In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good. – Genesis 1:1-4

I seldom venture into the world of black-and-white photography, but when I do there is something about it that makes me look at the world entirely differently.

I once heard it said that, “I photograph in color to show what a person looks like; I use black and white to photograph their soul.”

It’s kind of the same with buildings.

So I was walking past the cemetery at Calvary and, glancing in toward the church, I unexpectedly saw the view – at least framed in my mind – in black and white. I blinked a couple of times and the image returned to color, but the experience sparked my curiosity enough that I took the following photographs (then one from the Confederate Cemetery at HMPC).

I may be a word guy, but it is still hard to explain exactly why these are so powerful. Maybe it is because the inner architecture of the scene is revealed so clearly in the play of light. Or maybe it is because – in the final analysis – everything is about the relationship between the light and the darkness.

Back in the beginnings of Genesis the writer points out that before the introduction of light, the Earth was formless and empty – and I think that black and white photography helps me understand something of how that translates to life.

The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it. – John 1:4-5

My question for all of us, today, is what does the light show us about the world where we live? And what are we prepared to do with the clarity, with the definition and with the end of emptiness? – DEREK