User:Mactographer

[edit] The basics

My name is David Ball. Most folks call me Dave. I'm a photographer in the San Francisco Bay Area who is still trying to get used to the Wikipedia hieroglyphics used to edit these pages. I’m much more familiar with standard HTML. So please forgive any misedits.

I’ve added many wedding photos to the various pages at Wikipedia because – being a wedding photographer – wedding images make up the bulk of what I have to share here. I also collect vintage wedding images, some of which I’ve also uploaded to Wiki. Be sure to check out the wedding photos of brides in black dresses. (And you always thought they were white.) However, I’ve been digging through my other image files as well and have uploaded other photos for various Wiki entries. My philosophy is summed up by the age old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thus, I will try to find entries that can benefit from a photo or two.

As for my self portrait – someday I will actually have to try to take a good photo of myself. This one comes from a test of the lighting during another individual's portrait session. Thus the brilliant expression on my face while counting down the self timer.

[edit] Contributions

[edit] Most contributions are photos, but I have created a few initial listings:

• Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness First listing
• Centerville Pioneer Cemetery First listing
• Wedding photography Photos and professional links to web
• White wedding Photos (both historical and contemporary) + some rewrites.
• Interracial marriage A couple of photos
• Bellagio (hotel and casino) Photo
• Andre Disdéri First listing
• Post-mortem photography Initial listing
• Bridges Community Church First listing and photos
• Mission San José Photo
• Ardenwood Historic Farm Photo & expanded listing
• Niles: Fremont, CA Photo
• Point Loma Nazarene University Photo
• Lunar Eclipse Photo
• Jousting Image Photo
• Caesars Palace Photo
• Cover:Family History Pages:Open Spread 1859 Bible Photo
• Worship Photo of monument to the Right to Worship

[edit] Controversial contribution:

• This contribution I've cobbled together from a LOC web site seems to raise the hackles of the church/state separationists since it keeps getting deleted or edited out of its Wiki listing. But you can’t change the truth by hiding it. The facts remain as they are, and have been documented by the LOC web site.

[edit] Practices of the Jefferson and Madison administrations

Despite the contemporary claims that Jefferson and Madison were strict proponents of the concept of separation of church and state as it is currently presented in modern debate, it is a common misconception to assume that religion was not associated with the practice of politics in early American life. In fact, the Religion and the Founding of the American Republic website exhibit at the Library of Congress states,

“

It is no exaggeration to say that on Sundays in Washington during the administrations of Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) and of James Madison (1809-1817) the state became the church. Within a year of his inauguration, Jefferson began attending church services in the House of Representatives. Madison followed Jefferson's example, although unlike Jefferson, who rode on horseback to church in the Capitol, Madison came in a coach and four. Worship services in the House--a practice that continued until after the Civil War--were acceptable to Jefferson because they were nondiscriminatory and voluntary. Preachers of every Protestant denomination appeared. (Catholic priests began officiating in 1826.) As early as January 1806 a female evangelist, Dorothy Ripley, delivered a camp meeting-style exhortation in the House to Jefferson, Vice President Aaron Burr, and a "crowded audience." Throughout his administration Jefferson permitted church services in executive branch buildings. The Gospel was also preached in the Supreme Court chambers.[1]

”

In fact, the Library of Congress exhibit clearly states that Jefferson apparently had no objection to non-discriminatory religion being practiced in state, but rather he objected ONLY to the formation of a state supported church – such as is practiced by Britain with her official recognition of the Church of England as the state church.^[2]

1. ^ http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06-2.html
2. ^ http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06-2.html

[edit] Wedding Images

These images are from a few of the weddings I've shot and are used in various articles.

White wedding dress		Bride with bouquet	Bouquet toss
Lucky Shot	Flower girl	Wedding dress
Kiss	Wedding veil		Ringbearer
Boutonniere		The first dance

[edit] Renaissance Fair and Scottish Game Images

[edit] Misc. Photos

	Lunar Eclipse
			Mission San Jose, Fremont, CA
The Golden Gate Bridge with Fort Point in the foreground.	A shot of the GG Bridge from Marin County. A VR panorama image is available here.

[edit] Old photos which I own, but didn't capture

Mostly historical wedding photographs I've collected.

Note the black wedding dress	And another black wedding dress

[edit] Historical images I've contributed, but don't own

Images I've gathered from government or copyright free sources

Obviously I've not scanned or recorded this document. But I downloaded it from the loc.gov web site a few years ago when they were providing a VERY high rez copy of the Declaration (7530x9155 – 14.1 megs). You can’t download this large file anymore from the governement, but you CAN here at Wiki since I didn't throw out my old file.

I wish I could have taken this shot. Great location, but the photographer needed to be in a slightly better spot to make a better photo. Nonetheless, it's still very nice.

[edit] Userboxes

Geography This user is a citizen of the United States of America. This user lives in or hails from the state of California. This user lives in or hails from the San Francisco Bay Area. This user has visited 15 of the 50 States. 15 8 This user has set foot in 8 countries of the world. This user is from the Silicon Valley.	Profession This user is a professional photographer. This user is a professional wedding photographer. This user contributes using Adobe Photoshop.	Misc. This user is a member of WikiProject San Francisco Bay Area. Today is April 8, 2007. en This user is a native speaker of English. This user is interested in his or her family history. This user is interested in art history. This user believes that articles are useless without images. This user is a history buff. This user is interested in the History of Photography. This user has English ancestry. This user is of Irish ancestry. This user is of Scottish ancestry. This user is an Anglophile This user remembers using a rotary dial telephone. This user does not smoke. This user is a carnivore. Per the Userbox migration, {{User browser:Firefox logo}} was moved to {{User:Blast san/userboxes/User browser:Firefox logo}}
Faith This user is a Christian. This user understands that the term Separation of Church and State is nowhere to be found in any official US document and is grossly misinterpreted in popular debate. This user believes God employed intelligent design during creation.	Politics This user is interested in politics. This user, by and large, supports the U.S. Republican Party. But does not consider any particular party to be God's gift to politics. This user will happily consider supporting Democrats who are Pro-life, support tax cuts, don't appoint activist judges and favor smaller government.