This is also not a ding against roses or nature photography. In fact, landscape photography is what does it for me. There's a reason I can look at a photo of a landscape somewhere hundreds or thousands of miles away and feel a sense of peace. There's a reason my mind is calm and my eye seeks to soak it all in and 5 minutes just won't suffice. Confusion and questions don't clammer around in my head, the purpose seems evident. I don't need to know why the photographer took the picture or what statement they were trying to make, all I want to know is where the picture was taken and how much a plane ticket would cost to get me there! That's what I want to do as a photographer; travel, capture, expose and plant seeds of hope, inspiration and wonder. Specifically, my model of choice is the beautiful America herself. Why? Because there is nothing quite like her! No other country is home to the mighty Sequoia tree, fjords packed with ice hundreds of years old, seemingly endless fields of corn or wheat, heights as high as Mount McKinley (Denali), depths as low as Death Valley and expanses as wide as the Grand Canyon and as intricately designed?
Personally, I feel very blessed to live in the United States of America and I wonder sometimes why everybody doesn't feel this way? In the days of our fore Fathers, I believe many shared my feelings, but in 2009 that seems not to be the case. I wonder why, but more importantly, I wonder what I can do to change that, to make people fall in love with America again? What would it take? I cannot say for sure, but I have been drawn to the camera for it's abilities to capture the magnificent beauty that God has blessed us with in nature (Psalm 104). I've categorized the camera's use into two camps: creating v. capturing. Photographers that use the camera to create fabricate sets and the subject is aware of the camera's presence. Photographers that capture point their cameras to the work of others; chance and patience kiss at the enamel of the film. I prefer using my camera to capture the beauty that God so magnificently displays for us day in and day out (Psalm 19:1-6). He's given me an appreciation and an artistic eye, so I do what I can to give back to Him, so that He may be glorified and not me (Psalm 113:3). I'll let God be the director of my shots and I'll technically render them. My desire is to use my camera to worship The Creator and not me, His creation (Romans 1:25)(2 Corinthians 4:7). Perhaps it's not the most unique or edgy concept for an aspiring photographer going through art school to have, but I am not the first. My dream to travel the 50 States and capture fractions of their beauty with my camera for the glory and recognition of God has already been done, and so I want to introduce you to my inspiration, Ken Duncan's photography. I first met him in his book "Walking With God in America", and I fell in love with God and American all over again, and every subsequent time I open the book!
Ken Duncan is an Australian born photographer captivated by the immeasurable beauty of the United States. God has given him a heart for America and called him to use his camera to remind Americans of their blessings. He says himself that, "America's faith in God is what has made it one of the greatest countries on earth, and that faith is a beacon of hope for other struggling nations around the world," (Walking With God in America, 9). The pages of his books are graced with Bible verses, quotes from famous men and women including presidents, and antidotes about what God taught him through the capturing of a specific image. Why an Australian in America? Have we lost our hope and faith? Perhaps we've become complacent and take what we have for granted. Or could it be that we won't know what we have until we don't have it anymore? Sometimes it takes the observations of an outsider to see.
