We've Reached the End

I've officially reached the end of NMathai Photography and this blog. I've had a good run, don't you think? I actually began this blog as a personal journal of sorts back in 2006, and its come a long way since then...almost 200 posts, over 100 comments, thousands of visitors. It was fun while it lasted. Rest in peace, people.










OK...obviously, it's not the end. But going through many changes recently, this was another one that was in the works. And today, I am excited to reveal to all of you the new...everything! Here goes...

- New Name: The business will now be know as Nate Mathai Photography...it's a lot easier, don't you think?





- New Cards: With the new branding of the name/site, I got these super cool new business cards made up, too! I've already switched my image branding to the new logo and such (as you probably noticed awhile ago), but now it's all tying together. What do you think of these?





- New Site: I've completely revamped my blog and site...and in the process they got merged together to form my new and improved blogsite! There's still some features that will be added in due time, but I've been patient enough until now and got tired of waiting! So now the new site is located at http://www.natemathai.com/ (it's a lot easier, don't you think?). Make sure you update your bookmarks and RSS readers, because I won't be making any new posts to this one.

Why do I love my new site...let me count the reasons (this is more a way to help you navigate)...
1] Easy Commenting!
No more needing to leave the page or anything. Easily view/hide all comments, and add your own much faster! This is by far my favorite thing (...and to prove it, I've also added a shout-out to those who comment most at the top of the blog :))

2] Rotating Banner!
At the top of the page, you'll see some of my favorite images of my clients. Each to you reload the page, you'll get a new one. Changing content is a beautiful thing.

3] Photo Challenge Location!
Now there's an easy way to see the current and past challenges...just go up to the drop-down navigation under 'extras' and find everything you need! (You can also follow my progress in my 28 in 2008 in the 'extras' section)

4] Client Cart!
Also in the navigation at the top, you'll find a "clients" where you can view your events in your own gallery. I'll also post personal work on their available for purchase too (once I start shooting more personal fine art stuff)!

5] Mobile Ready!
For those of you who browse on your iPhone's and such, you can go to http://m.natemathai.com/ for a mobile-friendly version of the site!

I've pushed all my old posts from this blog to the new site, so there really is no reason to keep checking this one moving forward- unless for some reason you really want to read this one post again, or have an odd love for this blog design...then by all means, to each his own.
With that said, head over there now and have a blast! (Oh, and let me know what you think about it over there too!)

NMP Photo Challenge: August

And for August, here we go!

Theme: Signs

Much of the communication we receive and give are visual. We signal hello's and goodbye's with a wave of our hands. A circle with a line through it means not to do something. We are directed how to get around a building or where a restaurant is by signs.
For this challenge, show me some signs! Have fun with composition or tell a story with the sign (...like, have a picture of people running past a "Slow Children" sign), or display a universal gesture that has become standard in our lives (...such as the two-finger peace sign).
Send your submissions to challenge@nmathaiphotography.com with the month in the subject, and include your name, link to your site, and a description/explanation of your image (especially if it is a gesture). Looking forward to seeing what you come up with! Happy shooting people!

100

I just came across that I received my 100th blog comment! Woo hoo! Thanks to everyone who leaves the love. I stole this idea from Jasmine* who does something similar, but I did a search for "100" on Google images and found this:

Sunil was the 100th commentator to my blog, and with that he will receive a $10 iTunes Gift Card! Congrats Sunil! And now you know that it pays to leave some love...you never know when I'm a mood to give some gifts. :)

Reflection...

He made dancing fun for me...


It was one year ago - though there has been healing, there is always pain. And I question what to write, what to share, what to post...so many different directions and angles my heart feels like taking this, but not knowing which one is 'best'. Words will not do justice, and might only make me more restless, or bitter, or something (praise God for the delete key and delayed postings).


I remember December 2006. At our church's regional conference, Binil asked if he could talk to me, so we found some time to meet up separately between things to talk. It was a question i knew was coming - 'Are you willing to serve in leadership with CPT?' CPT was the Creative Presentations Team at our church, which I was a part of way back in the day (mid-90's), putting on skits and presentations for different events. It transformed greatly over time, and was something that Binil invested so much of his time and effort in. Over the winter, though, many of the leaders were being called to different ministries and stretched too thin, and they were lacking people to take charge. I'd always loved serving in it, and that type of ministry is a 'fun' passion for me, but we both knew that I had already accepted the role as VP of our youth fellowship, and it just wouldn't be right for me to take on more at the moment.
The one thing I always seem to share of him is his passion, and it came out here again. He got into talking about his vision for the ministry, his heart for the people involved, his feelings on the leadership. He was a visionary and a dreamer. He looked at the Kingdom before looking at the situation at hand, and I still don't know how he did it.
Looking back on the year, many things have changed in my life, and I've grown a lot. But these are stakes in history to remind me of different areas where I stkk lack. I praise God for a relationship that is continuing to push me to not be limited by the practicality of this world's abilities, and to be a dreamer, to have a vision. And moments like these remind me of what a full life consists of.
His time came at the right time.
But I say that with a mental understanding of God's control more than a heart-filled conviction that he shouldn't have been with us longer.


