Musings of Chapels and Photos

Sunday evening at Church I noticed an image of a little chapel under a single oak tree. The simplicity of the photo was amazing. Perhaps its my idealism and longing for simplicity that made me appreciate the photo so much. 

Original photo

The humble brick structure reminded me that some things in life are worth building, and worth working toward. Even if the outcome is a building small enough to be covered in the shadow of a solitary tree. 

Truth be told, even though I say I long for simplicity I'm not convinced I actually long for it. It stands to be just another one of those things I say because I'm supposed to, a conversational habit, if you will. Regardless, images of simplicity are a good thing. 

Norcross Station - HDR

In the case of the above photo I did some editing from the original as you can see. (I have no clue who the original photographer is, but I wish I did, not only to give him credit but to see his other work) The only real addition was the blue sky with clouds. It is challenging to photograph an image on the ground and capture a good sky. Most cameras that we use can capture one or the other. Capturing both often requires multiple exposures. Photos with multiple exposures are said to have High Dynamic Range (HDR) 

Much like our eyes are capable of gathering the information to see a beautiful sky, and a beautiful brick building under a tree,  and everything surrounding, an HDR photo captures more information - thus making it more visually appealing and setting it apart from a standard photo.

The visual experience of more information in the case of a photo leads us to think we know more about the setting. Or does it? It makes more elements of the surroundings visible, but it can also lead to more inquiries. When does the sky look like that? Where is that beautiful setting? How come my camera doesn't take pictures like that? More information can lead to more questions. Questions can lead to more answers, or more questions.

Some might say, the more we try to know, the further we get from where we are trying to be. And the only thing I can offer to that end is: complicating what seems to be simple will always lead us astray. That is precisely why the picture of the small church under the tree is so amazing. It is exactly what it needs to be. It leaves me asking no questions. The beauty is simple. But it did need a new sky, right?