Moments

The wildlife in Florida is great - especially in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Reserve. In particular the birdlife is prolific. And so was my photographing of it! I took 902 photographs in a week. (I love digital photography. I would have needed 25 rolls of film for that lot!)
Out of the hundreds of pics I took, the above was one of my favourites.
I think it is a Great Blue Heron.
I managed to 'capture' it in flight. What I like about the picture is that you can really feel the combination of strength and control required by this bird to get airborne.
But there is also something strange to me about this picture although it is probably true of most photographs. A fleeting moment is frozen in time and something that was so full of life and movement becomes like a statue.
In life itself some moments are worth holding on to.
It reminded me of a song I heard many years ago from an Irish band called Picture House.

Moments Like These
(Browne/Maitland/Glenister)

Recall, return
Relive and learn
All of our memories
In summer nights
We've put it right
Tumbled down into it
I know they're only moments

But moments like these
Are so hard to come by

Some bridges burn
Some things we learn
By tumbling into it
Recall, re-learn
Relive, return
And all of our memories
Are nothing only moments

Light and Shade

I suppose one of the most important elements in photography is the use of contrast.
Taking a photograph (or rather 'making' a photograph, since there is usually some element of creativity involved) has often been described as 'capturing the light.' But, of course, that is only half the story. If it is all light and nothing else, there isn't much of a photograph. It's the contrast between the light and its reflections and shadows which make any picture worth looking at.
Talking of contrasts- last week my wife and I had the good fortune to be in Central Florida for a week. There was a heatwave! Not like the ones we occasionally have in Scotland in the summer-time when we have two or maybe even three consecutive days of sunshine with temperatures getting up to 80 degrees!
In Florida last week (mid-October, remember) temperatures throughout the whole week were in the 90's. Quite a contrast when we arrived in Manchester on Saturday to a temperature of just 42 degrees.
But in spite of the photograph above (taken at 6:39am when the air temperature was already in the mid 80's) we hadn't gone there just to find sunshine: the real reason for our visit was to spend time with two people (Ernest and Mary-Louise) who have been our friends and mentors for the last 35 years.
Which brings me to another contrast- to celebrate his 85th birthday, Ernest decided to go skydiving. There is absolutely no chance of me doing likewise - though I may consider it for my 125th birthday!

안녕하세요

Look closely at the picture and you'll see the main reason that I haven't done any blogging lately. We welcomed 10 visitors from Dongkwang Church, Seoul, including their Senior Pastor, Rev. Chang Bin, to spend just over a week with us in Kirkton and formally create a congregational partnership through signing a Partnership Agreement.

One of my tasks for the week (apart from organising most of the visits and events) was to drive the minibus. [And it has taken me another week to recover!]

Among many other things, we had a great time visiting Glasgow, Edinburgh, Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle, New Lanark, The David Livingstone Memorial in Blantyre. We were guided round the Scottish Parliament by our MSP, Karen Gillon, and welcomed by the Moderator of the General Assembly.

[I will gloss over the parking ticket I got in Edinburgh because our minibus was a bit too long for the parking space I had put it into... we'll wait and see how the appeal goes.]

But the highlights for me were the services of worship on the Sunday morning and evening and our "Scottish Evening" on the Tuesday night, which involved Scottish, food, music, dancing and lots of fun. In each of these instances many people in the congregation joined in which made the idea of a congregational partnership a reality.

I know from my own experience that Korean Presbyterian worship is quite a bit more formal than the style of worship we are accustomed to in Kirkton, so I knew that there would be a bit of culture-shock for our visitors- but the thing that really delighted me was walking into the church while people were still gathering and noticing two of the younger members of our church family (both about 6 years old) chatting away to some of our Korean visitors who I knew did not speak any English. It didn't seem to matter. The children got the message across... "Welcome to our family!"

The message was underlined during the service when we sang the song "Welcome Everbody it's good to see you here."

OK - it is hardly a liturgical (or even musical) classic but there was something very sincere and heart-warming in the way that the congregation sang it, and the visitors seemed to sense that too.

