Hello all, this is my first blog ever. Once I have done a number of these, I guess that I would be officially “a blogger” – a description that I never thought I would have!! I started my company God is in the Details Photography in September of 2021, having first had the idea that March. I cannot say what was the final “thing” that made me decide. I know people had been asking if they could get prints for their homes. I know that I enjoyed showing my photographs to my Facebook friends. I know that in thinking about retirement that I wanted another possible source of income. But none of these really explains it. I believe that it is, for whatever reason, what I was meant to do. What I was called to do. So, it is possible that none of the reasons I thought about it are why I have engaged in this endeavor. As it is often said “How do you make God laugh? Tell him your plans for yourself” I will trust that there may be a purpose beyond what I can now conceive. In terms of my own mind, I see my pictures being one way to buttress the hectic stress of everyday living, the things that cloud our minds.
I choose to take pictures of everyday surroundings to hopefully help people see that they do not need to wait every year for those few weeks of vacation or holidays to experience something beautiful, something holy. Because in that same sometimes mundane and distracted world, there is also beauty right there all the time. We just must open our eyes to see it, to relish it, to realize that life is not all deadlines, financial troubles, traffic, long lines, personal strife with those around you, bad service, and overbearing people. That in that same world you can find joy, a closeness to God. There are places in both home and work that I think that is needed. That is why I think my work could be business wall art and home wall art. Even organizations that are for good, such as Christian organizations can often have the same issues as any other business. As with all people, sometimes these people need to be reminded of what they are there to do, to serve.
I am a Professor and Chair of a Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing at a university. I am a speech-language pathologist and have worked in many medical settings including acute care, rehabilitation hospital, nursing home, and outpatient care. Workers in these places obviously are there for the good of people. However, it is stressful to work in medical settings. In addition, you are often not a patient in one unless there is something wrong, which is also stressful. So, I think both workers and patients need to be reminded in this setting that there is pure beauty and love in the world. It is that beauty and love that gives rise to hope. And hope is necessary for both the provider and the one being provided service. Thus, I think that seeing my work celebrating the world that we all have access to would be valuable for as medical office wall art, and especially for Christian medical wall art or any business looking for faith-based wall art. Outside of medical settings, other business might want to proclaim their faith with Christian business wall art, or my specialty Christian business nature photography. Businesses that promote environmental causes might also want to have one of my pictures as business wall art.
I am currently in an educational setting at a Jesuit Catholic University. My children attended all faith-based schools. Thus, I think my work could be Christian school wall art. This would be just one reminder while in school of the wonders that God provides in our everyday lives. Home is also a place to keep reminders of God’s love around us in our every day lives, not just when we visit the majesty of a place like the Grand Canyon, tropical islands, or other top destinations. If wait for these places to see God’s beauty, then you might not feel experience it as you should, daily. Thus, Christian wall art might provide you with the Christian artwork for home to experience this love every day. My pictures may not be what people think of initially as Christian pictures for home. Christian wall art is thought as pictures of people or events from the Bible; Bible verses or other words of inspiration paired with a picture of something grand such as a sunset or as profoundly simple as a hand holding another; or the Christian cross. My work does not have words attached to them, but I think different people could be reminded of holy words when viewing. And sometimes words do not match the power of just gazing at a picture of something made by God.
It has often been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. So, one does not have to think of a specific Bible verse or other inspired words to get such a feeling from a picture. Adding words might even, in some cases, keep you from seeing your own interpretation or spiritual meaning from a photograph or other work of art. I live in West County of St. Louis. Where I live does not have hordes of tourist coming to it to take pictures, like say the cherry blossoms of Washington D.C. If you drove through my surrounding area, nothing might stick out to you as strikingly picturesque like Niagara Falls or the ocean. Thus, in keeping with my spiritual focus, the pictures from my website are from St. Louis metropolitan area. I have travelled to many countries and many cities in the US and seen great beauty there. But I wanted to show that do not need to go “away” to see beauty. Mine is not a travel blog website. There are quite a few of my pictures on my website that are taken within 5 miles of our home, some during my 6-mile morning walks. Some pictures are out my own front, side, and back windows of our house. Some of my pictures were taken in Forest Park, one of the best city parks in the country, as well as other parks in the region. Some of my potential pictures I have seen while driving home. I must get off the highway and try to find an overpass over it that has a pedestrian walkway to take the picture. I have also pulled into school and store parking lots to capture the moment. Alas, sometimes when I finally find the place to take the picture, the configuration of clouds or whatever I saw has gone. Thus, if you were to put my photography in a traditional category, you would say that I do St. Louis nature photography. But my point is not to document St. Louis. Wildflowers grow everywhere. Clouds are everywhere. Raindrops on leaves are everywhere. God is everywhere.
