red; he looked hot, miserable, and ill-prepared for a hike.  When I inquired about how he was doing, he said he was trying to catch up to his family, who he expected to be hiking out of the park that day.  I tried to offer him a bottled water, but he refused.  He left me with an uncomfortable feeling that I would see him again on the evening news.  I remember passing a search-and-rescue team once as I was heading out, and they were heading in; there is something a bit sobering about seeing the column of young, fit people with stern expressions, followed by deputies.  Of course, it's even more sobering when the rescue team is there to extricate a loved one.  As a guy who has had to hike out of the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness in the dark with a barely working flashlight after my father broke his leg on an upper trail, take it from me: you need to respect the wilderness as much as you appreciate its beauty.

I have shared hiking safety tips in the past, but I'll add a new one to the list today.  Don't forget your personal locator device or a satellite communication tool — especially if you're like me and tend to hike alone.  I use a Motorola texting device that lets me text anywhere I have my iPhone and open sky above.  It's not always perfect, but I see it as taking a degree of responsibility for my own well-being and safety.  In the Mt Jefferson Wilderness in particular, I've now seen both a cougar and a brown bear at fairly close range.  The cougar was surprisingly large.  That's one reason why I have added bear spray and/or a firearm to my list of recommended items; better safe than sorry.  (I tend to carry both now.)  Before carrying one, of course, make sure you have trained (and continue training) on how to use it.  For example, when I used to work in the loss prevention, safety, and security fields, I would sometimes imagine scenarios and work through how I might respond to them.  At least once, and probably more, this mental rehearsal proved useful when there was no time to really think.  I recall, for instance, pretty confidently using pepper mace the first time in downtown Bellingham late one night when a fellow was getting his head repeatedly bashed into the downtown sidewalk in a vicious attack.  Seconds do count.  Be aware, incidentally, that it's best to avoid spraying pepper spray of any kind into the wind.  (I never did that, but I do vaguely recall testing my spray once.)

It occurred to me that I was perhaps somewhat close to being one of those lost in the great outdoors, too.  When I was a young boy, my mother took me car camping in Washington State Dungeness Spit State Park.  I somehow managed to squeeze out of the backseat of her Vega and open the front door of the car in the middle of the drizzly night.  I sleepwalked from one side of the park to the other.  I recall my wool socks splashing in big puddles in the pitch-black of the night.  I recall waking up just enough to decide on directions before falling back asleep.  I even remember standing at the top of a high bluff overlooking the ocean and staring off at distant twinkling lights across the water (Port Angeles, I think).  I am not sure how close I came to the edge, or even where I precisely was.  Despite it being too dark to see the parked cars in the campground, I don't recall being afraid.  I didn't wake up until I returned and opened the car door, giving my mother a scare she would not soon forget.

To give a taste of the unusual disappearances and attacks in Oregon, I am sharing a few links below.

Article detailing national park murder of the Cowden family in Southern Oregon (along with many other missing cases).  (Go to the Carberry Creek incident.)

Below is a segment from David Paulides of the CanAm Missing 411 Project.  This incident starts around the 47-minute mark.

In a related digression, here are some links to missing persons-related sites.

Locations Unknown Missing Interactive Map for National Parks

NAMUS Dashboard

Oregon State Police

Introducing Hiking / Photography Video

If you're in Oregon (or visiting), here are directions to my favorite photographic viewpoint of Mt. Jefferson. It's easier than the hike up Grizzly Peak, and it's arguably a better view. 

Bear in mind (no pun intended) that there are black bears in these woods, as well as cougars. I saw my first black bear on this last hike. Also, while the Forest Service doesn't exactly have transparent records, there have been a handful of disappearances into the Mt Jefferson Wilderness. The most well-known example was Riley Zickel, who disappeared in 2016. As seems often the case, his remains were found years later in an area previously searched.  Ensure you are always prepared for unexpected challenges and hazards.

Below is a short AI risk analysis of this area.

			Area Lost Hiker Risk Climbing Risk SAR Activity Jefferson Park High Moderate Very High Russell Glacier Moderate High High Mount Jefferson Summit Low Very High High Three-Fingered Jack Low High Moderate Pamelia Basin Moderate Low Moderate Marion Lake Moderate Low Moderate Related Posts: Injured and Alone Lost in the Woods A Day Hike to Lake Pamelia

Japan's High Flying Balloon Bombs of WWII

On May 5, 1945, six Southern Oregon picnickers were killed by one of many balloon bombs indiscriminately launched by Japan.  While it was the only balloon known to have caused injuries in the mainland United States, I decided to share a short post about this event because of a family connection.  At that time, my grandfather, Leo Rand, was serving as a young pastor at the Christian Missionary Alliance Church in Wolf Creek, Oregon.  He and my grandmother, Helen Rand, both knew the adult named Elsie Mitchell who lost her life, and they may have likely known others as well.  They certainly knew Rev. Archie Mitchell who witnessed the explosion from a distance, and we think my grandfather may have officiated this funeral.  Sadly, another family memory from my grandmother, Helen Rand, was that Elsie would occasionally predict she was "going to be famous" in college.  Another sad dimension of this true account is the presumed death of the Rev. Archie Mitchell in the mission field overseas.  (Wikipedia has a well-researched article on this Japanese attack. It's also a good source to visit for additional resources.)

What prompted me to remember this piece of Oregon history was a very nice video I recently watched by Steve from Sidetrack Adventures.  I invite you to take a look at his journey below to this site situated near the town of Bly.