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A Shot I Almost Didn't Take

One of my favorite shots is this shot of a waterfall at Zion National Park. I was perched on a precarious hillside and needed to change lenses to get a closer perspective of the lower part of the falls. I wasn't sure it was worth the trouble. I almost closed the camera pack and left. But after some careful deliberation I decided to get out my telephoto lens and shoot three more frames. This was one of those shots. Taken with a Canon 70-200mm L 2.8 at 100 mm- f/11 for 1/8 of a second. See the first two photos in my Zion National Park Gallery for a contrast with a wider angle view of this same location taken about 1 minute apart.

In His Light (menu)

"Photography" comes from two Greek words: "Phos" meaning "light" and "grapho" meaning "to write." Photography's root meaning is "to write with light." A "photographer" then would be "one who writes with light." Light is the basis of photography. God's first command was "let there be light." Light has such broad latitude from infrared to ultra violet. For the photographer there is the light from sunrise to sunset and for some occasions the light from the moon and the stars is dramatic lighting. The quality of light is the first consideration in taking a good photograph. Great photographers like Ansel Adams often spoke of waiting on the light for hours, days, or even weeks, or months for the perfect light for a special photograph. My philosphy of a great photograph is summed up in the words of a great landscape photographer by the name of Joe Cornish, "...photography is built on three foundations: Timing, Lighting, and Composition."

What a wonderful inspiration to know that we have been given the opportunity to write these images because He created LIGHT.

Genesis 1:3,4 - And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness."

John 1:5 - "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all."

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