For the Love of Beauty Blog

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

Thank you so much for visiting!

As an artist in both photography and painting, as well as a catechist, I hope to share on these pages all things beautiful that inspire.

For the Love of Beauty is inspired by St. Augustine's reference to God as 'Beauty' in his Confessions (X, 27) when he writes, "Late have I loved Thee, O Beauty, so ancient and so new."

His name for God is both poetic and revealing. Beauty has been defined, since ancient times, as that which is perfectly ordered or that which is as it should be. Both definitions reflect a profound truth about God: that He is perfection, and His perfection is beautiful.

It is for the love of God, and for the restoration of all His creation to His own beautiful perfection, that I pursue my mission: To create images and share the Catholic Faith using only techniques and content that reflect His Truth, Goodness and Beauty.

I currently work for myself as a Catholic wedding, portrait and event photographer in the DC/MD/VA areas. My intention is to use this blog to not only share some of my photography and photo tips, but to also share other images and ideas from the broader world of art that inspire me and help shape my work. I love using art to teach from and pray with, so I’ll look forward to sharing from time to time some of my favorite paintings that are rich in contemplative beauty.

An overview of my professional background:

Experience
• Photographer: Weddings, Portraits, Events, Fine Art
• Artist: Exhibit and Work on Commission
• International Speaker and Catechist Trainer at Schools, Parish and Diocesan venues, Conferences and on EWTN's Life on the Rock
• Consultant: Art, Catechetics and Conference Planning
• High School Teacher of Religion
• Director of Religious Education
• Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
• Youth Ministry
• Write and Evaluate Religious Education Materials

Education
• M.A. Theology and Christian Ministry with a Specialization and Certification in Catechetics, Franciscan University of Steubenville, 1997. Ohio, USA.
• Dip. Ed. Sec. (Graduate Diploma in Education, Secondary: Grades 7-12), Australian Catholic University, 1992. Melbourne, Australia.
• B.A. Fine Arts (Photography), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 1991. Melbourne, Australia.
• Additional Studies in Art, Washington Studio School, DC (1998); Instituto Michelangelo (2000) and Angel Academy of Art (2002), both in Florence, Italy.
• Additional Studies in Theology, Catholic Theological College, (1993-94). Melbourne, Australia

For for etiquette on how to interact with my blog click here.

Thanks again for stopping by!

-Renata Grzan Wieczorek

My websites:
Weddings & Portraits
Events
Artwork

Friday, May 21, 2010

Stone Manor Outing

Since I love shallow depth of field so much, I thought I’d put my own Friday Photo Tip exercise from last week on wide apertures into practice for myself.

Last Saturday I had a lovely outing at an historic stone manor in Maryland, built in the 1700’s. We have a friend, Howard, who is renting the “servant’s quarters” at the manor and while he gave us a little tour of the renovations at the property, I was busy clicking away, challenging myself to only use one lens and at very shallow depths of field.

Howard also owns some horses that are conveniently boarded across the road at Tranquility Farm Equestrian that we were able to have a ride on. It was such a lovely day. Walking through thigh high grass, exploring an old historic house, riding a horse in an open field, and sipping tea on the porch, was a perfect get away day from DC paced life. Thank you Howard and Sarah!

Here are some of my favorite images from the day. Enjoy!