It’s Not What I Do.

There are as many belief systems in the world as there are people. You say, well no that’s not true there are a finite number of religions (including atheism). They can be counted. I have never known any two people belonging to any one religion that did not have different beliefs or at least views, on how to process what they have learned, or what they know. We are all made to be distinct, unique individuals, and it shows in every aspect of our live’s, including our spiritual side.

I am sure that those of you who read this blog, have long realized that I hold the personal belief of God, with a capital G, as the foundation of all life, and the entire universe. I can be a very practical person and trust me in that it was my common sense side that first brought me to that conclusion. What has happened since has only convinced me. For those who disagree with me all I ask as for you to be as tolerant of my right to my beliefs as I am to yours.

I bring all of this up because an acquaintance of mine has understandably mis-interpreted my love of nature. There has been a strong movement since the late 1960s to bring religion and god back to nature. I do not share the same philosophy of most of those people. Nature to me is a place to meditate and to personalize my relationship with God. It is part of God’s creation and it allows me to quietly receive what God gives me. I do not worship nature as if it was God. Worshipping nature would be no different (to me) than worshipping a person. Both are part of God’s creation. With it’s simple purity, nature is an important healing experience for me. It helps bring into focus my (and yours?) purpose here on earth and there after. While churches and organized religions are great tools, I believe that you have to eventually know God personally, not through the words of others. This is the method that best delivers me to that end.

I know that not many photographers would aproach this subject. For those of you here in the U.S. and many other places around the world, please remember we have the freedom of religion, not a freedom from religion.

Have you ever heard the old saying that you should “do what I say, not what I do”? I never really respected that adage but I must admit that it does pertain to me, at least in one respect. When new photographers ask me which images they should put on the internet for public consumption, I usually say your best images. This of course makes sense as even one bad image can diminish the your status as a great photographer. I had been doing this photography stuff many years before the World Wide Web came into being, and the only pictures people would see back yonder were whatever was published and in the market for sale, and those few times that I gave slide show presentations in front of camera clubs etc. Since the web in the mid to late 1990s, I have shown and shared thousands and thousands and thousands and more thousands of pictures. No living photographer can create enough “winners” to reach those numbers. Well maybe Art Wolfe, but no other photographer, well-known or not. I have shared great pictures, average ones and sometimes sub-par photos. As usual I live by a different philosophy than the majority of photographers. Everything we do is personal. I just have never admired photographers who share 10 or 12 images a year. A painter maybe but not a photographer. Of course I do minimal editing on my pictures so that does make it a bit easier for me to produce images. Photography should not be a total numbers game, but because photos are so easy to make, it is somewhat of a numbers game. Any way you look at it we all have to do what works best for us.

I recently answered a question from a Birds-Pix Group friend on whether or not I create images anymore. The answer is yes I do but very, very seldom. I have made images in 2011 of flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, birds, mammals and autumn. Still I have clicked the shutter fewer times in 2011 than I used to in three days. Those numbers will continue to go down until I no longer walk (or crawl) the fields and forests in exploration of nature and beyond. It is painful for me to face those facts but things are what they are and I prefer to celebrate life as it is, rather than be depressed by what it might be.

I promise that we are nearing the end of the autumn images that I will show this year. You can tell that I love this season because I began showing images of fall in August.