Daily Archives: September 30, 2011

I don’t use really long lenses very much.  I don’t do much sports anymore, and my big mammal wildlife days seem to be be in my rear view mirror as well.  I do however love the compression effect of big lenses.  I recently picked up a sweet old Nikkor  400 f 3.5 IF-ED manual focus lens for just that use.

 

The rule goes something like this, the longer the lens the more compression affect.  I shoot the D7000 a lot and being a DX  sensor camera my new 400 will be the equivalent of a 600!!!   That plus the fast wide open aperture of f 3.5 make for a very exciting optic for separating the foreground from the background.  This is one of my favorite techniques from the old bag of tricks.  It a great way to do a visual change up while maintaining the same relative position to the subject.  Another example below.

 

 

 

Always use your lenses to give you the visual effect your looking for.  Remember telephoto glass is not just for bringing things closer in the frame. It can make a big difference in how they appear as well!!!

When we think of any action we might take in life, that is a key questions we should ask ourselves, what would Jesus do?  When it comes to where we should find ourselves and who we should associate with, I would ask what “did” Jesus do.  A study of the New Testament reveals that Jesus related to everyone.  He had a close group of friends, His disciples.  He taught to large crowds that certainly had people from all walks of life and persuasions.  He was highly criticized by the leaders of the church because He sat down and ate with tax collectors and prostitutes.

 

Why didn’t Jesus just hang out with those that were receiving His message?  Jesus didn’t come to start a club, He came to save the lost.  A doctor doesn’t visit the well, he visit the sick.  I know we are not Jesus, be He called us to become more like Himself.  That begs the question, are we to go out into the world and try to help the very worst in our society?  Yes.  We cannot hope to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the world if we run away from the lost.  We are not of this world, but we are definitely in it.  How can we protect ourselves from all that is lost about this world while getting so close to it?  May I offer a few suggestions;

 

1.  Stay in the Word.  Reading of the scripture equips us with faith, wisdom, and His knowledge so that we can know what He did, and what we must do, to reach out to a lost world.  The perfect example of how to reach out and share His love was modeled by Him for us.

 

2.  Always remember that;   John 3:16-17   ¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.  We will never reach those hurting and lost by condemnation.  Jesus loved them to himself, we must do the same.

 

3.   Have a refuge of fellowship for your  own protection.  I’ve often heard Christians say, I believer but I don’t go to church.  Seeking and maintaining fellowship with other believers is your life line to what are your core beliefs.  Out in the world attempting to reach the lost, you will need the support, prayer, and comfort of those that join you in that effort to find and present God’s love to those most in need.

 

5.  We must, again, become like little children, and have an unquestioning faith in our Saviour.

 

It is our mission as those saved by His grace, compassion, and love to reach out to a world in need and offer the same.

 

the pilgrim

 

* Portrait of Jesus by a child, from the book Jesus in Art.