To be enlightened. That is really what all life is about, and photography is just one of the many microcosms of life. Photography is light by its original definition. To shine a light on something, is to be enlightened or edified.

Let’s shine a little light.

If photography is about light, and it surely is, as there is no image without light, then that must hold true regardless of the photographic subject.

Spots of light, in just the right places, help to “flavor” our images. They can be larger than the shadows, or much smaller, or obvious or subtle.

Even, overcast light, is one of the most revealing light forms in nature. It’s soft gentle cast omits shadows, and exposes subtle differences in color and tone.

Bright front light, while potentially harsh, gives us the “whole story”. Part of the world is hidden, but it‘s behind the subject anyway. In front of the hidden shadows, the world is laid bare for all to see. Its use in wildlife photography is common.

Backlight, especially when that light is spiced with the colors of sunrise or sunset, is (to me) the most evocative light of all. It leaves us with unanswered questions, but a very satisfied soul.

Light is the single most important ingredient in photography. The more you understand and “see” the light, the more artistic control you exercise over your images. That allows them to become “your” images rather than just a copy of someone else’s.

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Most of life, provides us with only so many chances or opportunities. Sooner or later, a husband or a wife will divorce you if you continue to transgress against them. Your boss will fire you if you are dishonest, or even if you make too many honest mistakes. Even in our “let’s just pass them along” public school system, you may find a time, when they have to fail you if you refuse to learn.

I am not complaining mind you, I have told many in my life that it is time to say goodbye, and I have been given my walking papers by many others. Sometimes enough is enough. After all, we’re just human.

There is somebody in this universe of life, that loves us so much that he will “never” give up on us. We only fail when we refuse to succeed. It is our choice. All that is asked of us, is that we keep the faith, and that our sins, which are a product of our own weakness and the sin nature, are confessed with a contrite heart. You’ll never get a fairer shake, anywhere in life. The net results will eventually be an eternity of sinless perfection and immeasurable joy.

There are no better deals. We just need to “genuinely” accept it. It’s a gift born of love.

Get to know Jesus today!

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Be blessed,                                                                                                                                       Wayne

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I feel the need to add something to today’s post. I wanted this post to be positive in nature, but when we feel it necessary to say something, and it is meant specifically to examine ourselves, I think it should be said.

Anyone who knows me also knows my love for animals. I still haven’t gotten over the death of my dog Tux, who died several years ago.  I support most legal, ethical hunting because their license fees help foot the bill for much conservation, and because I eat meat. It would be hypocritical of me to oppose all hunting, when people kill animals in packing houses for me to eat. Animals who have never known freedom. I have always opposed unsportsmanlike hunting, and the blatant killing of non-game species for the sole purpose of collecting trophies.  I am repelled and repulsed over the recent illegal killing of Cecil, a well-known lion in Zimbabwe.  A “sportsman” paid over $50,000 so the guides at a game preserve could locate this iconic lion and he could kill him.  How ridiculous the egos of some people get.

Just the same, there is something that needs to be said about the response to what happened. I fully expect that I will be the lone voice in expressing this particular view.

All day yesterday on social media, on TV, on the radio, and everywhere else, I saw/heard/read the anger over what happened. From the person down the street to celebrities of every sort. Just once, just once, just once, I would love to see the world get this angry over the slaughter of humans beings that take place in our inner cities, the killing of children both born and unborn in the industrialized world.  When ISIS began beheading small children in Iraq, and placing their heads on the hoods of their cars as ornaments, there was maybe 10% of the outrage there is for Cecil, and none of that small amount of outrage came from those who are going ballistic over what happened to Cecil. Not one post or complaint that I read, criticized the guides for accepting the money and finding Cecil for the killer. Yes I get it, the dentist/hunter is likely a rich white guy and the guides working class minorities, and it is politically incorrect to blame the minority guides but politically correct to blame the dentist. As near as I can figure, Cecil would be alive today if those guides wouldn’t have given in to the dentist’s request. Cecil is dead equally because of the guides who found him, and the dentist who shot him. If you care about Cecil, you are critical of the guides too.

I certainly hope the dentist who shot this defenseless, old, iconic lion, is caught and righteously punished. I just wish the world I live in cared even half as much about what we do to each other, including those who are just as defenseless as was Cecil.

The paragraphs above on the subject of the killing of Cecil will be removed from this post after a short length of time. I felt they needed to be said, but they truly do not blend in with the mood of today’s post.

Wayne