Seeing Creation

In a couple of days I’m flying out to California to spend some time photographing with Rob.  I look forward to being with my friend and to seeing some new places.  I really do enjoy visiting new sites.  I find more meaning, however, in returning to familiar places over and over again.

From my childhood the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been a very special place to me.  I have wonderful memories of family vacations there.  By the time I got into photography eighteen years ago I lived in a location not far from the Smokies.  As often as I could I made my way over there to photograph.  I now live further away than I did so I don’t get there quite as often but I still try to go when I can.  For some reason, the Smokies feel like home to me.

Recently I had the privilege of producing a DVD on the Smokies with the wonderful musician David Arkenstone.  It features my images and David’s original music.   As I have watched the DVD it has brought back so many memories of times I spent in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  With each viewing I have to thank God for creating such a beautiful place and also for giving me the privilege to experience it all these years.

I like to think of this new DVD as a visual testimony to God’s marvelous Creation.  There is nothing overtly “Christian” about the DVD but I still hope it will prove to be a blessing to others.  Bach wrote his music for the glory of God and I sincerely hope my photography can be used for His glory as well.

If you, or someone you know, would be interested in purchasing a copy of the DVD, they can be ordered at  David’s website: www.davidarkenstone.com. The DVD also comes with a CD of the music featured in the DVD. 

–Chuck

“Open my eyes that I may see, glimpses of truth Thou hast for me.” –Clara H. Scott

This weekend I had a chance to do a couple of programs at the 20^th annual Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  Thursday night Ken Jenkins and I did a program called “The Spiritual Side of Nature.”  The presentation was well-attended and warmly received.

During Ken’s portion of the program he used an interesting analogy to describe certain people.  He noted how those who sleepwalk move about while asleep but do not really see what’s going on around them. Ken then indicated that many people move about day to day but remain blind to the wonders of God’s Creation all around them.  Such people are guilty of a different kind of sleepwalking.

I have known Ken eighteen years and can honestly say that I do not know anyone who is more “awake” when it comes to seeing and experiencing God in Creation.  Although his photography business is based in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Ken has a ministry that takes him all across the country.  In his programs he shows wildlife and landscape images he has taken and draws incredible spiritual truths from them.

Knowing that not all of you will be able to hear Ken speak I want to commend to you his recent publication Nature is the Art of God: A Journey Into the Beauty and Wonder of Creation.  It is one of the most beautiful photographic devotional essays I’ve ever seen.  You can order copies from Ken’s website: www.kenjenkins.com.

Listening to Ken’s presentation Thursday night, and then looking at his new book, has made me want to do a better job of seeing God in Creation.  I think I do a decent job of seeing the obvious but know that there are folks like Ken who see so much more.  How can I improve my vision?  I suspect I should begin by asking God to “open my eyes” so that I might see more and then, with His help, try to discipline myself to slow down and really pay attention.  I plan to do this because I really do not want to be guilty of being a “sleepwalker.”  How about you?

–Chuck

(The image above was taken at Morton Overlook a number of years ago in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.)

Prior to his death, John Netherton was one of America’s most popular nature photographers.  Shortly before he died I ran into him on a photo trip to the Smokies.  I was driving down from Newfound Gap when I saw John shooting off the side of the road.  I pulled over to talk to him.  That year the fall colors were not particularly good and I made a comment to him about there not being much to shoot.  He looked at me kind of funny and then with his hand motioned to the whole forest in front of him.  For John there was plenty to shoot. 

This encounter was a teaching moment for me.  When you get out in nature as a photographer there is always plenty to photograph.  It may not be what you hoped for or planned on shooting but there are still countless wonders in God’s Creation waiting to be viewed and photographed.  Since that time I’ve discovered it pays to not be so focused on one or two subjects when I go out into nature.  It helps to be more flexible and open minded to the possibilities around me.  Doing so adds to my enjoyment of the experience outdoors and has led to a number of wonderful photographs I would not have captured had I remained focused on just one image or scene. 

If we’re not careful we can make the same mistake when it comes to finding God in nature.  For example, we may conclude that God is to be found only in places of outstanding beauty.  That is not true.  John Muir once wrote in his journal, “No wilderness in the world is so desolate as to be without divine ministers.  God’s love covers all the earth as the sky covers it, and also fills it in every pore.  And this love has voices heard by all who have ears to hear.” 

We’re acting foolishly when we think we know where God can be found.  He truly is a God who delights in surprising us.  For that reason we must remain alert at all times and in all places.  We never know just when or where He will make Himself known to us.  Be prepared. 

–Chuck

I discovered the reflections photographed above in the Smokies as I was making my way to photograph something totally different.