Tomorrow is February 1st and many people will be turning their thoughts to love and Valentine\’s Day.

Today I am thinking of the powerful and inspiring message Susan and I heard yesterday at Edwards Church in Northampton, Massachusetts.

I am a long-time member of the church. My children, Danielle and Daryl, were both baptized at the church and attended Sunday School; I even served as a Sunday School teacher a few times!

But yesterday was the first day I attended services in a long time (Danielle, who is getting married at the church on June 25 of this year, sat with Susan and I, along with her wonderful fiance, Mike.).

It was, for me, a happy homecoming. I was greeted by many old and dear friends: The Rev. Peter Kakos; David Kidwell, the minister of music; and Bill, Sue, Janet, Sandra, Chris, Nancy, Jim, Mark and others. Stephanie waved from the choir, which, I might add, is one of the greatest choirs in all of New England!

But more importantly was Peter\’s sermon message. A message about how we can best nourish our spirit and soul. A message about the importance of fellowship. Of music. Of prayer. Of love.

Today, the words of Paul the Apostle resound within me:

\”If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or clanging cymbal\”

Love, I believe, is essential to my communication with others.

And love is the most important part of any message that I communicate to others.

It is love that fuels my vision, my art. And it is love that directs me to share this art and vision with the world.

Love guides my Nature Photography:

Love prospers my Portrait Photography:

Love blesses my Documentary Photography:

Wherever I go, I believe, the light of love goes with me, and I add something of enduring value to that which I take part. Loving words and acts, gifts, art, say what perhaps nothing else could.

So I begin and end all my conversation and photographic creations from a loving heart.

Former Miss Teen America:

Photo by Bruce Barone.

Photo by Bruce Barone.

Photo by Bruce Barone

A smart and kind and fun and warm and witty person.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound\’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

\”Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening\”
~Robert Frost

Photo by Bruce Barone.

First thing this morning, after a night of snow:

The Chest That Grows Peas From Its Drawers In Summertime.

I felt compelled to shovel the entire driveway:

Self Portrait. January 27, 2011.

Then, I came inside the house (My heart was still beating.), showered, and started work on a new website which will be devoted to only my wedding photography.