Exposure and Life

   The other morning I had a few minutes before a meeting, and, even though it was still dark, I thought I would take a couple of shots of the predawn sky. This was 20 minutes or so before the scheduled sunrise, but a lot of the time, that is where you get the most color and a softer hue.

   So I took a shot, trying to capture the moment when the sky was beginning to lighten, and got this:

   When I got home to look at it, I realized that the darkness had completely taken over the photo, and it needed to have had more exposure in order to make it look like sunrise.

   So, I put it in the photo application in the computer, increased the exposure and clarity and got this:

   Exposure has a lot to do with the size of the aperture opening (how much light I let in) and the shutter speed (the length of time I let the camera look at the shot). By increasing the exposure, I do both and I get a picture worth using.

   Exposure is a lot like that in my life as well. The more I open my eyes, my aperture, to the world around me, the more I can see. Of course, I can see the good, the bad and the ugly, and that is where the shutter speed comes in.

   The length of time I spend looking at something, the more effect it can have on my life. That look can be a curse or a blessing, depending on how long I look.

   So I realize that exposure is very important, to my photos as well as to my life.

   And my prayer is like that of the Psalmist, that I would let my eyes dwell on no worthless thing, but, with God's help, keep them on Him.