Seeing Creation

I received a book in the mail a few days ago that has brought me a good bit of excitement. It’s called Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice and was written by Christine Valters Paintner. I have long felt that there was a spiritual dimension to my photography. I have likened it in the past to a spiritual discipline. That is why I named my photography business Contemplative Images over twenty years ago. Photography has helped me see things in a way I had not prior to picking up a camera. In this new book Paintner gives a voice to my experience.

In the introduction the author writes, “Photography as a spiritual practice combines the active art of image-receiving with the contemplative nature and open-heartedness of prayer. It cultivates what I call sacred seeing or seeing with the ‘eyes of the heart’ (Ephesians 1:18). This kind of seeing is our ability to receive the world around us at a deeper level than surface realities.” Later she adds, “Photography as a spiritual practice can help us to cultivate an awakened vision so we begin to really see.”

I have often said that my nature photography is at times an act of worship. Paintner agrees with this. She says “Photography can be an act of silent worship. When we see the world with eyes of the heart, we can engage in an act of both reverence and self-expression. We can discover how the living Spirit is being revealed in the world.”

As I’ve been reading this book I have rejoiced that someone has been able to put into words what I have felt for so long. The experience has been like finding just the right greeting card that says exactly what you wanted to say to someone but could never have come up with the words yourself. If you own a camera and would be willing to explore how it might be used as a spiritual tool I highly recommend that you purchase and read this book. It is not a book that will teach you how to use a camera (my blogging partner, Rob Sheppard has written plenty of those and I urge you to buy them too), but it will help you to see the world in a different way and this will make you a better photographer in the end. Practicing the principles taught in Paintner’s book will not necessarily help you create award winning images but will instead lead to something far better–a closer connection with God and His Creation.  In the end this book is as much about the contemplative life as it is photography.   It is a book that has the potential to change your life in more ways than one.   That’s saying a lot for a book that only cost me $11.86 on Amazon.com!

–Chuck

(The pictures I’ve used today are examples of my work I’ve come to call “macro therapy.”

In my last post I talked about “sheddin’ time.”  I made some comparisons between deer shedding their antlers this time of year and the season of Lent when we, too, are beckoned to shed some things.  In Sunday’s entry I suggested that Lent is a great time to look inward and discover what bad habits or sins there may be that need to be shed.  The day after I wrote that blog I talked to my co-writer, Rob Sheppard, on the phone and he mentioned that for many of us there is also a need to shed some of our possessions.  I realize that this is not likely to be a popular topic but it does deserve some attention.

I suspect that the vast majority of us have far more possessions than we really need.   Some people, like me, cannot park in their garages because they are filled with so much junk.  Others have to build sheds or rent storage bins to store all their extra possessions.  The clutter can be overwhelming and at times even sinful.  Do I really need ten jackets?  Certainly not when there are people in the community who have none.  Do I really need 17,000 books?  I say “yes” but Rob says “no” and as much as I hate to admit it, Rob is probably right.  In fact, I actually do have so many books that I’ve been known to purchase books I have, forgetting I already own them.  Not good!

Henry David Thoreau once gave this wonderful advice: “Simplify, simplify, simplify.”   If we could follow this advice each of our lives would be richer and less complicated.  Jesus, knowing all too well our tendency to collect more than we need, once said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…” (Matthew 6:19-20)  I shudder to think just exactly what he would say today to those of us who have invested ourselves so heavily into the material world.

Our unbridled consumerism has taken a toll not only on our souls but also upon the environment.  Natural resources have been used up unnecessarily.  It is becoming harder and harder to find space for landfills to deposit all the extra stuff we discard.  Excessive consumerism likewise contributes to the pollution of the air and our waterways.  In the end there is a far greater cost to our purchases than most of us imagine.

So, yes, once again, perhaps we ought to view the season of Lent as “sheddin’ time.”  In these weeks leading up to Easter maybe we could all take a closer look at what we have and see if there are some things we can shed and give away.  This form of recycling could actually benefit many who are in need, while at the same time giving us more freedom from “stuff.”

If you are interested in exploring a number of different ways you can simplify your life, I’d encourage you to check out Nancy Sleeth’s newest book, Almost Amish.  I think you would find it helpful.  Good luck in the adventure and please wish me the same!

–Chuck

(I took the top image at Acadia National Park in Maine; the middle image at my home in Pikeville, KY; and the bottom image in South Dakota.)

“Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”  Psalm 111:2

“A challenge I constantly face is making time for myself to get outside and reconnect with nature. I think this is true for a lot of people in today’s very busy world. We all have so many things going on, so many things we have to do, so much to keep up with.”  Although I did not write these words, I could have.  They make up the opening paragraph of Rob Sheppards’s most recent entry at his website, www.natureandphotography.com.  In his blog he goes on to talk about how important it is that we all make an effort to find “nature time.”

I, like Rob, struggle with finding the time outdoors I’d like to have.  My job keeps me plenty busy.  Even though I read a lot about nature and even write a blog about it twice a week, there are periods when I go quite some time without any significant “nature time.”  Reading Rob’s blog actually convicted me and made me more determined to do better.  I even acted upon it.  Thursday and Friday I was in Paducah, Kentucky, visiting my mother.  I noticed that she had a large growth of mums in front of her place and that her rosebush was also still blooming.  I went inside and grabbed my camera and a macro lens.  Over two days I spent quite a bit of time up close and personal with my mother’s flowers.  (You can view some of the images I took here.) I also noticed a pond across from her place that had quite a few cattails.  I also photographed these, along with some sycamore leaves that were lying on the ground.  Taking the time to enjoy God’s Creation truly proved therapeutic and heightened my sense of gratitude.

Practicing nature time isn’t usually listed as a spiritual discipline but I’m beginning to think it should be.  Reading the Bible is considered a spiritual discipline so why shouldn’t reading God’s “Other Book” also be?  I read the Bible every day.  I’ve been doing that since I was quite young.  I enjoy reading the Scriptures and benefit from it greatly.  I feel, however, that I must also become just as disciplined in finding time to read the Book of Creation.  If God speaks to us through His Creation, and I believe that He does, then it is both sinful and foolish of me not to make a concerted effort to read and study from this volume on a regular basis.

When I was a kid the church my family attended provided envelopes for us to put our offerings in.  These envelopes, however, also served another purpose.  Each one contained several boxes to check.  We could check if we had read the Bible daily, if we were staying for worship, if we had invited someone else to church, if we were making a contribution that day, etc.  I learned through this practice that these things were an important part of our faith.  I don’t know if churches still use this type of envelope but if they do, I’d like to suggest that they add a new category.  I would argue that “nature time” should also be included.  I’ve never seen anything of the sort on a church envelope but at this point in my life, I can only wonder, Why?

–Chuck

Like countless other photographers, one of my early sources of inspiration was the work of Ansel Adams.  Even when I knew nothing about photography it was obvious that this man’s work was phenomenal.  I continue to this very day to be inspired by his photographs.

A couple of days ago a friend sent me a link to a website that focuses on Ansel Adams work in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  I have most of Adams’ books and there are very few images from this park in them.  The website I went to indicated why.  Ansel Adams found it difficult to photograph in the Smokies.  In a letter he wrote from these mountains he told a friend, “they are going to be devilish hard to photograph…”  Considering the fact that I have spent more time photographing in this park than any other I found his comment to be quite amusing.  The Smokies are filled with extraordinary beauty; how could the great Ansel Adams find them so difficult to photograph?

I forwarded the link to my blogging partner, Rob Sheppard.  I pointed out to him how I was intrigued by Adams’ comment about photographing the Smokies.  Rob responded to my message by saying, “I think Adams definitely was attuned to the West because he grew up there and spent most of his time there.”   If you are familiar with Ansel Adams’ work you know that most of his famous images were, indeed, made in the West.  Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevadas are featured prominently in his work.  That was the landscape he knew best and his familiarity with it helped enable him to capture the spirit or essence of that region.

In my note from Rob he went on to talk about how familiarity with a landscape affected his own work.  He wrote, “I think I am only beginning to really ‘see’ the chaparral because I have been photographing it for a few years now.”  Georgia O’Keeffe once said “seeing takes time.”  She was no doubt right.  I remember how frustrating it was when I first started traveling out West to photograph.  I was rarely satisfied with the results.  Now, after dozens of trips out West I feel more comfortable and familiar with the environment and it shows in the photographs I take.  The more time you spend in a location truly does make a difference.

I suspect that what is true in photography is also true when it comes to seeing God in Creation.  Here, too, it takes time.  There are not a lot of “burning bushes” out there (see Exodus 3); God seems to make Himself known in much more subtle ways.  This means that we will likely have to spend a good bit of time becoming familiar with our surroundings to see and hear all that God longs to reveal to us.  Certainly God can speak to us anywhere, and we should always be open to that possibility, but it is likely that we will see and hear Him best in our home environment or the places we are most familiar with.  Has that been your experience?

