Tropical Hibiscus

Tropical Hibiscus - container planted, sitting in my garden among the Hydrangea leaves.

This photo was shot after a soft morning rainfall.

No one ever spoke the way this man does…

John 7:46

I had the opportunity yesterday to take a photography class that I found on Groupon. I was intrigued by the title: SLR Photography:  Get Your Camera Off Program Mode!  When I first began taking photography classes, I learned to get my camera off Automatic and shoot in Program mode.  I checked out the gentleman’s website and it talked about “…small, intimate classes.”  Perfect.  I arrived at the Westin Hotel about 15 minutes before the class began.  When I walked through the door, my heart sank.  The room was already stuffed with people – at least 75-80 – and my first thought was, Intimate??  I grabbed a chair at the very back and grumbled to myself, OK – this was a waste of money.  I could not have been more wrong!

There were huge screens on each side of the teacher – one for Nikon users and the other for Canon users.  He had two circulating helpers to deal with the very few that owned a different brand, as well as to assist the rest of us.  He shot pictures right there in the room with various cameras and lenses which immediately flashed on the screens.  He illustrated in real life everything he taught.  All of a sudden, so many things that had completely eluded me about photography became crystal clear.  He advised that everyone needed a 50mm lens with f1.8 aperture.  I thought, yeah, right.  I had purchased one some time ago, and couldn’t take a decent picture with it if I tried.  Ten minutes later, I was taking fantastic pictures with this previously "useless" lens.  Amazing.  I learned more in those three hours than in all of my previous classes combined.

Toward the end of Christ's ministry on earth, the chief priests and Pharisees sent the Temple guards out to where Jesus was teaching for the purpose of bringing Him in to the Council for questioning.  It was the time of the Feast of Tabernacles and the city was packed with people.  Jesus continually preached about the Kingdom of Heaven, using everyday life to illustrate the principles He taught.  The people were divided on their opinion of this unorthodox Teacher and some were openly hostile toward Him. When the guards finally returned to the Council chambers, the chief priests said, “Why didn’t you bring Him in?”  The Temple guards had to have known that the Pharisees would take a dim view of their lack of arrest, and could have used the hostility of some of the people for an excuse.  But these were honest men who were impressed with Christ, and they declared, “No one ever spoke the way this man does.”   What moved the heart stayed the hand.

Tropical Hibiscus, Ginter Botanical Garden