Cross in Colorado

This cross is a good hour hike from our Hermit Basin lodge in the Sangre De Cristo Mountain range in Colorado. We hiked up there several times in 2002 while we were there.

Mattie and Grandpa

This is a shot from Christmas ... Matthew was sitting with Lois' dad. They are two of my favorite guys.

The Coit Tower

This is the Coit Tower in San Francisco. I shot the photo in May, 2002, during a business trip there.

Norman

This is Lois and me with Norman Devening during his 100th birthday celebration several years ago ... Norman was such a joyful man who really did rejoice in all things. It was obvious that day that his up-until-then-robust health had begun to slip. He died just a few months later.

Paul Patterson

Directing the defense from the sidelines, Paul Patterson directs the Trojans to another win. This has been my 20th season to photograph Coach Patterson and his Trojans. We've had some wonderful memories. I remember telling someone a few years ago that I didn't know who we had coming back next year but I was fairly sure that Coach Patterson would be back and our prospects were pretty bright.

Eric Ford

For the past four years, we've enjoyed watching Eric Ford's heroics (and a number of opposing teams have come to dread them). It was as I looked at this photo that I was reminded of former Muncie Central basketball star Jack Moore. Moore was a phenomenal ball handler and shooter who led Central to THE state championship in 1978.

High Flying

Taylor's Eric Ford slashes through these defenders during the Marian game last week.

Conference Game

In this photo, Taylor's RJ Beucler drives around a Marian College player. Beucler is a senior; this was Taylor's opening conference tournament game.

Candlelight Service

This photo was taken during the Christmas Eve service several years ago.

Bowery Mission

One of my most memorable times came when I got to attend the dedication of the newly renovated Bowery Mission Chapel. Just a few blocks from the site of the World Trade Center, the mission and its chapel were used as staging areas for rescue efforts after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The greatest part of the day came when Jay Kesler mounted the pulpit and preached to the men.

Communion

This photo was taken during the wedding of my nephew as my father-in-law, Warren Tropf, also Jay's grandfather, administered communion to the newly-married couple. Warren is one of the most Godly and beloved people I've ever met.

The Couple

This shot was done at the wedding of my nephew, Jay Tropf, and his new wife Tammy. The couple looked great and the church was beautiful. It was most humbling to be able to photograph this event; although it's not often one gets the chance to fail or succeed in such a large manner!

The Bride

This is a shot from my most recent wedding.

Christmas Picture

This is Lois and me - the photo was done at the wedding of our nephew.

Wedding Collage

This collage was created in Photoshop. It required a little planning and some improvisation.

Heeding the Call

Young Prince Kaboo flees his tormentors through the Liberian jungle in 1891 in this statue on the Taylor University campus. After meeting a Taylor graduate upon his arrival at a rubber plantation on the coast, Kaboo became a Christian believer and took the name of a Fort Wayne, IN banker, Samuel Morris; he later went to school at Taylor, albeit for less than two years before his death from pneumonia in the spring of 1893. The Taylor community was so deeply moved by Morris' love for God and thirst for knowledge of the Holy Spirit that a large number of his classmates eventually took up the calling he had once envisioned - to return to Africa to share God's love. So miraculous was Morris' life and winsome his persona that his grave is the most visited site in the Lindenwood Cemetery on Fort Wayne's west side.

Tennis Player

OK, it's not the most creative name for a post but I like the shot.

Flying Finish

Here's Katie racing her team mate, Allie, and a girl from Winchester. It was the best race of her sophomore year. I had run the Chicago Marathon just two days before and in spite of my aching legs I ran along cheering for her.

Up The Hill

These are some of Katie's cross country team mates from last year during a meet at Prairie Creek in Muncie.

Available Light

This is one of my favorite shots at the conclusion of the group photos - we work toward just the couple at the end of the photos and this is one of the last shots; done by the windows using available light.

The Kiss ... The Rings

Another "double" exposure created in Photoshop.

The Kiss

I did not use flash on this shot - the flash came from the grandmother in the lower right of the frame. I still liked the effect and the shadows and made everything but the couple and the best man black and white.

Wedding Couple

This shot was done during our group photo section before the ceremony. I used two flashes in front and one behind - later I had to touch up some shadows on the brick wall.

Nuts About Fall

I caught this squirrel one day walking between buildings at Taylor. I can think of more comfortable ways to get a snack!

Tempting Fate, The Prequel

In this opening shot, Katie begins playing the piano and we see our young, recalcitrant (namely Peter) entering the room. Although she gives him a loud, "STOP!" he continues his interpretive dance as the music throbs.

Tempting Fate Part I

When last we left our heroes, Katie had just started playing the piano and Peter began his "dance with death."

