We were hiking the Rae Lakes loop (some of the Sierras most spectacular landscapes), when on the last day of the hike we awoke to a light drizzle of rain. We got our gear together after breakfast and started out on the last leg of a five day trip. My twin brother Phil and his son Jeff, Gary George and Kevin Alvey were in awe as we walked past the rain drenched wild flowers saturated with color that contrasted lush green vegetation. The streams were swelling and waterfalls appeared from magnificent granite faces of the canyon, a lightning strike hit above us at the top of Sphinx Dome and the thunder roared so loud and immediately caused us to stop in our tracks. We looked down the trail and could see the valley below with an awesome rainbow appearing in a brilliant clearing of the cloud cover.

We all stood together almost speechless just mumbling the only words we could find... Wow! Wow! We continued to hike with Phil just in front of me leading the way. He started to sing, “Oh Lord my God when I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the roaring thunder Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul”... I joined in to make it a duet, then the other guys added to the chorus, “ How great Thou art, how great Thou Art. When Christ shall come with shouts of acclimation to take me home what joy shall fill my heart”...

I was overwhelmed by the spirit of God revealing Himself to me and I started to weep. The words barely coming out and boy was it out of tune. We stopped again and were caught up in worship of our great God. It was an experience that took my breath away, seeing the glory of God and savoring the creator and designer of this great art. We were wowed by the greatness of God. There is nothing that I have experienced in this life that compares to seeing, savoring and sharing the glory of God.

Creation and the landscape is all about glory. “The whole earth is full of His glory”, (Isaiah 6:3) “The heavens declare the glory of God”. (Psalms 19:1) It’s not so much about the flowers, the rainbow or the thunder as it is about the One who thought all of this up, created it, displays it to us and allows us to see Him in it. It’s like seeing with a new set of eyes, not our physical eyes but the spiritual eyes of the heart. “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened;” (Ephesians 1:18).

As a young boy my Dad and Mom loved to go camping. Phil and I would always go out from camp exploring in search of the ultimate swimming hole. We would look for one where the water was deep, had a high diving rock to jump off of and maybe a slide rock or waterfall to take a shower under. We would explore with great expectaions of what was around the next bend in the river. The excitement of discovering the perfect place where we could spend hours having fun, daring each other to jump from just a little higher off the cliff or come down the rockslide head first into that cool pool of water below. Then we would find our way back to camp and share with Mom and Dad the awesome “safe” place we found to swim.

That feeling of excitement and discovery I had as a kid is something I still experience to yhis day. That’s why I love to photograph. I use my camera as a tool for exploring and discovering the WOW factorof God’s creation and then experiencing and savoring His Glory as I capture images to share with others. It’s like walking through nature’s gallery with a one man show going on with the greatest art ever created on display. I’m really impressed with His swimming pool designs and can’t wait to see what’s displayed around the bend in the next gallery.

God made himself known to me by demonstrating His incredibal glory in the person of Jesus Christ, showing how much He loves and accepts me, pursuing and embracing me in spite of all my failures.* Jesus Christ who is the creator, temporarily set aside His glory as God and became a man with the purpose of going to the cross, suffering as a substitute for my sin and creating a new life to a spiritually dead and blind Paul Mullins.** What happened was Is I shifted my focus from a prideful self preoccupied man and humbly saw the grace of God shinning in the face of Jesus Christ. This light revealed the truth my heart was longing to know about, opening the eyes of my heart and giving me a whole new way of seeing, something worth pursuing with all of my passion, even more than photography. This God is so great it will take an eternity to express the joy and love I have for Him.***

*John 3:16 For God so lovedthe world, that He gave His only begoton Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not pershis, but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

2 Corinthinans 5:21 For God made him (Jesus), who know no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

John 14:6 Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father, but by me.

** Phillipians 2:6-11 Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but mad himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servent, and was made in a fashion as a man, humbeled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every toung should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord th the glory of God, the Father.

*** II Corinthians 4:5,6 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord,...who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.