Looking Down to See Up

Posted byGary FultzPosted inabundant life, accomplishment, adventure, cold, deception, dreamer, expectations, Gary Fultz, Gary Fultz Blog, goals, initiator, Nature, nature pictures, outdoor adventure, outdoor scenery, perspective, Photography, picture truths, purpose in life, purpose of life, quality of life, selfie, snow conditions, winterTags:, , , , , ,

Today was one of our worst winter days for Northern Minnesota (My opinion). The weather turned warm (40 (f) and rained. Winters wet and gray day made snow melt and hardpack turned icy. The beauty of frosted leaves and white snow puddled everywhere.

 Accepting the challenge of some adventure, I grabbed the camera, put it on a tripod and went for a walk. I pocketed a dry rag to keep the camera somewhat dry and began to see. Ironically, the fresh rain and melted snow gave me the best view as the puddles framed the pictures. You will have to click on the pictures to see the full shots. You might start by saying “what am I really looking at?”

 In a couple hours the rain will turn to snow. Tomorrow morning it will be way below freezing and stay that way for quite a while. I had today. A day where I look down to see up, and then it’s upside down. A day that reminds me how much I don’t really see past what I want to see.

 One more irony presented itself as I took a reflection picture of myself and the camera shooting itself (interesting selfie huh?). The reflection is off the dark screen of my laptop with the kitchen light in the background. The colors are not visible to the human eye, but the camera picked them up. I am reminded that if all the light rays, wave lengths and impulse scales were 100 feet long, what we actually see and acknowledge on a regular day is a thumb width wide.

Thought: Maybe I should just look up. Then everything would be right side up…

Frosted spider web in little ash tree

  Gary

 Question: How often does the camera get in the selfie?

Published by Gary Fultz

Outdoors Man, Hunter, Fisherman, Guide, Writer / Author, Photographer, Public Speaker, Musician, Song Writer, Story Teller, Follower Of Jesus. Love God and family and total strangers

80 thoughts on “Looking Down to See Up”

  4. I like your photos on a sloppy winter day. Rain really does make a mess following snow and freezing temps make it even worse. Spring is on the way… hang in there. I have a couple of daffodil blooms here in NC.

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    1. Thanks Wynn. I had taken the dog for a morning walk in the light rain when I saw how much the pools of water were reflecting everything on such a dark day…a wet and slippery, but fun, adventure.

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    1. Thanks Eva. It’s a reminder to me and everyone that we tend to miss a lot and can easily be terribly wrong about many things in life…ours and others. I contend that God is not invisible to those who see. Incredibly invisible to those who have never looked around a corner by way of reflection (looking down to look up is a 90 degree corner).

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  7. Gary, you concluded with a powerful punch, “Maybe I should just look up. Then everything would be right side up…” That statement holds the answers to the struggles of life.

    All your photos are intriguing but my favorite is the “selfie” with the invisible becoming visible.

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    1. Thanks for catching those things, Manette. A couple thousand years ago the invisible did become visible. I found the sights looking into the puddles very intriguing, wondering, how will people interpret these?

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    1. So true Malcomb. I found myself looking at the camera frame and then looking up at the treetops. It struck me that we only see our world right-side-up when we see it through God’s eyes and begin to know his thoughts.

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  10. Rain or shine, wet or dry, your pics testify to John Muir’s words . . . “In every walk with nature one receives more than he seeks.” PS – your PS pic is my favorite Gary (Puddle Selfie) 😊

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    1. John Muir was/is right Fred. I have gone out in very unfriendly -to-camera weather enough times to warrant a waterproof camera. Those are the best reflection times, both thoughts and pictures. there is gain in life only gotten through the worst of times.

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  11. Reflection shots are some of my favorites to see and photograph – there is nothing like the miracle of light! And to think, God created that right out of the gate! Your selfie is wonderful too- again featuring miraculous light!

