I’ve made plenty of images over the years that appear strange or out-of the-ordinary to me either because of a different perspective or a puzzling subject or an unexpected aspect, or maybe I just had the wrong settings on my camera! This is in contrast to the times when I get so wrapped up in my day-to-day activities that everything looks ordinary.
Sometimes it takes an outing with my camera to help me see that life is full of the unexpected, the new, the different, the extraordinary. Using my macro lens has helped me to notice more details. Using my infrared filter has opened up a whole new way of seeing color. Long-exposure photography has given me a glimpse of extended time compressed to a single moment. Intentional camera movement turns images to abstractions.
I think that using my camera is teaching me to make images without a camera. The way that I have to be present to what’s in front of me, open to new possibilities, new ways of seeing things, is instructive for life in general. Embracing life as it presents itself is a starting point for living a full and satisfying life.
This can apply to our life of faith as well. Seen through eyes of faith, the world and our life experiences take on a new meaning. Believing that the world is good helps us take a positive approach. Believing we are called to follow God’s Spirit influences the choices we make, the things we value, and the satisfaction we experience. It all starts with awareness.
“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (I Corinthians 13:12)
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