Sunday, February 19, 2012

Sunday Morning Coming Down

Have you ever heard the song Sunday Morning Coming Down, written by Kris Kristofferson and performed by Johnny Cash.



One of my favorite songs of all time and a perfect title to the new section of the blog.  I want to get back to the real reason I started shooting, the glorification of God.  That's the reason I went to college, to gain the technical knowledge I needed to see my visions through.  God blesses us all with a talent, or two, or even three, but if you don't nurture them...you squander them.  I don't want to squander them.  So, to make sure I don't do that I have to shoot continually and shoot what God really wants me to shoot, His work.  That may seem crazy to some who aren't believers, and thats OK, we all answer to someone or something.  And I'm not mad at you if you think I'm crazy, I'll keep moving forward and we'll still be friends.

So here's my first leap back into photographing church.  I used to feel really comfortable getting right in peoples faces, right in the mix and snapping off a frame or two.  Not that comfortable anymore.  That's exactly what I needed to feel right now.  That's the push I need to pursue and get better at shooting.

I really focused on the strong silhouettes and shadows from the lighting.  I was hoping for more hands raised and more encroachment on the light.  But you work with what you're given.


Really liked the light shining, seemingly on this one individual.


I was drawn to this shadow (of the guy in the above photograph).  This sparked me to start looking for the things that could represent worship without being so obvious.  That's something I'm going to work on; looking for the things that aren't so obvious.


Being prophecied over.


I like the graphic element of this image.  It almost forms a W.


This young man came to the front for prayer.


You'll notice there aren't a lot of photographs of faces.  That's my current deficiency.  There was a time when I would have been about a foot from peoples faces.  You really gain a greater feeling for the moment that way.  I have the permission of my pastor to photograph freely at church and I'll take advantage of that.  Robert Capa once said, "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough."  I'll get back there, I'll gain that comfort level again.

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Sunday Morning Coming Down.  BTW, this is post 100!