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| Store Window, Downtown Huntsville, Alabama |
I enjoy looking at windows – the framed structures made out of glass, not the ones on a computer screen named by a Washington state corporation.
Large picture windows capture my attention such as the visitor’s center window at Harriman State Park of Idaho where I gazed on the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River as it meandered through the meadows while off in the distance clouds enshrouded the peaks of the Grand Tetons.
Stained glass windows intrigue me with the stories to be told through artistic glass coloring such as the windows in the sanctuary of Weatherly Heights Baptist Church that cast a soft blue hue upon the pews inside. There are the large beautiful windows of Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Huntsville that portray a gentle and loving Christ Jesus.
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| Central Presbyterian Church sanctuary, Huntsville, Alabama |
I enjoy watching the reflections of light on the glassy face of windows late in the afternoon or early in the morning.
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| Sunset Picture Windows at Lake Guntersville State Park Lodge, Alabama |
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| Sunset Office Front, Downtown Huntsville, Alabama |
As a photographer, my camera carries a window of the world through my viewfinder and lens. I use this window to show others how I see the world and what captures my attention and focus. Sometimes, this window displays the large and grandiose landscape, but more frequently I focus it on the small and narrow such as a single maple leaf hanging from a tree limb or the chrome grill front of a 1968 Mercury Cyclone or a store sign that says “Dang Alterations.”
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| Dang Alterations storefront, Hoover, Alabama |
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| 1968 Mercury Cyclone |
One late afternoon, I was in downtown Huntsville photographing office building windows. One window caught my attention as it framed a colorful red walled staircase. I was wearing an orange jacket as you can see my reflection in the window. I walked across the street carrying my fully extended monopod on my shoulder so that I wouldn’t have to extend it for the next window shot. I took the shot from the sidewalk, removed my camera from the monopod and walked toward the steps leading down to Big Spring. A police car pulled up, the officer got out of the vehicle as I walked by him and said,
“Excuse me sir, have you seen a man walking around carrying a weapon?”
I answered, “No, I sure haven’t.”
The police officer shrugged his shoulder as he saw the camera in one of my hands and the monopod in the other and said, “I see what’s going on here. Sir, someone has called you in saying they saw someone walking around the square carrying a rifle wearing a red jacket. I can see that you aren’t carrying a rifle, just camera equipment.”
Surprised, I said, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t trying to create a disturbance, just taking photos of windows at dusk. Do you need to check anything on me?”
“No sir, you can go about your business.” Just as the officer finished saying this, two more police cars pulled up near the other police car to provide back-up to the call of a possible rifle bearing man walking around downtown. This is when I decided that my photo shoot was done for the evening; I got in my truck and headed home.
Well, that gives you a minor rambling into what happens at times to the person behind the image making.
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| Red staircase window view in Downtown Huntsville taken before police questioned me |
Windows offer us views to the world around us or the world inside of us. They offer protection from the elements yet allow light to enter to guide us and warmth to heat us.
I enjoy looking through windows into the world outside. At times I hide in the window shadow and gaze at the world on the other side of the glass – an anonymous observer to the world surrounding me.
As a minister and teacher, I guide students along in seeing into the word of God. We can look at the grandiose such as Paul’s purpose in writing to the Philippians or the much smaller and narrower view of Jesus’ meaning in saying, “I am the vine; and you are the branches…”
Scripture acts as a window into who God is and how we can be His followers on Earth. Surrounded by the Holy Spirit, scripture offers us protection, comfort, guidance and warmth.
I hope you will join with me in looking through these windows as we study the Word of God together in small groups, Sunday school, worship, and in our individual readings of Scripture. Together, we can offer different views into the world inside us and how God is making a difference in our lives.
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| Reflection of Dean in Downtown Huntsville Office Window |