A few minutes before the service began I decided to make up another verse of the song (again - I know it is more doggerel than literature - but it worked.)

"Scotland and Korea are very far apart

but through the love of Jesus our partnership can start,

and as our friendship deepens we will be one in heart

gathering in this place."

Now if I could only learn a bit of Korean myself...

Keeping it real

Following up on Elizabeth Gilbert's wonderful quote, I share with you a picture which I hope shows that you that not all plants and flowers need to have bold, bright colours to be beautiful in their own way. Sometimes such understated beauty goes unnoticed when other 'show-off ' flowers are nearby, but that's a pity because to me there is something intrinsically fascinating about this particular plant (although I can't remember what it is called.) Can anybody help?

It reminds me a little bit about one of the house martin chicks in the previous post. The bold, brash, pushy chick with its beak wide open makes very sure that mother notices it, but look more carefully into the picture and see the other chick very much taking a back seat.

All too often people who are like this go unnoticed and ignored which is a real pity for they often have so much to offer.

It's one of the things I like about the gospel pictures of Jesus; he preferred to spend most of his time and energy on those who were on the margins rather than those who in all sorts of ways cried out 'look at me.'

[By the way, you can still keep sending in caption suggestions for the two pictures below.]

Open wide

[house martins nesting in the eaves of my sister's house]

So far we have only had one response to the caption 'competition.' Thank you, Lynn.

Of course, it may be that we only have one reader!

Or maybe the rest of you are waiting to see what the prize might be?

C'mon... let's have some suggestions as to what, if anything, is in the mind of our photogenic sheep!

Or if that doesn't appeal... what about a caption for today's photograph?

You'll have to look carefully but there are three House Martins in the picture. What might each of them be saying? What does the picture make you think of?

Answers, please... but not on a postcard- a comment will do.

The competition is wide open.

Very Random Thoughts

No doubt, if I take the trouble to write anything at all for this blog, I ought to be reflecting on major issues of the day, such as the controversial release of al Megrahi, and the difficult (if not at times impossible) tension between compassion (mercy) and justice. However, I will leave such matters to those more qualified and better informed than I.

In passing, though, I would simply observe that as a general rule most of us prefer mercy for ourselves when we mess up but justice for those who do us wrong. All the same (for what it is worth) I reckon the release of al Megrahi, and the manner and timing of it, was probably a mistake.

But...to return to the far more mundane matters that usually fill this space I ask you to take a closer look at the subject of the portrait above. [click on the picture to see it full size]

The photograph was taken at the Black Isle Show a couple of weeks ago.

There were some pretty impressive animals on show, Clydesdale Horses and the like. But this particular sheep caught my eye (almost literally.) Most of the other sheep, of all breeds, were either shy or contemptuously indifferent to the camera lens but this particular one was virtually posing. I don't know what you think of sheep as a rule but what do you imagine this sheep was thinking about the photographer?

Let's have a caption competition for a little 'thought bubble' we can add to this picture. Send me your suggestions.

Oh for the wings (iii)

To complete the trio it's back to the natural world and back down in scale with the blue here reserved for the damselfly itself.

I originally tried to post the three photographs together but for some reason that I don't have time to explore something happened which meant that you could not click the photographs to see them in their full size.

I don't like some of the changes that seem to have been introduced to Blogger and the way it works (or more often doesn't.)

For one thing I no longer seem to be able to access some of the blogs I used to visit from time to time. It is also difficult to post using Firefox. [Anyone know why?]

However, there is one blog that I can still visit entitled "Cause I believe in you" and on it I came across this wonderful quote:

""To devote yourself to the creation and enjoyment of beauty can be a serious business - not always necessarily a means of escaping reality, but sometimes a means of holding on to the real when everything else is flaking away into . . . rhetoric and plot" ~~ Elizabeth Gilbert

It gives me all the justification I need to continue taking photographs when I can and posting them here. Apparently in doing so I am not escaping reality but actually holding on to what is real.

That is good to know.