–Chuck

*The link to the website on Ansel Adams and the Smokies can be found at http://knoxart.org/exhibitions/higherground/ansel.html.  You’ll find several rare and unpublished images here.

(I took the top image at Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the middle image of Yosemite Falls at Yosemite National Park, and the bottom image  of Mesquite Dunes at Death Valley National Park.)

Last week Rob Sheppard did a wonder blog on his “Nature and Photography” site about play and photography.  He encouraged photographers to be more playful in their endeavors and noted how important it is to have fun when photographing.  For me his posting struck a nerve.  I have been guilty of taking my photography too seriously at times and missing out on the fun he talked about.  Unfortunately, I have also been guilty way too often of taking life too seriously and not experiencing the fun and play I’m confident God intends for us to enjoy. Michael Yaconelli wrote in his delightful book, Dangerous Wonder, these words: “Play is an expression of God’s presence in the world; one clear sign of God’s absence in society is the absence of playfulness and laughter.”

Several years ago the eminent theologian, Jurgen Moltmann, actually wrote a book called Theology of Play.  Moltmann said “The first thing liberated beings do is to enjoy their freedom and playfully test their newfound opportunities and powers.  Why are we seeing so little of this?  Have the old Pharisees and the new Zealots with their conservative and revolutionary legalism scared us away from freedom, from joy and spontaneity?  It is unlikely that anything good or just will come about, unless it flows from an abundance of joy and the passion of love.”  Later Moltmann even argues that God is playful and says “the creation is God’s play, a play of his groundless and inscrutable wisdom.  It is the realm in which God displays his glory.”

There are a number of biblical references, especially in the Book of Psalms, that would seem to indicate that not only is playfulness a part of God’s nature but His intention for the various aspects of His Creation as well.  Psalm 96 declares, “Let the earth be glad, let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.  Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.” (vs. 11-12) Psalm 104:26 speaks of leviathan, which God “formed to frolic” in the seas.  Obviously there are also numerous passages that indicate that humans are meant to enjoy life too.  In fact, Jesus once said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

In a world that is marked by so much stress and divisiveness there is a great need for more joy and playfulness.  All of us would be much healthier (physically, mentally and spiritually) if we played more.  God has provided us with plenty of opportunities to do so through His Creation.  There are rivers, lakes and oceans to swim in.  There are mountains to scale and paths to traverse.  There are trees to climb and caves to explore.  There are wondrous flowers to smell and look at.  A lot of us have pets just waiting for someone to play with them.   There really is no excuse for us not to be more playful.

Rob said in his blog that being playful with one’s photography can help make a person a better photographer.  I would suggest that being more playful in general can help make us better persons.  Is it time you went out and played some?  You were, after all, made to play!

–Chuck

(I photographed both the grizzly cubs and the sea otter in Alaska.  I took the picture of the boy playing with a tire in the Dominican Republic.)

“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  Proverbs 18:24

My week with Rob in California is quickly drawing to a close. We have had a great time together and have also been able to photograph at some amazing places. We have been to Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Antelope Valley, the Alabama Hills in the eastern Sierras, and Death Valley National Park. In our remaining time we plan to visit Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Red Rock Canyon. All of these are wonderful places to witness the beauty and majesty of God’s Creation.

Since Rob’s birthday is tomorrow I thought I’d say a few things about him. Rob has proven to be a great friend to me and he is someone I have the highest respect for. I think most people know him for his longtime work as the editor of Outdoor Photographer magazine and for being the author of over forty books. I wish more people could just know him as a person.  He is one of the most intelligent people I know and has a huge heart to go with his good mind.  Rob is also passionate about his faith, nature and photography.  He is a very busy man but he always seems to find time for his family and friends.  Rob truly is a great guy!

One of the things I admire most about Rob is his unique vison. He looks at things from different perspectives than most people. This can be seen in both his photography and his writings. God has blessed Rob with a rare way of seeing things and I have learned so much from him. I feel honored to share this blog with him and always look forward to his postings, as I’m sure you do.

When it comes to “seeing Creation” it truly does help to have a friend to help you along the way. On the eve of his birthday (I won’t say how old he’s going to be) I thank God for Rob Sheppard and the influence he has had on my life in so many different areas.  Happy Birthday Rob!

–Chuck

(The top picture shows Rob photographing at the “Racetrack” in Death Valley a couple of days ago.  I took the middle image at Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley on Monday.  I took the poppies near Antelope Valley on Saturday.)