Reflections of Creation

One of the greatest things that God has given humans is the ability to see beauty in the world around us. I have never noticed my dog stop and stare at the beauty of a forest or the incredible colors of a sunset, but these things have the ability to stop me in my tracks in wonder and awe. This website is my attempt to capture some of the beauty and glory of an indescribable God by capturing reflections of Him that I see in His creation.

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Deja vu Friday, February 29, 2008 | 3

Since I'm using the laptop and my stockpile of blog pictures is on the desktop, you get another picture from Wednesday night. This picture is a 24 minute exposure and was facing northwest (versus southeast in yesterday's picture). I was going for an abstract type of look with the out of focus bush in the foreground, but I'm not happy with how it turned out. So, you get a picture today that you wouldn't have gotten if I was in another room. :-)

One more thing which I want you to know about: there is some color correction in this photo. I took this image as a raw image which means that it is not processed by the camera. So I had to do all of the things that the camera normally does like sharpness, contrast and and white balance. I just wanted you to know since this picture is altered (sort of).


that carlsbad glow Thursday, February 28, 2008 | 3

Today's post is the result of two things:
1) Alison is out of town.
2) I had a frustrating morning/afternoon/evening (but tonight with the teenagers was fun).

So, I decided to go out and play for a couple of hours tonight. This is the glow of Carlsbad taken from about 10 miles away. This is a four minute exposure and I like how it turned out. You can see more of the star trails by clicking on the picture to see a larger version, and I highly recommend looking at the larger version.

Matthew 5:14-15 (the message)
Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!

I like the colors Wednesday, February 27, 2008 | 2


weeds and leaves Tuesday, February 26, 2008 | 1


putting on the brakes Monday, February 25, 2008 | 2

This is a picture I was not going to put on the blog, but came across it tonight and felt like I should. This was taken 2 weeks ago and it was taken at f/22 for 15 seconds (click it for larger sized picture).

I have always been fascinated by pictures with headlights and taillights showing in long exposure pictures. I love the concept of the light staying even though the car is now gone. In a weird way, this is how I want my life to be. I hope that I leave little glimpses of Jesus everywhere I've been.

Okay, cheesy (but sincere) thought of the day is now concluded. Back to your regularly scheduled picture:


Log Cabin Village in Ft. Worth Sunday, February 24, 2008 | 2


twisty trunk Saturday, February 23, 2008 | 5


playing with light - Relay for Life Friday, February 22, 2008 | 2

Today is a monster post for a monster cause. While I have already posted an image from this night, I wanted to heavily promote Relay for Life by posting some pictures from last year's event here in Carlsbad. Relay for Life is an annual event that takes place in communities all over the country and sponsored by the American Cancer Society. People basically walk all night around a track of luminaries to raise money for cancer research. You can find out more by going to their website at relayforlife.org, and please get involved in your local Relay event. Here is Carlsbad, the event is May 2nd and 3rd.

"Having cancer is hard. Finding help shouldn't be."








the grass is always greener on the other side of the ruins Thursday, February 21, 2008 | 5


Sorry I missed yesterday; I had two trips for work on Monday and Tuesday, so I haven't been around a computer to post a new picture.

Today's picture is from "inside" the ruins of the Great Hall at Kenilworth Castle. This castle was gutted along with many others around 1656 so that they would not be a threat to the crown. Kenilworth is a fascinating place, and it was my favorite spot we went to when Alison and I were in England three years ago (thanks for taking us there, Christi).

Waiting to Shine Tuesday, February 19, 2008 | 1

(excerpt from the song, Waiting to Shine, by Building429)

God, I’ve always wondered what You look like
Lord I’ve always waited staring at the sky
But the heavens remained quiet
As they drift along in peace
Sometimes they’ve turned to thunder
Still the echoes always cease
How I long to get home
Lord I hope it won’t be long

Till You
Let the skies open wide

Let Your child see Your eyes, iris to iris,
I will be waiting
Let the skies open wide
Let Your children be like
Diamonds reflecting
We will be waiting to shine
Waiting to shine
...
Sing halleluiah to our God

Sing halleluiah we are found
Sing halleluiah for the Savior has come down

In honor of Texas Monday, February 18, 2008 | 5

Tonight, my pastor made a crack about Texas (Oklahoma too, but I was okay with that). So, this bluebonnet picture is my way to honor Texas (state flower).


faint double rainbow Sunday, February 17, 2008 | 5


dog eyes Saturday, February 16, 2008 | 4

The second one is incredibly in focus (you should see the full size image), but I like the darker background in the first one. In the first picture, the dog moved at the last second and it's out of focus. So, I'm not sure which one I like better. What do you guys think?



ode to cesar romero Friday, February 15, 2008 | 2

the purple and green reminds me of his joker character

will rogers Thursday, February 14, 2008 | 4


peeling red bark Wednesday, February 13, 2008 | 4

Here's another one from McKittrick Canyon which shows an unusual tree (wish the picture was better at showing it). McKittrick has such a large variety of trees in it. Does anyone know what kind of a tree this is?



Beuller? Bueller? Fry? Fry? Anyone? Anyone?

playing with taillights - the carlsbad flume Tuesday, February 12, 2008 | 2

f22 for 20 seconds
The car taillights turned out well, but I wish I actually had the flume leveled horizontally. Oh well.


an experiment (and Monday bonus) Monday, February 11, 2008 | 1

This post is a combination of two things which happened today:

1) I told someone that being able to change white balance on a digital camera feels like cheating and they disagreed.

