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A father’s gift framed the way I see God’s grace
A camera from my father taught me that faith, like photography, means balancing patience for perfection with seizing God-given moments.
By Julie A. Ferraro | FāVS News Columnist
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News.
My father gave me my first camera — a Kodak Instamatic — when I was 8 years old. It had a film cartridge that fit in the back and was what I came to call a “point-and-shoot,” without the need to adjust the aperture, the f-stop or even the focus.
An avid photographer himself for many decades, my father preferred a more traditional style of camera. He would labor over a family portrait, tweaking every setting, to be sure to get the perfect image.
During a trip to Hawaii for my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary in 1976, he cycled more than two dozen rolls of film through his camera and filled albums with gorgeous photos of flowers from a botanical garden on the islands.
I can only dream of matching his skill, though I am a “professional” photographer.
Waiting for the perfect shot
The essence of being a good photographer is a willingness to wait until just the right moment to capture that precise image. Case in point: while celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday in Arkansas in the early 1990s, my father, my brother and his wife, myself and my children visited an area park.
A marvelous trickling creek ran through the property. My brother laid down on a wooden bridge crossing the creek, his camera in hand, spending nearly 15 minutes focusing and adjusting settings to get the desired photo of water cascading over rocks.
From above, I used my “point-and-shoot” to capture him in that position.
A week later, after we’d returned to our respective homes, my father received a phone call from my brother, asking whether a stray roll of film had been mistakenly packed in our bags before leaving.
Come to find out, my brother had no film in his camera that day!
So much time waiting — and wasted.
I couldn’t help but laugh as I viewed the photo I’d snapped of him in just a few seconds.
Faith means knowing when to click
Therein lies the conundrum of our very lives, though. Are we the type who fiddles around with settings, waiting for the “perfect” moment to snap a photo or — in faith-related terms — to see what God is offering to us?
Or do we simply grab the moment, press the shutter and enjoy what develops?
I’ve gone through many “point-and-shoot” type cameras over the years, including a small Fuji, my first digital, which allowed me to “snap away” and then instantly review the photos and select the best ones, especially when working for various newspapers on a deadline. Currently, I have a Nikon D3400 DSLR, which means it can be used in “point-and-shoot” mode or in the more traditional sense.
I usually don’t have the luxury of taking a lot of time to adjust the focus, etc., so I keep it in automatic mode. And, I really love what some photographers call the “burst” mode, when the shutter is pressed and multiple exposures are uploaded onto the memory card.
I’ve been known to take as many as 500 photos of churning waves along the shoreline, or 800 photos of hummingbirds at a feeder. Then, I pick the best.
Capture grace in every moment
When responding to breaking news stories, there also isn’t time to fiddle with settings. SWAT teams approaching a venue, the collision of multiple cars, basketball players running down the court or bands marching past during a parade means the action has to be captured quickly.
I will admit, though, I miss the old-style camera I inherited when my father passed away in 1999 — stolen from the front seat of my car, the doors still locked, many years ago. I would have loved to have taken the time to focus on just one flower to capture that perfect image.
Maybe, when it comes to our faith, we can be flexible enough to capture the moments where things are busily rushing past, as well as appreciating the more tranquil blessings, when we can focus on how God’s love has enveloped us in quiet joy.
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