Oh for the wings (ii)

With a not-quite-so-blue sky for background this very colourful kite was also being flown from Dunstable Downs.

Oh for the wings...

On the subject of flying things, here's a man-made flying machine soaring silently over the Dunstable Downs. [Incidentally, does anyone know why it is that in England hills that are clearly 'up' are nevertheless called 'downs'? Just wondering.]

Autumn in the air?

Apparently the 'experts' are telling us now that Autumn has come early this year - just as Spring did. For most of us in Scotland the biggest problem is that there doesn't seem to have been very much summer in between!

The photograph above was actually taken on 22nd July in the south of England and already it looks pretty autumnal to me, although, to be honest I have no idea when maple leaves normally begin to change colour.

I know there is a big difference between climate change and changeable weather but it does look as if some of the predictions are coming true (although not the one from the BBC weather folk who told us we would be having a 'barbecue summer' this year!) As I look out of the window this morning to see heavy rain falling and the trees being buffeted by strong winds it almost looks like January!

I received an email the other day from a friend in South Korea and he tells me that they have "been suffering the wettest summer ever."

Ah well... to cheer us up (and especially for one of my regular readers, Emma Louise) here's another photograph of that cheeky young robin, its youthful feathers decidely ruffled but its alert stare suggesting nothing but confidence.

Today- whatever winds may ruffle your feathers or buffet you about -may you look out on the world with hope and confidence.

The birds of the air

[young robin photographed near Ardross, in Easter Ross, Scotland]*

Of course, it is not just butterflies and moths that fly.

I've always been fascinated by birds. In fact, I once was a member of the RSPB.

I let my membership lapse but, in any case, in more recent years (since we got our cat, Tess) I felt it was a little bit hypocritical to claim that I was helping to protect birds.

Like me, Tess liked to capture birds- unlike me she didn't use a camera, she used her claws!

While still quite a young kitten she managed to catch and kill a wood pigeon which was almost the same size as her. (Maybe I should never have shown her that film about lions in Africa?)

Anyway, she has settled down a bit now and, thankfully, got a bit lazier and slower. No more unwanted gifts left for us on the doorstep.

When I was visiting my sister in North-East Scotland a couple of weeks ago I managed to take a series of photographs of this young robin in her garden. Like most robins he/she (I can't tell you which it is from these photos) was pretty bold and it came up quite close, enabling me to capture some fairly clear images.

Butterflies are hard to photograph in flight - probably impossible without specialist equipment - but some birds have a more leisurely style of flying, including the red kite. This bird was almost extinct in the UK until fairly recently but a successful re-introduction programme has meant that there are several places in the country where you have a very good chance of spotting these unmistakable, majestic birds of prey.

While taking a very leisurely, and very indirect route from Buckinghamshire to Bristol, we came across a group of at least ten red kites, together with about half a dozen buzzards. It was quite a spectacular sight.

[red kite photographed near Didcot, Oxfordshire, England]*

*Remember to click on the photographs to see them full size.

Red Cannibal

[Cinnabar Moth - photographed near Buckland, Buckinghamshire]

This is not a butterfly but a moth. For those who may be interested it is in fact a Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) so called because of its bright cinnabar-red wings. Apparently the bright red colour is meant to deter predators and, in any case, they are allegedly very unpalatable. I wouldn't know: I've never tried to eat one.

It doesn't seem to stop them devouring each other, though, at least while they are in the larvae stage.

Strange world we live in!

Painted Lady

Well, here she is - the Painted Lady! (At least I hope my butterfly identification is correct. No doubt someone will put me right if I am mistaken.) Apparently 2009 is the "best painted lady year we have had in the UK."
If you listen to the news clip above you'll realise it is not all good news as far as butterflies are concerned.

What I find so fascinating about butterflies is the incredible intricate beauty all wrapped up in such a fragile frame - a reminder that all of life on this planet really is pretty precarious. The brief lives of butterflies remind me also to 'seize the moment' - make the most of what is given to us. The faded and battered beauty of the Red Admiral below (photographed this time in Scotland) says it even more powerfully.

