Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Click (04/18/13)
-
TITLE: One Moment | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jennifer Martin
04/25/13 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
As a budding photographer, filled with passion only youth burning with desire to achieve greatness can possess, Carla spent much of her time fantasizing about the places she would travel and the beautiful scenery and people she would capture. But her professor’s question caught her by surprise. It had never really occurred to her to consider what she would most like to photograph if historical time were not an object.
Sitting in the large auditorium surrounded by fellow college freshmen, she pondered this idea. The professor had started absentmindedly shuffling papers on his desk, allowing his question to hang in the air.
If I could photograph anything at all, what would I photograph? Carla thought. That’s a huge question. There are so many images I would love to capture.
Above all, she would love to do a portrait study on the life of Jesus, so that narrowed down the subject. But which moment in Jesus’ life would she choose if she could have only one? Her mind ran through everything she knew from the Gospels. The resurrection was of course the most significant event, the defining moment for Christians. But Carla envisioned becoming ensnared in the largest scandal the world had ever seen when she was accused by non-believers of faking the photograph. She smiled a little at the thought, wondering briefly if Jesus would have been photographable after the resurrection. Or would it have been like trying to capture an image of a ghost?
What about Jesus on the cross? That startling and graphic image would certainly grab attention. But she wasn’t sure she could stomach watching Jesus’ death, let alone photographing it. Jesus walking on water would be an amazing shot. She pictured the ominous clouds and dark, raging waves broken only by the ghostly image of Jesus treading the water’s surface. Yes, that would be incredible.
Suddenly it came to her. She knew exactly which moment in time she would choose. Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Although every event described in the Gospels was significant, in Carla’s mind, this was the moment when Jesus was closest to man. When He cried out for His Heavenly Father to take this cup from Him, He revealed His stark humanity, the very humanity that would allow Him to accomplish His mission of salvation.
Carla envisioned that evening, the hard ground and the silhouettes of thick knobby tress reaching toward the heavens. The brightest full moon surrounded by iridescent clouds streaming silver light into the garden. She imagined watching Jesus there, kneeling with hands clasped, raised eyes revealing the struggle between the man and the God that were the fabric of His being. What would it be like to witness this personal struggle firsthand? What would it be like to set her camera up on its tripod, look through the viewfinder, and see Jesus there in the moonlight? Would the three sleeping disciples be close enough to fit them in the frame as well, a poignant visual statement on human frailty?
What would it be like to hear that soft click as the camera captured this vulnerable image of our Savior only hours away from passing into glory?
Yes, that’s the moment she would choose.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
