The Wave

Most of my day yesterday was consumed by trying to get the " perfect shot "
in this case the perfect shot was one of the Ocean waves breaking over the
basalt remnants that dot the Oregon Coast . The particular remnant I was
concentrating on was just off Yaquina head . IN the late spring this rock is
home to thousands of nesting birds , my guess it is about 70 to 80 feet high .
It is solid basalt a very hard and dense volcanic rock.
The winter storms take this rock and the many more like it on with a
relentless fury . The waves batter the rock , often the spray from the waves
completely cover it as the broken wave travels over the crest of the rock.

Watching it all its is pretty impressive : but what is Impressive to my
eyes ..sometimes has difficulty being translated to photography. There are
issues of scale , of contrast , speed , and light to overcome .

One of the major issues is that of scale . if you do not have something
that helps the viewer understand the immensity of these waves ..its hard for the
viewer to grasp the whole story :

For instance here is a photo of Tillamook light house being overwhelmed by
a wave ....but with out the light house in the photo it is hard to get the idea
of how big the wave is . Not taken by me .

The other issue is contrast ..black rocks and white waves are something our
eyes can easily see , but the camera has trouble contrasting the two , in
variably you either get a good exposure of the rock with the wave all blown out
and just a white blur , or the waves in sharp relief , and just a dark
silhouette of the rock
I had chosen a good vantage point , and the waves were cooperating .
Several other people were there with me , they were watching for whales , three
graduate students of the Oregon State Marine Biology Department ..were there
counting whales . There was a steady wind but no rain . I Must have stayed in
that location for several hours . You can watch the waves come in and see the
pattern , usually seven large waves will come in one after another then there is
a lull and then the pattern repeats itself ,. If the tide is coming in as it
was the waves get bigger with each new series . The waves do not come in from
the same direction , the angle of the wave seems to vary , and I could not
discern this pattern , so of the seven waves perhaps one or two would be
perfectly lined up with the rock.
My shots were definitely getting better , but still limited by the
limitations of photography ...
I found myself asking God to teach me something about Himself as I was
standing there ...in time God said " put your camera down ".

I like that about God He gets straight to the point . Here I was trying
to perfect a shot of a wave that God had been perfecting since the foundation
of time .

I wonder where does art cross the line between exaltation of God and His
Majesty and self love and ego ?

For me I have learned from Photography what a wonderful gift God has given
us of our eyes . Our eyes are so incredible . Cameras and lenses by comparison
are not nearly as efficient as our eyes ..Photography is a relatively new art
form . Perhaps no more than 150 years old . Painting has been around a lot
longer ..Long enough for painters to understand that what they are doing is
simply creating an impression of what they are seeing ...Photography still
struggles with the balance between faithful representation of the subject and
impressionistic or even romanticize representation for the subject . As an Art
form it more than likely is too new to fully understand its place in the world
of art .

I Know for me I loive to share with others what I have seen and enjoyed
myself . I try not to become the focus of the praise but rather the conduit of
the praise ..but Praise has a way of creating its own addiction . I know i need
to refocus . My photography should not be to exhalt myself , it should be to
remind me and others of what a wonderful God we serve . Easy to write this
...difficult to achieve .

Dear Lord , I Pray that I should always keep my art in perspective , that
what I do should be to your honor and glory , not mine . That I should seek to
remind myself daily how bless I am that you reveal to me on a daily basis your
creation, your artistry, your passion and your diversity ...Amen

The rest of the afternoon Lori and I spent some time together we went into
Lincoln City did some tourist type stuff. Stopped off at the super market .
Returned home where Lori prepared another wonderful meal :
Baked pork chops , with apple nut chutney , Broiled Asparagus and baked
potato.....was wonderful , another pleasant day on the Coast . .