In December, 2008, after saving and scrounging, and after trying to subtly convince my wife, I bought my first DSLR camera. Since purchasing it, I’ve taken more photos of my family than any human being would ever need in a lifetime. It has also consumed my time, when I’m not Facebooking, reading, or hanging out with my family. It has become my new “obsession.”
Burdened with guilt, I was thinking recently why I am so drawn to such a fancy and expensive camera. I think the answer is that I am a “creative.” A friend of mine from high school visited me last summer and asked if I was still making artwork. My friend and I spent a lot of time together painting, playing the guitar and “waxing poetic” about art in high school. He is still doing and making art in the Chicagoland area. I, on the other hand, am working for a church in the Silicon Valley. A different path from what my high school days would have predicted. But my friend’s visit helped me to realize that I am a creative person. That’s just how God the Creator wired me. I have a great need to create. As someone created in God’s image, this is what I am reflecting from my God. So, I take pictures. I take lots of pictures.
I guess I look at it as not so much the camera that has become my obsession, but the images it produces. I started a 365 Project on January 1st, taking and posting a picture a day on flickr.com. If you want to see it, click on the photos to the right of this post. I also really appreciate documenting my little girl’s life. I think I’ve only missed 3 days where I didn’t take a picture of her during the last year and half or so.
What about you? Are you a “creative”? What is it that you JUST have to do because it’s in you?
Thanks for reading.
Joe
Christina and I had an interesting theory that man’s ultimate destiny is to be creative. Without getting too much into the nitty gritty of it all, when we get to heaven and are in the presence of the Father, there is little likelihood that there will be much need for skills such as accounting, medicine, law, engineering, etc. etc.
Therefore, when we are expressing our creativity (be it through photography, painting, music, dance, theater, etc.), we are, in a way, fulfilling our designed purpose.
I think I’m a “creative” who doesn’t have the discipline to reach my peak potential. There are a lot of things in the creative realm that I would like to do, but I don’t apply myself enough at any one thing to fully achieve what I think I could…or at least I know I still have a long way to go in every arena…music, photography, writing, etc.
There’s one phrase that’s been reverberating in my mind for quite some time and I dunno what to do with it…but I think the last *clear* thought that God gave me was “Speak well of Me.”