July 29

I'm renting another camera lens this week. I decided to casually start doing portraits for people (http://www.emilysheltonphotography.blogspot.com/), and I have a few photo shoots lined up over the next few days. Renting a lens gives me the chance to play around and learn about these lenses before I actually can afford to buy one. This time I rented the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens. According to some reviews I've read, it is comparable to the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens I rented last time, but it is about 1/3 the price. I was only able to play around a little bit tonight (while being attacked by a swarm of killer mosquitoes, or at least that's what it felt like!), so I can't make any of my own comparisons yet. I also rented a flash for the week, but I have no idea how to use it. My goal for tomorrow is to learn about when to use flash and how to use this particular flash.

It was a beautiful day today, and Audrey had so much fun playing outside. I had to drag her in kicking and screaming a couple of times, because I was tired of getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. I think she would have spent the whole day out there. We played a fun new game called, "run and pick up all the leaves in the yard"...I'll share more about that on the Life with the Shelton's blog soon.

And while I'm waiting for my pictures to export from Lightroom, I might as well keep writing! Tonight we went to the Muni to see Jesus Christ Superstar. The weather was perfect...just chilly enough to cuddle up under a blanket by the end. We went with our friends Bob and Taush. The funny thing is that the last show we went to with Bob and Taush (the only other show we've been to with them) was Godspell. Both musicals are about Jesus and are based on Gospels; Godspell (one of my favorites!) is an almost word for word telling of the gospel of Matthew, and Jesus Christ Superstar is very loosely based on the gospel of John. While both are about Jesus, they are very, very different.

So here's my review of Jesus Christ Superstar. I really liked it. It is very artistic and creative and dramatic. It has been controversial among Christians, though I'm guessing a lot of the people who are "against" it probably haven't seen it. It definitely emphasizes Jesus' humanity, which I think is both good and bad. Good, because we don't always focus on the human side of Jesus. And bad, because it doesn't quite give you a solid answer about Jesus' divinity. Then there is the whole Jesus/Mary Magdalene relationship, which probably drives Christians away from it as well. Though really, I didn't feel like it was emphasized all that much in the show. I wouldn't recommend the show to someone who is looking for a strict biblical account of Jesus' final weeks. But I think there is definite value to the show, both artistically and theologically.

Wow...am I still writing?? This blog has kind of turned into my own personal journal at times. So please don't feel obligated to keep reading when I ramble on like this. I know my husband doesn't! He let me know the other day that he usually just looks at the pictures and doesn't read what I write. I do read every word that he writes on his blog though...just so you know!