Photography of the Majesty of God

Pasquale MingarelliBy Pasquale Mingarelli5 Minutes

In an article posted on Inspiration this past spring, I wrote about seeing God’s peace in our photographs. In this post, I want to look at seeing God’s Majesty in our photographs.

Imagery of God’s majesty can bring peace and rest to our hearts when the concerns of life distract us from God.

How can we see God’s Majesty in a photograph? Where do I begin to start?

The great beauty of a sunset photo is minor compared to the beauty of God, yet each sunset reveals a touch of God’s royal majesty. In a photograph of fall foliage, I see God’s glorious splendor and majesty displayed in the colors. And what about a photograph of a bald eagle in flight? It gives us a strong image of majesty and serves as a reflection of the majesty of God, the creator of the eagle.

I see God’s Majesty in all these photographs, but the photographs of the mountains reveal God’s majesty to my heart like no others. I love taking such photos.

A Mountain Morning Photo Shoot of the Majesty of God
One morning when we were visiting Rocky Mountain National Park in the Fall, I got up out of our tent long before the rest of my family. I quietly grabbed my camera gear, jumped into our SUV and headed out under the predawn sky.

Even though I was enjoying a camping trip with my family and some friends, I had some concerns in my heart that troubled me. These concerns were a distraction and I needed to relieve my mind of them.

As I drove along, I prayed, asking God to take me to a great spot to photograph. After praying, I found myself heading up to Bear Lake. Bear Lake is normally a very busy spot in the park, but on cool fall mornings, one can find restful solitude there.

The road to Bear Lake is quite phenomenal. During the drive, the majesty of God began to strike my heart, and all my concerns slowly faded away. Being caught up in the majesty of God can do that to someone.

When I got to the lake I spent some time taking photographs the trees that lined the shore. The still water and the blazing aspens along the slopes kindled a peaceful fire in my own heart. All this created a beautiful opportunity to have a special morning with God.

After photographing from the shore, I headed up a steep trail that granted me even greater glimpses into the majesty of God. The many photographs I took that morning created a visual journal helping me to remember my moments with God that day. They were moments that I really needed. The mountains, the lake, the colors of Fall, and the photographs I took, spoke to me about the majesty of God and His goodness.

Seeing God’s Majesty in Our Photographs and Remembering the Moment
When we see God’s Majesty in His creation, we often want to photograph it, but we need to remember to take it all into our hearts too. Our photographic experience is so much better when we allow that majesty speak to us about the greatness of our God, and what that means to our everyday lives.

When we take picture just to capture what we see, we miss out on moments with God. Far better is our experience when we not only take pictures, but when we also let the majesty around us resonate in our hearts and draw us near to God. The more we take it in, the deeper our time with God.

Let your time photographing bring you peace and not just a pretty photograph. Let those moments give you a deeper connection with God and not just photographs to show on social media. And let those photographs and the majesty of God you see in them, be to you a visual journal of your moments with Him, and how He spoke to you on the day you took them.