I was running around the apartment working on laundry when I looked out the window and noticed the sunset. God is such an amazing artist! At times it looked as though the sky was on fire.
Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. – Psalm 148:4
Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. – Psalm 105:2
I teach a Computer Graphic Design class comprised of mostly 11th and 12th graders. We started the semester learning about vectors and branding, and then moved onto raster graphics. Our school uses Gimp, a photo editing program similar to Photoshop.
When I took a design class in high school, we created chimeras. I thought my students would enjoy the project, too.
A chimera is a Greek mythological creature made up of parts from a lion, goat, and snake. It was mentioned in Homer’s Illiad. Today, the term chimera describes any fictional animal made of 2 or more animal parts.
My students had to use parts from at least 3 different animals. They mostly used layer masks and color adjustments to create their chimeras.
They are a very talented group of students, and I am very proud of them!
Which one was your favorite?
After many days of dry air and no rain or moisture whatsoever, a lightning storm crept up on us. I’ve always been fascinated with storms. I love to sit by the window and watch the lightning shoot across the sky, right before I feel the rumbling from the resolving thunder. I’m not sure what feeds this fascination so much. I think it is mostly due to how storms remind me of God’s power and strength. I think my fascination also stems from a love of storm photography.
Since I was a young boy, my family has frequented a restaurant called Good Time Pizza. Many years ago, there was a photo of a lightning strike hanging on the wall. I remember musing about this picture. I asked my dad how they took such a perfectly timed photo. After explaining time exposure to me, he went on to say that he had taken some lightning photos in the past. I think way back then I told myself I wanted to take pictures of lightning for fun one day.
Anyways, as the storm in Ankara began, I ran around the apartment to get my camera and mini tripod. I do not own a DSLR at the moment, but have found useful settings on my point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot A3000. I recently discovered this camera has up to a fifteen second time delay. So I set my time exposure somewhere between three and six seconds and started shooting. Most of my photos turned out with nothing but brightly lit buildings, but I was able to capture a few lightning shots.
The pictures below are some of my favorites.
Psalm 148:7–13
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
young men and women,
old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
The storm made Leah think of the praise song Every Time:
Everytime I watch a storm I know the awesome power of my Lord.
I don’t know why so many things seem to get in the way of seeing my God’s glory.
But I try everyday to see and thank Him for all the things He’s given me.
Psalm 29:7
The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.
“Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.”
– Mark Twain