Pictures

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  Selections from Genesis 1

I have loved to take pictures from a very young age. Years ago while I was in high school, I was on the yearbook committee. In my second year our sponsor asked if I would be interested in taking pictures for the yearbook. I loved taking pictures but had never used a professional camera. She gave me the school’s square box camera, I don’t remember the brand but it was not digital! Every shot counted as there was no preview, no second chances, and film was expensive so there was no taking multiple shots. The film had to be loaded through spools and loaded correctly or you could ruin the film. Taking pictures was interesting, you looked down the top of the camera, no automatic focus, no automatic shutter speeds. To help me the school sent me to Hastings College for two weeks in the summer. There I learned how to take pictures, develop film and choose your shot. I spent the remainder of my high school years attending all the activities, sport events, plays, etc. as there was only one photographer and one camera. All my pictures were in black and white. The picture had to tell a story without the beauty of yellow, green, blue...I love the contrast in black and white pictures, but it made me notice the brilliant array of colors. The distinctive shapes of each leaf, rock and creation. 

God's creation is so amazing, breathtaking and it is impossible to capture the complete picture as only God can do. I think that’s why I love taking pictures to share the view I see through God’s work.  

Prayer: Thank you Father for the breathtaking beauty on this earth. Only you can create such divine beauty. Thank you for the colors, shapes, aroma, and feel of all the earth and seas. Amen

Lori Hood (reprinted from 2018)