Praise

Due to the size of my camera, I don't normally carry it around during the weekdays. This means that I almost always only take photos during the weekends, and since most of my time is occupied in the church during weekends, the church and the people in it have become one primary theme of my photos. Therefore, ever since the time that I consider my photography life officially commenced, which is late 2004, I have been taking photos of my church life quite extensively.

Now, one may wonder what is there in a church that I can spend almost one third of my photography life to take photos with. Well, to be honest, that is something I also sometimes wonder, and this thought does sometimes haunt me down and makes me not want to bring my camera along to church services.

However, the truth is, I must testify, that I always find something interesting to take photos with whenever I go to the church. This is even more true when taken into account that I have to sit at the same seat almost every week, due to my role as a trainer to people showing the PowerPoint slides. One of the reasons why I always find something to photograph may be that I have become mose sensitive to images around me through these two years of photographing. But, I think, the most important reason is that it is God's spirit at work every time I have the camera in my hand.

I hang a cross that my girlfriend gave me on my camera, and whenever I can grab a short break from a series of photo-taking, I always hold on to this cross and think in my mind, "Thank you, Lord. Praise be Your name, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." Well, alright... I don't think in this King-James-Version way, but that is basically what I pray silently when I hold on to the cross. The reason why I do this is simple: God "inhabitests the praises of Israel," or is "enthroned on the praises of Israel." What is a throne? A throne is where the enthroned declares and releases His power. When I take photos, I want God's own power to guide me, and when I say praises to Him, He then has a channel to let down His great power to guide me.

"Hey, that's flattering!" you may argue. Well, that is called "praising." Besides, with such great power awaiting, why not make praises and let God do whatever He wills?

~tJah

---