MAKE THE MOST OF TODAY!

Give me sunshine

I was driving back from Manchester on Friday afternoon, having helped one of my daughters to move house from Manchester to York. The weather in England was fine, dry and sunny. However, when I arrived at the Scottish border at Gretna, it was as if someone had drawn a line along the border and said "OK, let's put all the rain on that side!" It was like driving into a monsoon.
Having just seen this morning's weather forecast, it looks like something similar is about to happen today - England dry, Scotland wet. Hmmm... :-(
Having said that, during our holiday in England, it seems to have been the other way round.
Maybe it's personal?
Anyway, on the days when the sun was shining I was delighted to see and photograph an amazing number of butterflies, including this lovely peacock. [remember to click on the photo to see it full size]
But the most prolific butterfly this summer, at least in Buckinghamshire, seems to have been the 'Painted Lady.' They were everywhere, and in great numbers.
I am trying to upload a picture of one to add to this post but for some reason it is not working. I will add one to a later post.

R & R

I have to confess that blogging has not been a very important priority for me of late. I have been much more preoccupied with the business of moving house (temporarily,) going on holiday, helping my daughter and her husband get ready to move their house and visiting friends and family.
There was the added problem of having no internet connection for about four weeks. [Does anyone know why it takes so long to move a broadband connection from one house to another one less than two miles away?]
However, in my travels around England and Scotland over the last couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to get the camera out and start taking a few 'snaps' again- "a few"being just over 1200 in fact!!
So now there is no excuse. I have lots of pictures to reflect on.
But where do I start?
As you can see, I have started with a with a photograph taken in my sister-in-law's garden; a simple empty white chair and a 'heart' bathed in gentle sunlight.
It's a picture which to me says "space" and "rest."
More than anything else it is what I needed and thankfully found.
Isn't that what holidays are for?

Just a moment

[The clock of Dunblane Cathedral]

There's never enough of it: but there are occasions when you have some to spare.
You can have it on your hands: but occasionally you have to kill it.
Often it drags along: but more often it flashes past - especially as you get older.
TIME.
It's a strange thing.
At least how we perceive it is strange.
I particularly like these two quotations from the Bengali poet and seer, Rabindranath Tagore.

"The butterfly counts not months but moments,

and has time enough."

"Time is a wealth of change,
but the clock in its parody makes it mere change and no wealth."

Some of our Kenyan friends would often say "you have the watches: we have the time."

In the Biblical way of thinking, of course, there are two different kinds of time, chronological time (the kind you can measure with a clock) and 'kairos' time (the "right time" - the opportune moment.)

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" [Ecclesiastes 3]

... but I still think there's not enough of it around!!!

Surprise encounters of the interesting kind

[His Excellency, Kenneth David Kaunda, first President of Zambia at Dunblane]

It has been a very, very busy few weeks - hence the absence of any blogging recently. But there have also been some interesting moments, and some interesting encounters.
Towards the end of May we were invited to lunch at the Palace of Holyroodhouse by the Lord High Commissioner, George Reid. We expected it was going to be one of those Holyroodhouse events where about 150 or more people would attend and we would be lost in a sea of people we didn't know or could only vaguely recognise.
As things turned out, we discovered there were only a couple of dozen people at the lunch. That in itself was something of a surprise and for once it wasn't difficult to get free parking in Edinburgh because we were able to park our car inside the palace gates in the forecourt.
But that was nothing compared to the surprise we got when we went inside to discover that also invited to lunch that day was Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his wife, Leah. [He had just come from addressing the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland - an inspiring address well worth watching and listening to.]
Unfortunately, after the introductions, I didn't get much opportunity to speak to Desmond Tutu himself but, during the very excellent meal, I was sitting between his wife and the wife of the Lord High Commissioner, and we had a great chat together.
I generally don't have much time for the cult of celebrity that fills the media these days, especially when so much nonsense is written and spoken about people who are famous mainly for being famous, but it was a privilege to share a table with someone who is a genuinely significant individual in the history of the world. And like most really great people he is really pretty humble.
But there was more...
I have just returned from Dunblane where, since Tuesday, I have been attending the meeting/conference of The Church of Scotland's World Mission Council to which I was recently appointed. Last night we had another surprise visitor, in the form of Kenneth Kaunda, the first ever President of Zambia. He joined us for our evening meal and then came to speak to us at our evening session. We even got to hear him play the piano, sing for us and do a bit of a dance!! Even without his surprise appearance it would have been a long day. But the additional item - which immediately moved us into Zambian time (and anyone who's been to Africa will know what I mean by that) - meant we didn't finish till after 10pm.
And we had started just after 8am!!
I had taken my camera with me hoping we might have had even half an hour of free time at some point over the two and a half days but it didn't quite work out that way. However, it did mean I could snap "KK" as he is commonly known.