2) I wanted to know how to make pictures of people look drawn for a work project (like the pictures of the athletes you see during the X-Games broadcasts).

So, I decided to cheat and alter a picture using software and see how it turned out. If you click the second picture, you can get a larger look at how much it's changed.

Before:




After:

playing with light - part eight Monday, February 11, 2008 | 2

I'm sorry about not posting over the weekend (Friday night was my last one); I was worn out and didn't get it done. So to make up for it, I'll post one that my brother really liked when I showed him a few shots.

This shot is of last Friday night's sunset taken from the riverwalk here in Carlsbad. It was a beautiful evening and I got three or four really good shots. This one looks much better in a larger size, so click on it and you'll see a larger and better looking version. I think the reflection of the clouds in the lower right of the picture is my favorite part. I love seeing the ripples there.


a command or a description? plus painting with light again Saturday, February 09, 2008 | 11

(tip: you can see any pictures on this blog in a larger size by clicking on them)



Tonight I played with a camera with a 30 second exposure time versus the maximum of 4 seconds that I've had with our digital camera. The longer exposure time gave me a chance to try out some more drawing with light. I also did some stick figures as well, and the sad part is they probably look better than the ones I draw on paper with the lights on. Often, I wish God had blessed me with the ability to draw and paint, but He didn't.

I probably should have saved this picture for a seperate post, but I wanted to go ahead and put both of these up today. I hope you know that this second picture is absolutly true. If you don't know Jesus, fire me off an email (check my profile in the "pull" part above). I'd love to talk with ya!

more mckittrick canyon Friday, February 08, 2008 | 7

After seeing the leaves on the ground in yesterday's picture, I'm in the mood for another fall picture.

ye olde english cemetary Thursday, February 07, 2008 | 5

in bury st. edmund, england

playing..err..painting with light Tuesday, February 05, 2008 | 5

Here's something I've always wanted to try so I gave it a shot (pun intended) tonight. I started off simple with just a cross since I had never done this effect before. This picture is just a four second exposure and I am drawing in the air with a blue led light. I did put a little side light so that you can just see a little of my face because I liked the added dimension to the picture. I spent about ten minutes and took about a dozen shots with varying amounts of light and cross sizes, none of which were that great. Here's what I thought was the best one, meaning it was fairly centered and lit the way I wanted. It's kind of hard to center yourself in the frame when you're in the dark and you only have ten seconds before the camera begins the exposure to make it to the spot you think is centered. I'm sure I'll try more pictures like this later because I had a lot of fun trying this effect.


a rainy day cat Tuesday, February 05, 2008 | 3

If you look close, you can see a lot of blurry hail in the far planter.





playing with light - the hitchcockian silhouette Monday, February 04, 2008 | 5

This photo looks strangley similar to this other one



Wow! It's a person! Sunday, February 03, 2008 | 3

I drive my wife crazy because I never take pictures with people in them. She's kinda funny in that she thinks we should actually be in the pictures of the places we visit. I know, I know....she's nuts. She did marry me after all. :-)

So, here's a picture of my father-in-law in McKittrick Canyon. After all, he may not be in focus, but he's in the picture!



cross at Petroglyph National Monument Saturday, February 02, 2008 | 0

This picture is from the Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque. This is a fascinating (and free) place that you should go see if you are ever in town. The amount of petroglyphs here is amazing. I included the second picture so that you could read the description of this cross; I also made this picture file larger than I normally post so that it would be easy to read.



Hubbard Museum of the American West Friday, February 01, 2008 | 4

I was asked today if all of the pictures on my blog are digital. That question got me thinking, and Bob, I have an exact answer for you. If there was a day that had two pictures, then I only counted one of them since those shots were taken with the same camera. Here are the results:

Digital pictures: 14
Film pictures: 21 (counting today)

So, there you go. An interesting fact is that most digital camera take different sized pictures than a 35mm camera will. Digital cameras usually use an aspect ratio of 4:3 while 35mm cameras use an aspect ratio of 3:2. What does this mean? Basically, a 35mm film shot will be slightly wider and more rectangular shaped. So, you've now got your pointless fact for the day.

I also do not crop or alter anything on my photos. I try hard when I scan a film shot to make it match the original (I hold it up to the monitor and everything). Most of the time when I get my film developed, I also pay for the CD option. So, only a few of these pictures have actually been scanned by me.

Which brings me to today's picture. I have only shot two rolls of black and white film in my life, and I have not been pleased with my black and white shooting abilities. I do like this shot and enjoy how it turned out. While the sky looks like I altered it in photoshop, I want you to know that did not touch it. This is done with a polarizing filter shooting towards the sunset on my old manual Canon camera (the scan does not look as good as the original either). This picture is outside of the Hubbard Museum of the American West in Ruidoso, NM.


Reflections of Creation



the most important part of this website

I enjoy photography and I always find myself wanting more time to be outside with a camera. The idea of posting my pictures was born out of the love for my wife, Alison (alisonbryantwrites.com), who hates it when I do not take my days off. This website, reflections of creation, is a way to force me to get out of the office from time to time and putting me outside where I love to be. While a creative outlet for me, I hope this is an encouraging site for you, and one which helps point you to the Creator of all this beauty around us. God is so much bigger and amazing than we could ever imagine, and He loves you and me! What an amazing thought! He loves us so much that He was even willing to let His son, Jesus, die as a sacrifice for us. That fact is more beautiful than any picture you will see on this website. I hope you know Jesus, but if you do not, please email me or go to www.needHim.org. Thanks again for coming and stop by again soon.

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