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    1. LOL, I had a sump pump like that once. Teens for high here today and it snowed for a renewed winter wonderland last night. what a difference 30 degrees makes in one day. You have a great weekend as well AJ.

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  13. I imagine there are all sorts of perspectives we never know about. When we look up at God, He gives us eyes to see, and hints about where to look.
    “I am reminded that if all the light rays, wave lengths and impulse scales were 100 feet long, what we actually see and acknowledge on a regular day is a thumb width wide.” A good reminder of how much bigger God is than we are, and of all the wonderful gifts and blessings He has for us.

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  15. Awesome photos…spellbindingly beautiful. These photos really capture the mystery and magic of the natural world. I like the picture with the one leaf…Somehow, that solitary leaf says so much. A photograph cannot speak, and yet, as the saying goes, ‘A picture tells a thousand words.’

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  16. Thanks Linda. I had a lot of random thoughts as I took the photo with the leaf in it. I had thoughts of using it with a small group on a big screen and introducing several ideas of what this imagery could say to us about life, God, relationships, baggage, distractions…sigh. I just liked the picture.

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  17. Lots of interesting and unique shots as always Gary. Maybe it’s just my computer or the old fuddy-duddy whacking away at its keys, but I don’t get a thing by clicking on them to enlarge. Despite that they are cool. I like the photo with the old wheel and the one of the spider web best.
    P.S. we are at about 78 here in the Tampa area today!

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    1. Sorry they don’t enlarge Pete. It’s a word press gallery thing and works for most of us to turn into a slide show fully enlarged with arrows to click on back and forth, on computer and/or phone. I was really tickled finding the spider web and glad a puddle was reflecting the old wagon wheel at the neighbors driveway entrance.
      I am always amazed at who likes what best in photos. I have 6 siblings, and none would agree on what they liked best. The Lord sure created us all with different flavors and bents as well as age groups we minister to best.

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  18. Gary, what a blessing it is to sit here in the “woods” of your place—you are reflecting Christ’s beauty—even in the gray, murky, and wet! Yesterday evening I sat in my kitchen, taking pics with my iPhone (I’m learning to be a better photographer with my phone since I don’t have a camera anymore?) and took several pics of the same subject in a 5 minute period—for a post I was going to call “Filtered Friday”. What I had PLANNED for this morning, with these photos, didn’t come to fruition—for God placed a “mission” in my life. Admittedly, I felt a bit of “frost” that MY plan wasn’t going to happen. Quickly, I turned into a puddle (I can do it much faster now) when I read my devotion, “Rest in MY plans, gaze on ME,…” GULP! Yes, GOD! I’m to REFLECT YOU! I think I lost “time” in my 21 months of treatments, procedures, etc…and God said, “I GAVE you time.” Afterwards, I took my pup for a walk in the great outdoors, praising HIM for using me. Gary, I share this because I’m here now, sitting and resting, and found your gorgeous photos all of REFLECTIONS—even in the gray and wet that might turn icy. I love how you see God’s world—and how you find the beauty that can reflect in ALL conditions. I particularly love the one with you in the reflection, too! Do I see a Cardinal in one or is that just my eyes? Each one of them “speak” to me. And the spider web??? Oh WOW! Yay! God bless you, Gary. I pray every day for you, your daughter, wife, and entire family, my friend. You’re such inspirations to me in so many ways!

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    1. I am so glad that the Lord uses us in our gifts to encourage each other. The Lord also gives us insights to share with others from our gifts as well. You happen to have, what I would consider, one of the hardest gifts of all. Pain. The insights you gain and share from all you are going through make my pains seem very insignificant. Our daughter often says…”remind me again how small this pain will be someday??”
      Winter is such a blessed pain. So much beauty frozen in place but only seen when it’s cold. Gorgeous frost crystals only happen when the conditions are all in place. very cold boy meets warm humid air girl on a blade of grass or anything handy and the director yells “Freeze.”
      Thank you for your prayers, Karla, and know you are constantly being placed before the father from afar here.

