With Camera In Hand

I just returned home from our photography field trip to Lake Redman. My fingers are still not functioning at 100% due to the 35 degree temperature at 7am. The playful mist danced over the water surface as it celebrated the dawn of a new day.

What a brilliant sun filled morning were given. As the sun rose higher and higher, the vivid fall colors illuminated the water's edge. Some parts of the lake were so still, a mirrored reflection occurred.


It really hit me that exploring our creativity brings us to a place we don't often go - a place of awareness, stillness, and patience. Walking around with a camera in hand is a wonderful feeling. Our eyes scanning the landscape, looking for opportunities to capture the wild. Ears sensitive to sounds you'd usually ignore - geese coming in for a landing on the lake's water runway. Rustling in the thick woods signaling the presence of deer. Our senses are on high alert as we hope our reflexes are fast enough to catch the sights before they disappear. Awareness...

With camera in hand, constant movement isn't always necessary. Staying in one spot and observing the surrounding in detail can be quite rewarding. We look for things out of the ordinary, giggle and then capture the shot just for fun. Such as the two ghost "Peeps" below - which I spotted lying alongside the road. It just made me laugh!

Remaining still is hard for those of us who move constantly! But you never know what you'll see or discover when you take time for stillness, and just wait... we may capture something that we never thought we could - like the Bald Eagle in the photo below (or at least, it sure looks like one!) What a gift!

It's easy for me to get excited and want to hurry to next neat place, but patience is required for those really special shots. (Patience and a digital camera so you can keep re-taking the shot!) But I need to be patient with myself most of all. Being fully present and aware of God's beauty and sensing His pleasure in the stillness, receiving His gift for me in that moment. That is why exploring our creativity is important to God - because we use the part of us He gave, the part we rarely give ourselves time to enjoy...

So, may you use your creative gift to see the things of God ~ grace & peace, deAnn