About this photo: Thematic Photographic is celebrating candid this week. If you've got a candid shot you'd like to share - or if you just want to see what all the fuss is about - click here.
On a good day, shooting in public is a bit of a highwire act. In this post-9/11 era of paranoia, pulling out a big lens in a wide-open space may not be the smartest thing to do.
But done carefully, with quick, unobtrusive camera technique and a specific focus on avoiding identifying features, public photography is still, if not easy, at least possible. And a good challenge.
So as my brother-in-law and I wandered through Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping Centre on a bright afternoon, I looked over his shoulder and saw Ms. Charmin here. I think he knew I wanted to shoot her before I did. I already had the camera in my hand, so I wheeled and shot. As you can see, composition, focus and exposure are more than a little off. This shot won't be winning any awards, and I highly recommend against clicking it to zoom in - it's just that lousy. In fact, I came pretty close to deleting it off the camera. I kept coming back to it, kicking myself for not being more meticulous.
But that's the thing with candid shots: You may not have the opportunity for meticulousness. When you have zero time to think things through, a flawed result is often better than no result at all. Because photography doesn't always have to be perfect. The world it records, after all, is far from it.
Your turn: Do you self-edit less-than-perfect shots out of your archives? Do you sometimes wish you had held onto something that didn't make the technical grade?
This blog is largely a vehicle for exposing the devil's schemes so that, in recognizing them, you and I are no longer subject to the control he wields over the deceived.
so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes. 2 Corinthians 2:11
Satan's scheme of saturating our environment with the symbols invoking the antichrist Beast agencies has worked like magick, because it is just that. Some of us are catching on to the ploy, and the Lord has been pouring out favor upon us in preparation for this day and coming days.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Ephesians 6:10-13
There's another ploy that continues to evade most of us, one that is at least as deceptive. It's less easily presented since I can't use a simple technique like the deconstruction of graphical elements to shine the light on it. Yet, far more than that, there's a built in resistance to its exposure, the proud nature of the flesh. About the best image I can present with regard to this subject is one of a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16
I'm referring to control spirits, even Jezebel (Revelation 2:20), demonic agencies that engage us by way of our interpersonal relationships. When one through whom the spirit of control is operating is active in the church it's as a wolf in sheep's clothing. This is a scheme Satan uses to take advantage of us that is every bit as deadly as it is shrewd. The agents of control are quite active among us, secretly engaging you and I on some level every day with very few exceptions. It may even have you firmly in its grasp without your even being aware of it.
In the secular world, such a dynamic is often dealt with and referred to as the "Drama Triangle" or "Karpman Drama Triangle" that is a Persecutor/Victim/Rescuer role-shifting model.
Right from the start, I'm going to tell you that your best defense and offense is to 1. Submit to the Lord with humble obedience 2. Submit to the Lord with humble obedience and 3. Be informed about the enemy's characteristic attributes and tactics, staying vigilant about your own behavior and that of others around you. Yes, I know items 1 and 2 are the same. I'm emphasizing it because it's that important.
I expect to cover some ground that has already been well covered yet remains pretty obscure to most. I'm also going to cover some ground that has been nearly entirely neglected, Lord willing, that rests at the root of our present condition in the church today.
Alongside the spirits of antichrist are those of Jezebel, kind of like how the harlot Mystery Babylon is seen sitting on the scarlet colored beast in Revelation 17:3. I'm not going to pretend that I'm an expert on this or anything else, though I may speak authoritatively at times. I'm a surviver, so far. I've got some battle scars and I've survived and I remain to engage in the battle. Jezebel is a warrier and is bent on destruction. As Revelation 17:6 reveals about Mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, this Jezebel is drunken with the blood of the saints.
I'll be sharing some resources I'm familiar with, and please feel free to join in with comments about your insights and other helpful resources.
For starters, here's a 4 part video series that is pretty well done. Strap yourselves in. This may be uncomfortable.
Reckless abandon London, ON, September 2010 [Thematic explores candid this week. You can, too, by clicking here]
It was the first day of school and for some odd reason I found myself standing on the roof of our kids' school. I'd been asked to take a group picture of all the kids in the school, so I figured a high-up perspective would make the resulting shot a bit more interesting than the usual head-on pose.
This was one of those nice-in-theory, not-so-great-in-reality ideas of mine, because once I went upstairs through the smokey hallways (please, don't ask) and climbed out on an adjacent balcony before hopping the fence onto the asphalt and definitely not human-friendly rooftop, I approached the side of the building and realized just how much space now separated me from terra firma. So I tiptoed near the edge and, as I waited for the bell to ring - perfect time to shoot was when they'd be lining up to head inside - I practiced on my kids to make sure I could shoot without suffering from vertigo.
Little man made it easy, because true to form he was his usual happy-to-the-core-of-his-being self. He hadn't yet spotted me in my sniper-like perch, so I quietly snapped away as he went about the very serious business of being a munchkin. As you can see, It's hard to avoid feeling his energy, and wishing that more of it would rub off.
Soft and strong
in recognizing them, you and I are no longer subject to the control he wields over the deceived. 