I hear him challenge us with a reflection of his own life:
"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."

...and continuing to say...
"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Do your best to come to me quickly..."
2Timothy4:1-9

ETA- Binil's slideshow/testimony

[08.04.08] Monday Night Recap

• [Photo Challenge] Was the last challenge that difficult? I haven't received a single entry...how sad is that?!? Well...as always, there's a grace period, but I'll have August's challenge up in the next day or so.
  
• [Wedding Photographer] Especially when you are a photographer, one of the most common questions asked is "Who's going to be your wedding photographer?", which is commonly answered with "I am. I'm going to set up the cameras on tripods with a remote in my hand and get everything I need." Seriously though, it's a tough choice...I know of so many amazing photographers that it's hard to narrow it down. Setting a budget helps a bit (but you're always willing to bend on it!).
  One thing I plan on doing from now until the wedding is 'feature' a couple photographers that I would have loved to shoot my wedding if money/location/time/etc. were of no issue whatsoever. And it would have been cool to have it all lead up to the actual photographer chosen around my wedding next year, but it's not possible, because I'm going to post some images of his shortly :). I'll probably still 'feature' him at the end with an explanation of why we chose him, but for now, here he is: Kenny Kim (of Kenny Kim Photography).
  
• [The Proposal] People have been asking about the who/when of the proposal for quite some time now (including my now fiance :) ). It was quite difficult planning one with the busy-ness of our schedules this summer, and more so my sister's wedding last weekend (can't steal her thunder...that'd be mean of me). When I met with Kenny earlier in the year, we were trying to find a time for a mini e-session because we wanted to get a couple of images in time for our traditional engagement ceremony/party in a few weeks. He was able to find time for us this weekend in the midst of his nationwide travels, and I immediately knew what I wanted for the proposal.
  We scheduled to have our e-session at the beach, and God blessed us with some BEAUTIFUL weather (more on that to come). And so our plan was to meet up with Kenny at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park, and then walk over to the beach. Nithya and I got to the museum a little early, and I texted Kenny to see how long he was going to be (we'd been texting back and forth for the moments prior to set everything up). In the back of the museum was a pond and a bit of a cross-platform over it, which would have been a perfect place for the proposal. The only problem was there was a wedding being held at the museum, so everything was closed off...there were some people from the wedding party hanging out on the platform too. So I took Nithya around the back to walk around while we 'waited' for Kenny (...Kenny was making his own pathway through the bushes and found a way up on the platform). Nearby that area, I found a little rocky area just next to the pond, so I stepped in to see if I could get on the platform from there...sadly we couldn't. But it was a nice enough place, and I knew Kenny could see us there (I spotted him because I was searching for him to make sure, luckily Nithya didn't)...
  After a few more random words, I turned, looked at Nithya, (insert words here), got down on one knee, (insert more words), pulled out the ring, asked her if she'd marry me, she said yes, I put it on her finger, and stood to hug her with the applause of the wedding party. By that time Kenny moved into plain view where Nithya saw him. Here's one of the shots he got:
  






• [The E-Session] We carried on the rest of the day as planned. We headed over to the beach to get a handful of shots and call it a day. Let me tell you, it's very awkward being on that side of the camera. With a camera in front of my face, I never have to worry about my facial expressions or what not...luckily, weddings/e-sessions are all about the girl so I'll be out of focus in a majority of them :) . There will be more to come, but here's one that Kenny got to us so far:
  





• [The Cubbies] As I posted before, Nithya bought us Cubs tickets for my birthday, and we went on Sunday afternoon (after church and getting her ring sized). We had a great view and experienced a great win...Zambrano pitched a decent game, back-to-back-to-back doubles, after being down 2-0, and then after the Pirates tied it up with 3 in the 8th, the Reed Johnson hit a pinch-hit two-run homer to put us back up by two, followed by a solo shot by Soriano. And then Marmol closed it off for the win as expected. For my first (and probably only) Cubs game this season, I can say I was satisfied.
  





A model?












This fun friend helped lead the YMCA in our area...here he is donning the construction hat and the cowboy hat...




The anatomy of a swing, by Derrick Lee (I seriously think he has one of the most beautiful swings in all of baseball - if he would just stop hitting into so many double plays)...




The anatomy of a close, by Carlos Marmol...




version2...





• [The Power of the Ring] I've noticed that there is a lot of power that comes with a diamond engagement ring. Prior to the proposal, the perception was it being in my 'possession'. And with that, I got a lot of attention...everyone asking me about it, when's the proposal, how am I going to do it, etc. Now that she has the engagement ring, I get nothing. The occasional congrats, but that's it. Now, its all about her. Every question is now directed to her and I'm all alone. Woe is me...woe is me. :)