Neutral Density Filter

My Canon G12 camera has an internal neutral density filter that can be applied inside the camera with the click of a button.  A neutral density filter is designed to reduce the amount of light hitting the camera’s sensor without affecting color.  This allows the photographer to open the shutter for longer periods of time while still accurately recording the amount of light and color in a scene.

This technique can be used to blur (or erase) moving objects, and is best used with moving water or busy city streets.  It can give a photograph with moving objects a slightly more dreamy quality than an average snap-shot.

The picture above is a fifteen second exposure of Lake Winnebago at dusk.  Please notice the somewhat smooth dreamy reflections in the water.  (The motion blur of the water causes this effect).

The snap-shot below was taken earlier in the evening and from a different location, so it may not be the best comparison, but please notice the sharper detail in the water.

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Summer Clouds

Summertime is for watching clouds.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven

—  Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV-1984).

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Photographic Interlude

A sailboat floats through reflected light on Lake Winnebago, WI.

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Lighthouse Photograph

This is the lighthouse at Kimberly Point in Neenah, WI.  It does not move.  People believe it is there because they hear the testimony and see its light.

“And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.  For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

— 2 Peter 1:19-21.

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Winter Scenes in Moving Pictures

The wind blows snow over snow.  This is the first video I took of this scene.  I tried to take a better video after this one, but my fingers refused.  I do not know what the wind chill was, but the real temperature was about four degrees.  My new G12 camera has some good microphones, but even they could not muffle the amount of wind coming at them.  It was cold.  Behind the wind on the microphone, one can hear the snow drifting.

Now for a warming fire:  This is a video of the cross-country ski shelter warming fire at Lapham Peak State Park in Wisconsin.  Because it is a public area, the video’s sound recorded some guys talking.

A still photograph does not move.  These videos are like still photographs because they have one subject, however, they are also moving or “living” pictures.  Photographs in the fictional world of Harry Potter moved with life.  God willing, someday in the future of the real world, most images will have a sort of movement with recorded “life” in them.

Heaven is also a real place and a real future.  I wonder if in heaven we will be able to see the life of Christ in such a manner: as if we could look back in time to see all he did: in a real, present, living, and moving way.  For example, even though Christ was risen with a glorified body free of all defect, somehow he still showed the disciples the marks of his crucifixion.  He carries the physical memory of that awe filling event, his glorious redemption of sinners, in his real body.  As we fix our eyes on the glorified Christ, we still see him crucified because his real body is not just alive in a glorified way, he is a moving image of life itself.  (Hebrews 12:2, John 1:4-5, Colossians 2:9).

Our eternal life comes from his bodily death and bodily resurrection.  His is the same body and life, physically present for us, and given to us in his holy Supper.  His Supper is a communion in his real body.  (1 Corinthians 10:16).  And this is the same body we will eat in heaven.  (Matthew 26:29).

If our earthly lives are on similar moving display within our own bodies resurrected in Christ, we will never forget or cease to be grateful for the forgiveness of sins we receive in Christ.  “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Christ has died.  Christ has risen!  Christ will come again!

Happy Transfiguration Sunday.

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Not Picture Perfect

This picture is not perfect.  The angle is not quite what I had hoped it would be.  It is not an HDR photograph.  (HDR stands for “high dynamic range.”  A higher dynamic range would show more stained texture in the blue window).  Nonetheless, it does convey my mood: imperfect, blue, hopeful, and quiet in a sacred place.

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.”  (Psalm 130:5).

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Some Lights for the Holidays

These outdoor pictures were taken in December 2008.

“Holiday” is short for “Holy Day,” which means a day that is sacred, set apart, or devoted to God.  Because of Christ, God has declared all days of rest to be holidays.

May you have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

(Since the calendar is based on the birth of Christ, both holidays are really the same).  Jesus was born approximately 2011 years ago.

Jesus is the light of the world.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.  (John 14:6).

At Christmas we celebrate the incarnation of God almighty as a human baby born in Bethlehem.  He came to save his people from their sins and to take us to heaven.

Since the Incarnation is eternal, Christmas or Christ-mass never ends.  God is always Emmanuel, he is always with his people.  (Matthew 1:23, 28:20).

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

Notes:  The outdoor pictures were taken in December 2008.  The indoor pictures were taken in January 2010 at the Paine Art Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (in the only room they allow amateur photographers).

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“Worldview Everlasting” Contributor

Worldview Everlasting is an excellent video blog by LCMS Pastor Jonathan Fisk.  I had been intending to embed one of Worldview Everlasting’s excellent videos here on Light from Light for some time, but did not get around to it.  However, now that I am an unofficial contributor to Worldview Everlasting, it is time to show a video.  Worldview Everlasting is known in part for its frenetic style and many flashing pictures; and one of my pictures can now be counted among the many.

Please enjoy this excellent video:

The picture is of Pastor Todd Wilken at 10:01.  I really like how that picture turned out with Pastor Wilken looking toward the crucifix over his shoulder.  I had to take about 30 pictures to get just a couple that were really nice.  This picture was taken at the Brothers of John the Steadfast conference in February 2010, and additional photos from that conference can be found here.

Well, for such a small unofficial contribution, I didn’t get a credit or a link, but I’m still happy and honored to help out.  May God’s blessings be upon all the readers of Light from Light and the viewers of Worldview Everlasting here on this third day of Christmas 2010 A.D.

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New Camera: G12

God has given me a new camera, a Canon G12, and I don’t think I’m taking it back.  Almost every picture shared here on Light from Light was taken with a Canon a550.  The a550 is an excellent camera, and I plan to still use it.  Maybe it will be transferred to hazardous duty, such as cross-country skiing and mountain biking.

I am hoping the G12 will take certain photos to the next level.  Also, the G12 will be a stepping stone for me as I continue to learn the ins and outs of photography.

Everything is in God’s hands.

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National Geographic Photography Contest Entry

The picture above was going to be my entry in this year’s National Geographic photography contest.  However, at the last hour, I realized that it did not qualify because it was taken in the wrong year.  Nonetheless, it is a beautiful picture; and while it cannot be submitted to National Geographic, it does qualify to be published on Light from Light.  Here is the description I wrote for this photo:

What you see is how this picture came out of the camera, as is, with no computer enhancements.  I generally shy away from computer enhanced photography, not just because I am unskilled with Photoshop, but also because I think it often ends up distracting from the reality of what God has made.  There is beauty all around us, but sometimes we need to lay down on the ground and look for it.  For the Lord, one “day is like a thousand years” (2 Peter 3:8), and just as he walks through the depths (Job 38:16), so also he has time to walk the forest floor, to look at every flower, to say ‘hello’ to every bee, and to spend time with all his creatures, including human beings.

Most human photographers cannot see the deep, but we can stop to smell the flowers and to share beautiful perspectives that for many go mostly unseen.

The picture above is my submission for this year’s contest.  It is of rays of light shining down on a farm in northeastern Wisconsin.  One of the goals of National Geographic photographs is to reflect reality.  The director of photography stated:

“The world is already full of visual artifice, and we don’t want the National Geographic Photo Contest to add to it.  We want to see the world through your eyes, not the tools of Photoshop.”

This scene is as I saw it.  It reminds me of the Second Coming.  Some day Christ will return, and all our perspectives will change.

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