This is my body...

[A worm's eye view of grass?]

The photograph above has absolutely nothing whatever to do with this piece but I share it with you anyway. I took it thinking it might come in useful some time as a powerpoint background.

The other thing I want to share is prompted by recent debates in the Church of Scotland General Assembly. I don't want to say anything about the debates themselves but it reminded me of a short poem I wrote many, many years ago when I was a teenager.

This is my body

This is my body

That you break in two

By ignoring the one

In the neighbouring pew

This is my blood

That you spill down the drain

When you fight with each other

For personal gain

And each point of doctrine

You score here and now

Was a nail in my palm

Or a thorn in my brow

Each argument won

Is a brother lost 

So the principle’s saved

No matter the cost

This is my body

My hands and my feet

If only you’d bend

Perhaps they would meet

© Iain D. Cunningham

Light in the darkness

[Under African Skies - Masai Mara 2002]

I think I am going to have to start carrying my old compact digital camera in my car at all times. Several times in the last couple of weeks I have seen some spectacular photographs- well, they might have become spectacular photographs If I'd had a camera with me to capture what I could see. Now these scenes remain only in my memory, which is about the least secure place in the Universe!
A few evenings ago, for example, I was returning from the Induction service for the new minister of the Douglas Valley Church. Approaching Hyndford Bridge,* which crosses the River Clyde just outside Lanark, I looked over to my left at the rolling landscape which at this time of year is painted in shades of brilliant green.
The sun was getting quite low in the sky and casting interesting shadows, then it disappeared behind a fairly large bank of clouds. Not such an interesting picture. Then suddenly, through a large gap in the clouds, the rays of the lowering sun broke through producing a pool of warm light on just part of the landscape, like some sort of cosmic spotlight. Hills and trees suddenly became translucent with a fragile kind of beauty, like a delicate watercolour.
And I had no camera...!!
We could do with a little bit of light in these dark days of economic recession, the scandal over MPs expenses, and the upcoming General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which opens today, faced with some very divisive issues.
There are always plenty of reasons, and excuses, for feeling depressed, but I like to remember that Landscape Photography is really about photographing the light and capturing those moments when the light transforms a place. In a similar way, we can never deny or escape the darkness all around us, but rather than focusing exclusively on it, it is often worth waiting for and looking for the transforming light.

*Hyndford Bridge was built in 1766.

The Vine

I haven't had much time to blog of late and certainly no time to take any new photographs, but one thing I did last week was to write a new hymn.
Necessity, as ever, was the motivation. I simply couldn't find a suitable hymn to fit in with the sermon for this morning's worship- based on John 15: 1-17, so I ended up writing one of my own.
We sang it to the tune Garelochside but I suppose any suitable "Short Metre" tune would do.
Here are the words for anyone who might like to use them.
They are in the form of a prayer to Christ:

O Lord, you are the Vine.
In you we live and move.
Your Spirit nourishes our hearts
and fills us with your love.

As we remain in you
the life of grace takes root;
in caring service in your Name
our lives will bear much fruit.

In you our lives belong
as branches of the Vine;
through sharing faith and trust and hope,
Lord Jesus, make us one.

So others then may see
in this and every place
the glory of your Father shown
in reconciling grace.

© Iain D. Cunningham, 2009