This photo shoot is one I've been saving for a while now because of how much I enjoyed taking an afternoon with my friend Mark and seeing if we can get creative with some of his portraits. To give Mark a shout out, I have to say that I do feel bad for holding out on his pics for so long, but hopefully he'll agree with me that it was worth the wait. I tried a few new styles with these so let me know what you think!
So earlier this month I got to take a visit back to prom... not with a date of course, I'm a little to old for that... but to shoot the pre-prom hangout in Lenora Park. It was cool to be able to go get creative with the pictures outside of the stereotypically awkward prom pose that I remember my prom photographer taking. Don't get too nostalgic if this first shot brings a tear to your eye as you remember your prom pictures.....
A good friend of mine gave me a call a few weeks ago and invited me to come shoot an event down in Auburn, AL that he was putting together called Night of Worship. As we're driving down 85 we're talking about all the cool things that God has been doing on and around the Auburn campus which helped spark this event. As he kept telling me the story, we both started realizing that it really just seems like we're jumping on board with how God is moving around the Auburn campus, rather than trying to help spark a movement like some ministries are in place to do. This was the point in the conversation where I really started to get nervous about the responsibility he had given me as the photographer, to find where God is moving, in a room, through an event, and to capture that in a picture... Not the easiest thing I've ever been asked to do by a long shot.
Now, as my faith has developed, one of the understandings I try to adhere to is that if you look for God, through prayer, in scripture, in worship, you will find Him. It's funny to me how nervous I was going into the Night of Worship by not remembering this simple, and very important, truth. Why do I emphasize its importance? I am no scholar, but I do know that everything the Bible says, is important, but when things start getting repeated... I think God is really trying to make a point. I did at most 10 minutes of "research" before writing this post and in that 10 minutes I found 6 distinct and separate occasions where the context of the verse directly says "If you seek after God, you will find Him." Like I said, I'm no scholar, but if I only take a few minutes of my time and find a message repeated several times, I'm going to trust that it is something not only I need to live by, but everyone.
I was very blessed to be in a side role for Night of Worship because I was able to see and partake in both the leadership side of the event, and the attendee side of the event. I'm not really sure how to describe what happened at other than a simple description of what I witnessed.
Leaders came together from Atlanta and Auburn with one vision, to find where God was, and meet Him in that place. Not to move Him to a different place, not to push their own agendas, but to find God's voice and follow it, leading the crowd. As someone who was both on stage and in the audience, they met their goals. God moved through the room that night, spoke to the leaders, drew in the crowd, and was worshipped in that place. It was simply amazing.
To follow what Night of Worship will be continuing to be doing in the Auburn area make sure to stay connected on facebook and at www.nightofworship.org!
