Documenting as Unto the Lord

It is easy to enjoy photography, but sometimes, it is much less easy to feel like I am serving any higher purpose than just satisfying my own desires. A quasi-family member of mine (back in China, this relative certainly had a title, but “brother’s brother-in-law” is the best I can find in English) will soon be leaving as a photojournalist for a non-profit organization and I wanted to send a note of encouragement.

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching you develop photographically. You have certainly taken the fast track — you do know that is always the more painful option, right 🙂 — and jumped in with everything you have.

It is easy, as photographers, to doubt the “spirituality” of what we do. Indeed, there is a time to put down the camera and remove the glass barrier between you and the people, but there is so much more to this job, so much that truly is a spiritual sacrifice to the Lord.

It is not about stirring the pity of your audience. It is not about that ONE photo that launches your career or personal glory. It is about experiencing the moment, understanding the situation, and relating it to so many who can never go.

Many people want to know what is going on and want to do something about it in the love of Christ, and these photos can and will play an essential part in allowing viewers to have a small taste of that situation and to evaluate how they can join the effort.

Take photos as unto the Lord.

That does not encompass the whole breadth of photography and the many purposes it can be used to achieve, but it does apply directly to his and my approach to photography. Yes, we love photography, but there is much more to it. Serving in that way is, if I understand the Scriptures correctly, a pleasing sacrifice unto the Lord, and is a “spiritual act of worship”. So, go worship, Lane!

As he says on his card: “capturing moments of injustice being reversed and good news being brought to the poor through an organization called Bright Hope World.”