Rob Webster Creative Communication

In Memoriam: Kirby the Wonder Dog

// April 1st, 2011 // 4 Comments » // Family, Personal

I remember being in a bookstore when my wife called me over. She had found a book about dog breeds. Handy charts rated dog breeds on a number of scales. We looked up “American Fox Hound”. My dog Kirby was a stray, probably a mutt, found in a Texas cemetery, near death. A vet told me he looked most like an American Fox Hound. More or less. Continue Reading

The Sacred and Secular in Worship

// March 23rd, 2011 // 11 Comments » // Culture, Faith, Worship

Sacred Bowl, Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church

I was once accused of bringing worldliness into worship. “Cool!” I thought. Then I realized it wasn’t a compliment.

What the person was talking about, of course, was secular elements in a worship context. And it raises interesting questions about what’s appropriate in worship services, questions that have been wrestled with, I imagine, by anyone wanting to lead a worship service designed for modern people.

So I started out writing a long blog post that few of you would read. At the risk of being misunderstood, I’ve decided to simplify things to a few disjointed bullet points. Discuss amongst yourselves. Continue Reading

Friday Inspiration for February 18, 2011

// February 18th, 2011 // No Comments » // Inspiration

The Armor of God never looked so cool…

Upgrade + Mobilize from Benji Thiem on Vimeo.

2010 Year in Review Video

// January 29th, 2011 // No Comments » // DSLR, Faith, Video

Church of the Resurrection 2010 Year in Review from Rob Webster on Vimeo.

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The Power of Kindness, Part the First

// January 22nd, 2011 // 7 Comments » // Kindness, Personal, Story

Her name elicited fear. Dread. Angst. Trembling. Sixth graders in the elementary schools that fed into Jackson Junior High knew the name. We had heard the stories, coming from the mouths of older siblings, from friends in the church youth group, from the older kids at the neighborhood pool that summer, passed down through the communication networks of Mid-Ohio Valley pre-pubescents. Fear had a name. That name was Wilma Acree. Continue Reading

Friday Inspiration for December 31, 2010 – The Chapel

// January 1st, 2011 // 1 Comment » // DSLR, HDR, Timelapse, Video

I’m getting this Friday inspiration in just under the wire… and not just getting it in by Friday, but by the end of the year!

THE CHAPEL is a remarkable short film I discovered today. It has things I love: Church architecture, time-lapse photography, excellent film making, and HDR video (!). This guy’s whole portfolio is amazing. More and more tools are being developed for film makers, especially in terms of tools that allow someone to move a camera smoothly. A number of these tools, as you can see in the video below, also allow a camera to move very very slowly, which makes for some really amazing time-lapse movies. As a side note, I’ll add that I love great typography, and you can tell just by looking at the thumbnails of the videos at lookycreative.com that type choices are important to this film maker. Watch the video below, with a bonus video after that…

TheChapel. A short film. (HDR timelapse) from Patryk Kizny on Vimeo.

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A non-reader reviews the Amazon Kindle 3

// December 18th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Reviews, Technology

And just in time for you last-minute Christmas shoppers!

A package arrived for my birthday last September. It was a box from my sister. Or, more specifically, a box from Amazon.com via my sister. She’s an amazonaholic. By this I mean that she finds every gift on Amazon, not just the books for which the vast site is best known. She loves the convenience and reliability of internet shopping. That “add to cart” button is like catnip to her, beckoning with its soft butterscotch glow. More often than not, when an Amazon box arrives on my doorstep, it’s a gift from my sister.

So I opened my box, a bit curious to see what clever gift lay inside. (She’s a great gift giver, by the way, always finding unexpected things that happen to be perfect.) And I beheld a slim little eReader, the Amazon Kindle. Continue Reading

Advent Conspiracy Video Available

// November 17th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Faith, Motion Graphics, Video, Worship

Download the Advent Conspiracy Video

In 2009, our Church of the Resurrection resident animator Jason Watson put together a video for the Advent Conspiracy. Is your church doing anything to join the Conspiracy? If so, feel free to use/steal/propagate the video Jason put together. Continue Reading

Union Station HDR Pictures

// November 14th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // HDR, Photography

Yesterday we went down to Union Station, hoping to catch Big Bird himself giving a tour of the constellations at the Planetarium. Sadly, it was sold out. But fortunately, a place like Union Station has lots to see and do even if you don’t get into your show. The highlight for our family was the KC Railway Experience, an incredible model train display that we could have stayed at for hours.

I snagged a couple of HDR shots of he interior of Union Station. It really is an amazing building, and it’s great to see it getting so much use, with a live theater, IMAX movie, Science Center, Planetarium, shops, model trains, and beautiful architecture.

Beautiful Union Station

Another view of the ornate Union Station.

Images of Fall

// November 1st, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Family, Photography

Rolling around in a leaf pile on a beautiful day