Undaunted by her preliminary warning, his dance grew in intensity ...

Tempting Fate Part II

Peter continues his dance unabated as a flu-stricken Matthew watches from the couch.

Tempting Fate Part III

It was shortly after this moment that Katie turned around and chased him up the stairs. These days, Peter is the bigger one and Katie does the running!

Posing Without Knowing It

This girl was at our bible school in Ticimul.

Mayan Child with her Crayons

This is one of the children in Xochempich with her beloved crayons.

Sean Chookie

Here are two of my favorite guys - Matthew and our nephew Jay (Jared to us). Jay took Matthew on a go kart ride last Thanksgiving. The real fun came when it was time for him to pull his 6'2" frame from the machine.

Paul Patterson

Here is our Taylor basketball coach Paul Patterson at the start of the conference championship game two years ago during the National Anthem. I also cover my heart during the singing of that song - which is not just a precursor to the tip off, but a prayer that our nation will always be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Twist and Turn

Here's more basketball in the Odle Gymnasium featuring my lights. This is Taylor's RJ Beucler.

Bridal Kiss

This is Evan and Heather Kittleman during their wedding several years ago. They wanted some black and white photos taken - which at that time I was able to do with film. They are both good friends and valued colleagues - as well as a beloved brother and sister in Christ.

Sweep

This is Taylor football player Tad Litwiler (spelling?) on during a game last year. He was wearing a mask to protect his eyes after being scratched in a game earlier in the season.

I Want to be Like Mike!

Yet another shot from my Mike Parsons collection - taken during his playing career at Taylor University.

Basketball

This was done during a game in the Odle Gymnasium two years ago using lights positioned in the corners and bounced from the ceiling. Someone once said that they didn't like armpits in basketball shots - interesting - basketball is a game in which people raise their hands above their heads at both ends of the court.

Happy Moment

Jeff Stassen holds a cell phone for his daughter Lauren Brady and his granddaughter Katherine. Katherine was talking to her father, Sean, who was with the Indiana National Guard in Afghanistan. Jeff has since been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. You are in our prayers.

Vacation Bible School

This is my buddy Ross DeLong waiting for the day's VBS to start.

Vacation Bible School

I'm not sure whether this little guy was playing for the camera or if he was enjoying a moment with a friend but it made for a great moment.

Vacation Bible School

This was one of the fun moments at last summer's Vacation Bible School at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Double Exposure

In the "Old Days" a double exposure was accomplished in the photographer's mind with two or three exposures on a single frame of film. I used to make sure the liner of my necktie was black so I could shield the lens. These days it is done in the photographer's mind but now uses Photoshop.

At The Ballgame

This was Matthew and me at the Indianapolis Indians last summer ... it was a bit warmer that night than it has been lately.

Using their Heads

This is a great shot ... for Cedarville. It seems so often that when I get the great action photo the arms and bodies are in such a position that the Taylor name is covered up. Oh, well. I'll keep shooting.

Going for the Interception

Taylor's Jeremy Lochner went for the interception of this pass during the game against William Penn on Saturday. The shot was taken across the field with my 300mm lens.

Running For His Life

Although I liked the fast shutter speed and the shallow depth of field used on this shot, the Taylor running back actually got brought down behind the line of scrimmage on this play.

Just Barely!

I didn't know for sure that I had this shot until I downloaded it after the game. The two defenders got called for running into the kicker but Taylor declined because the punt went nearly 50 yards.

Passenger Car

This passenger car at the Knightstown-to-Carthage railroad yard is well past its prime but still serves as a reminder of days gone by.

Handsome Kitty

They say the longer a person has a pet, the more alike they become. Submitted for your consideration ...

Samuel Morris

Samuel Morris was a student at Taylor University from 1891-1893. The son of a Liberian chieftain, Morris, also known as Prince Kaboo, was kidnapped by a rival tribe, severely beaten, and about to be executed when a bright light shined about him and a voice urged him to get up and run.

After surviving a nearly 30-mile trek through the African jungle to a plantation on the Liberian coast, he met American missionaries who taught him to read. As he was reading the bible one day, he came to the place in the New Testament book of Acts in which the Apostle Paul saw a bright light and heard a voice from heaven.

Determined to learn more about the Holy Spirit, Morris booked passage on a freighter bound for New York. Eventually, he found himself at Taylor University, which at that time was a struggling college in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

His thirst to know more about God, his search for the Holy Spirit, and his simple prayer life had such a profound effect upon his fellow students that after his premature death from pneumonia in the spring of 1893, many of his classmates became missionaries to finish the work Morris said he wanted to do.