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      1. You have such gifts~wisdom and words…life! God has given you a heart of understanding and such a way with words that speak to us all. Gary, your precious daughter touches my heart~❤️
        Suffering has brought me closer to my Savior. Not just dependence~but utter and complete~every second, minute, and hour.
        I loved your description of the forming of frost crystals! Yes!
        It’s my blessing to pray for you all as you do me. Thank you again, Gary.🙏🏻

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    2. It is fun Stacy. I have several sizes of pop-up shelters and a heater if needed. I take the grandkids when they visit. The water is clear so they can look down the hole in the ice and see the fish hit the hook or just swim by. Many smaller fish often swim by and even try to bite. If we get fish, then there is a fish fry happening.

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    1. Thanks Brian. That statement is one our handicapped daughter understands. We talk about having…really having today, this moment. Savor it. Make the most of it inside us. Understanding this is how we draw near to God and stay there. His presence is always there but so must we.
      Aye, you triggered me…

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  24. I think photographers see things most people would miss when they’re out walking in any type of weather. Beautiful frosty images and interesting details in your self portrait.

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    1. I have often thought of that Nancy. For me, I think my noticing things began to be much better when I started picture scavenger hunts for kids. They had to go in the back yard and identify 40 different pictures of very small things (an odd piece of wood, strange tree branch, partial photo of the end of a pump handle,,,). Things we normally don’t notice but are obviously there (one lug nut out of 6 on the car wheel..)

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    1. Thanks Donna. Perspective is quite a positional word. I found myself moving the tripod legs 6 inches to get a frame worth shooting sometimes. Yesterday my back went out…really out. I’m not able to even walk without help right now. I don’t reccomend it. It’s an uncomfortable perspective

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  27. Pingback: From My Comments and Book Update – Jesusluvsall's Blog

    1. Thanks Kate. I was taking a “reflection selfie” with the camera taking the shot..in the picture. The lighting background reflecting off the blank dark computer screen for a silhouette, ended up with way more than the eye could see
      A pleasant and fun surprise. Now my camera is quite cocky these day.

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    1. Ha, my camera is vain, figuring out ways to get in the picture. I don’t think it liked the old hub cap selfie as everything was distorted in that reflection picture (not shone in this blog).

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  31. I could sit and look at the photos you share for quite a while, sometimes I think for hours, and still not take in every little detail. The world God has created for us is truly amazing. Thank you for sharing your photos and the adventure that the snow and rain can bring!

    Sometimes I wonder that same question you have posed here: Maybe I should just look up?

    A few years ago I wrote a post which had a similar idea to what we will find when we make the time to look up.

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts and photos. I hope you and your family are well and are able to take the time to look up.

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  32. We can only take in so much. I suspect it’s a learning curve to make our capacity to do so…bigger.

    I believe when we look up and get to know our creator, our capacity to see and appreciate grows according to our relationship with the Lord….It’s a gift according to the giver

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  34. You get it Liz. Sometimes I laugh at myself, knowing we live in a “selfie” culture where our opinions and feelings are somehow connected to truth…and my camera says “look at that wonder boy, there is way more in a mud puddle than…”

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    1. Thanks Alicia

      The days warmed up for a couple weeks and then back to freezing temps. Snowing this morning so it turned everything white again. It’s the yo-yo of spring I guess. Last winter we still had 3 feet of snow in the woods around this time. My blogging went away for a while with 3 personal emergencies. We all get them as you know. I did find some green grass coming up and trees just began to bud, so I can get out and take some pictures of “hope”. Knowing God is always with us and he cares is a great start to every season and every valley or mountain to tred.

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      1. Oh Gary, I’m so sorry to hear that. When you hadn’t posted in a while, I suspected that it had something to do with your daughter.

        I totally understand what you mean about not wanting to write at this time. I’m the same way.

        Prayers and hugs. I’ll check out your other blog now.

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