Locomotion

 Last night I was able to capture a picture that I had been thinking about attempting since the beginning of summer when I learned that the Iowa State Fair Photography competition's theme was "Our World in Motion."

My goal was to capture two levels of motion: the train that runs by my parent's house and fireflies.  I was able to capture the train, and unsuccessful at capturing the fireflies in the same frame.  The lighting was too much of a challenge.  In hindsight, I was setting my standards too high.

Too give you an idea of the challenge, the following photo is a picture of the lighting by the railroad bridge that crosses the Muchikanic Creek.  You can see that I caught just a few fireflies with a long shutter speed.  This is when my dad and I were getting bit up like crazy by mosquitoes...

You might recognize the Classic Union Pacific engine:

Here is the resulting photo that we captured:

Theimage was far brighter, because I kept the shutter open for 10 seconds.  The train wasn't moving too terribly fast, but I was still able to capture the motion of the train, and the streaks of light along the sides.  I also love how the front of the train you can see the headlight of the train shining on the trees in front of it, giving them a yellow glow.

Here were my settings for other photographers interested:
Shutter:10
Aperture: F8
ISO: 100
18mm

I'm still learning what all those settings mean, but I feel good about knowing approximately where they needed to be to take on the challenge.

A few more pictures:

I give dad my credit for coming up with the title, "Locomotion."  The ironic thing is that I had already brought my entries to the State Fair competition in Des Moines just yesterday morning because they were due this weekend.  Oh well, I'm still so please with the results and had a good time with my dad, who tromped down all the weeds next to the track so that they didn't interfere with the shot.  There is always next year.

Thanks to "Jimmie" who works for Union Pacific who helped me out on the timing of the train. Jimmie, could your post the link to the Union Pacific Railroad Calendar?

The images I decided to enter in the State Fair:

Hydrant by the Barn (Family Farm Class)

Flea Market Salesman (People)  Note:  My dad's title for this one is "Hell of a Hailstorm," but I declined.

Snakeweed in Water (Flowers and Plants)

Ezra's Colors (Things and Still Life)

None of them may be selected, since there are likely over 5,000 entries, one of the largest photography competition in the U.S.  I'll be OK with that.  I'm thankful to be able to use my creativity to capture the world around me.

A quote from Michael Card's book, "Christ and Creativity,"

Creativity is not about me.  It is not about you.  It is not us somehow acting like little gods, creating on our own in the same way God creates.  Although he asks us to imitate him, we are not imitators of God in this dimension.  The most we can hope for is to respond appropriately and creatively to who God is and what he means.  Creativity is a response.

Creativity is worship insofar as it is, at its essence, a response.

God Speaks, I respond in worship.  I hope my photography and creativity is always about who God is, and a response of gratitude for what he has done in my life.