in a fog………..

Dateline, Boston, O:Dark Thirty……. Dramatic enough? Actually just another city with a big airport. Last night I went to the annual camera club judging for picture of the year in Boston.
The competition was the 300 best images of the year in various categories. The method of judging was unique. A guest judge looked at all 300 images and then on a second showing said “in” or “out” for each image. That removed half of the images. It took about 10 additional showings with more ins and outs, to get down to the winning image.

What I found interesting is that the images ran all the way from pretty poor to absolutely incredible. There were easily a dozen images that could have won and would have deserved it.
As a photographer of forty years of experience, I’ve come to like certain things and not care for others. That doesn’t mean much except I know what I like, and what I don’t like. My wife used to say that if I were a burglar I would arrested on my first break, in sitting in someone’s bedroom floor looking at their shoe box of prints. I love to see other people’s work, it opens my eyes to a new way of seeing the world, often a way I don’t see the world now. This is a good thing. Learning how to adjust your vision is critical to being a good photographer.

Learning how to adjust your vision is also critical to being a better person. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing you already have most of this life figured out. I could easily say, “hey I’m sixty four years old, I know how I feel about things.” It’s not that easy though. God is showing me, everyday, how much I have to learn and how much my attitudes and prejudices need to be adjusted. Growth is when we learn, and then change. I closer walk with the Lord will result in growth. If you had no room for growth, you would be perfect. Fat chance of that, with me.

Romans 5:11 (New Living Translation)
11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
I would rather have a “relationship” with God, than be perfect. If I have a relationship with Him then He will call me a friend. What more could I want than that!

the pilgrim

*Photo note: View from my hotel room early this morning, D700, 35-70 AF D f 2.8.