Infatuated with LIGHT!

I got my first, very own camera in the early 1960’s.  It was a Kodak Instamatic 100 and I treated that device like it was worth it’s weight in gold… which to me… it was!  That camera was the start of many cameras that I have owned over the years and it initiated a life-long love of photography in me.  That passion became a full-time occupation for a number of years and then turned into a profitable side-gig that lasted until we moved to Oklahoma to attend Bible school in 2006.

I really began to explore the creative aspects of the craft when I purchased my first 35mm SLR camera in the summer of 1970 and took my initial photography class the next school year.  Over the months and years and multitude of college classes, mail-order classes and countless books on the subject that followed, I quickly became infatuated with LIGHT and its over-all effects on the picture… following the click of the shutter release.

I enrolled in that first photography class at the same time that I enrolled in the life of the gal who would rapidly become the love of my life… who… quickly became my favorite subject matter and guinea pig in countless experiments of photo composition and LIGHTING over the next 48 years!

In my quest to best capture and control the LIGHT in the large array of locations, weather and the type of LIGHT that was available at the moment… be it inside or out… I accumulated a wide variety of tools ranging from studio lighting kits to different sized cloth reflectors, small electronic flashes and my all-time favorite Rollei E36RE hand-held Strobonar… otherwise known in the trade as a “Potato Masher” due to its size and shape.

I became very aware of stray LIGHT and of how it can sort of “sneak” into a potentially perfect picture and ruin the whole desired effect!  As I look back today, at the literally hundreds of pictures that I took of my wife Piper, I am not only thankful that I took so many pictures of her (with her passing in 2018), but that I also did a good job on the overall LIGHTING and in particular, on the ability to capture many of her beautiful features and especially reflect the auburn highlights in her hair!

I’ve noticed over the last few weeks that Jesus also talked a lot about LIGHT…

HIS LIGHT

…and the importance of capturing and controlling it, so as to best highlight the LIGHT in us and in the lives of those that we come into contact with on a daily basis.  In John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people in the temple as well as to the scribes and Pharisees who were present and said,

“I am the LIGHT of the world. He that follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but will have the LIGHT of life." (EMTV)

Vincent’s Word Studies tells us that “LIGHT” is another of John's characteristic terms and ideas, playing a most important part in his writings, as related to the manifestation of Jesus and His work upon men.”  So, we see that the LIGHT of Christ that John 8:12 says is present in you and me, is a very important part and parcel of the Gospel message that we present to the world around us.

Thayer’s Greek Definitions in explaining the word “LIGHT” in that same verse, explains that “God is light because LIGHT has the extremely delicate, subtle, pure, and brilliant quality of truth and its knowledge, together with the spiritual purity associated with it that is exposed to the view of all, openly and publicly.”

And again… Jesus said that that LIGHT comes to live in us, when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord!  Therefore, similar to my well-studied, well-practiced and eventually well-trained eye… along with a thorough understanding of the equipment I used… we, as Christians, also have the responsibility to practice and learn how to facilitate the LIGHT of Christ that is in us.  Knowing how to “read the room” per-se and lovingly utilize and/or capture, direct, soften or enhance the delicate, subtle, pure and brilliant qualities of Christ’s LIGHT… in order to best meet the needs of the individual(s) we minister to.  

And then… like a photographer… we can leave them with a beautiful portrait of who they are… or can be… within their relationship with Christ... as well as strengthening their relationships with others.

After my many, many years of being behind the lens of a camera… I now tend to see the world around me as if I am framing it for a picture!  I automatically focus in on the objects in view and look to see how the ambient LIGHT illuminates it… then I begin to figure out how I can personally… with the tools I have at hand… enhance and highlight the main subject… to make it or them look and feel their best!

So… while I depended… in years past*… upon my Rollei E36RE “Potato Masher” flash to put out just the right amount of light to capture the entire scene or simply to enhance parts of the picture… I now have a much more convenient and portable source of LIGHT… the LIGHT of Christ which will never need replacing or grow dim with use!

How about you?

Have a terrific weekend!  We have a weather front that is just about to come into the area which actually has some snow on the back end of it!  Whether we get any of that snow is still questionable according to local weather forecasts… But the good news is that we’ll have sunny skies into the 60’s tomorrow, followed by a week of spring-like weather… with lots of LIGHT… up into the high 70’s and low 80’s!  Oklahoma… don’t ya just love it?

 

*I used and enjoyed my first Rollei E36RE flash unit that I bought in the 1970’s so much over the years that I finally burnt it out and had to find another one about ten years later… after they had gone out of production!  And I still have that one… although it needs a new battery… which is also unavailable today… but don’t worry… I replaced it with a fully automatic Canon flash that still works just fine!