I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel quite a bit in the past year or so. I got to explore the streets of New York and of course Central Park, with my amazing boyfriend. This was our first time traveling together and it was an exciting and fast paced trip. If you have never been to Central Park in the fall I highly recommended it as I have never seen anything like the beauty of the juxtaposition the park is to this bustling city. I cannot wait to visit this one of a kind city again. I also had the opportunity to travel to Chicago twice this fall/winter. Once with my closest girlfriends Elise, Emily, and Alison then again for a quick trip with my main squeeze.
However, the majority of the artistically inclined photography I captured this year was while I was exploring my own city, Minneapolis. As morbid as it sounds, I have always found cemetery's hauntingly beautiful and peaceful. My favorite cemetery in the Twin Cities is Lakewood Cemetery. It is one of the few that have large mausoleums and large memorials. It reminds me of what a centuries old cemetery might look like in Europe, likely because of the reminiscence of this to the frightening cemetery in The Phantom of the Opera.
The final picture is of Temple Israel in Uptown, Minneapolis. I have never had the opportunity to go inside, but the building is stunning from the outside.
It may be pretty obvious from this collection of favorites, but I am inspired by architecture and nature. Neither one on its own is typically enough for me but I love the two opposites together. The stark contrast of the heavily structured metal or stone opposing the unpredictable leaves or waves of a river or lake. I am quite obsessed with history and seeing a large city next to a park or an ocean or even a gorgeous tree adjacent to a statue peaks my interest. I begin to wonder about the origination of the structure and how the preexisting nature once was as it was undisturbed by industry. The older the monument or building the better. This leads me to ponder about the people of that era and the vast differences between this generation and that time. What I most enjoy about photography is that it can make you pause and be still, even if just for a moment. The chaos of life rarely allows for these moments and I so cherish the rare opportunity to be inspired simultaneously by what the Lord has created with his handiwork and has enlisted man to erect.
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20
"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Job 12: 7-10
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. John 1: 1-4
Photography can be more than an artistic outlet, it can reveal the very nature of God. It can truly be an act of worship as we stand in awe of the one who gave us the ability to see, to think, and to feel the wonders he has made. It can truly bring us into the presence of God if we allow it to. So this year, along with my church I am believing for Greater and especially a greater presence of God and opportunities to worship him.