Most of my friends know that I spent a year in Uzbekistan, and that I would give a lot to go back.

I posted a bazillion pics from my trip when I first came home, but the server I used for those has become bogged down with spam, and most of the folks who read this blog now didn’t way back when those photos were new to me.

So, I’m slowly porting some of them over to Flickr, complete with explanations and everything.

Not only that, but if you spot a photo you particularly like, I’d love to sell you the full-size version for any price, and I’ll give the proceeds to support many close friends who are working to spread the Kingdom of Jesus in Central Asia.

(For a point of reference, $20 is enough to support one full-time native believer within the country for one month)

Click here to view the photos, and check back for new picks throughout the next several weeks!

It’s been around a year since I changed the template on this blog, so I figured it’s about time to start looking for a new look and feel.

There’s only so much you can do if you host through wordpress.com (they limit javascript, iFrames, etc), but I’ve been wanting to move to a 3-column design for a while.

I’m still working out the kinks, so please let me know what you think!

Also, I added a ‘photography‘ page, so check that out too…

I braved a room with about 20-25 women for three hours and took 370-something pictures.

Then I went mountain biking to gain back my man points :0)

Photos coming soon…

A stretch of road that runs over Falls Lake in Creedmoor, NC

There are a whole bunch of these things that grow in our yard.

I added some random, artsy photos to our flickr stream. Go have a look!

These are a few of the more hobby-ish photos I took this past weekend on our youth retreat to Asheville. You can see them all on my flickr stream here.

A few days ago I was driving home from work, and I heard this story come across the wire on NPR:

If you are a photographer with high-quality images posted on Yahoo’s Flickr service, you may soon get an e-mail message inviting you to become a paid contributor to Getty Images, the world’s largest distributor of pictures and video.

Yahoo and Getty Images said Tuesday that they had entered into a partnership under which Getty editors would comb Flickr in search of interesting images. They will then invite photographers to participate in the program and ensure that their images have the proper releases to be licensed legally. Those who are included in the program will get paid at the same rates that Getty pays photographers who are under contract with the company.

(You can read the whole article here)

This is really exciting to me for two reasons: 1 is that Stephanie is an awesome photographer, and I think that there’s a real possibility that she could get published. And 2 is that I think ‘professional photographer’ is like #5 on my list of best jobs in the world.

So I started a flickr photostream, and we’ve slowly been adding some of our most ‘artistic’ photos.

Check it out!

What do you think is the best photo you’ve ever taken?

Here are a couple of my favorite photos from recently. You can see them all at http://photos.therieslands.com

Here are your options. When I get ten votes, I’ll use the winner!

What’s your favorite?

This photo is the background on my work computer right now.

This is my wife.

This is why I do what I do.

This is why I want to be a better me.