Imagine Contrast

The other evening we were outside talking to our neighbors when one turned around and suddenly walked away. I called out to him, “Hey, what’s up?”

In response he pointed to the sky and said, “I’m getting my camera.” He had a point, the clouds were impressive. There were a number of storms roaming through the area, but for some reason they were all moving around us. In any direction we turned we could see thunderstorms moving through the area. These weren’t static bodies, either. We watched as the clouds grew taller, even as they moved away.

What else could I do but get my camera?

The cloud images I took were fairly nice. The sun was getting ready to set, and the low angle of the light created some nice definition in the form of shadows. Yet, my favorite image of the evening was the one on display below. Sometimes the light creates contrast, and other times it’s the subjects in frame.

Here a leafy branch, an image of peace and calm, is set against the backdrop of a truck pounding down a busy road. This speaks to me. Much of the time I believe our culture is so busy pounding down the roads of productivity that we miss the beauty all around us. Sadly, there also seems to be something wired in US culture which leads us to feel guilty if we stop and deeply appreciating things such as trees, clouds, birds, or even buildings. It’s not considered a “practical” or “productive” enough way to spend our time.

I say both these things are over-rated. We need to tell practicality and productivity to take a hike more often, so we can stop and appreciate the world around us.

A tree branch in focus, against the backdrop of a moving pick-up truck.

One thought

  1. That is my devotion for our Saturday prayer time. Thanks. I’ll use Psalm 104 and 119 for my scripture . Thanks Wes.

    Sent from my iPad

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