Too Much Is Never Enough When Less Is More

Posted on by Gary Fultz

The photographer in me never seems to be satisfied. I take a picture of the moon. It’s a good picture but it’s worth one word, not a thousand. Moon. I take a picture of fall leaves. Now I have doubled my words in a picture. Fall Leaves. I need more ingredients, different light, more context, well maybe I don’t know what I need. Something with depth, something that evokes questions, something that says there is a story worth finding here, something that shares or illustrates a concept or just looks so nice it’s worth blowing up and putting on the wall.

Which leaves do I look at? Somethings missing. Too many leaves. This picture is not enough by being too much. Less is more?

So, if I take a bunch of these, add some of this and that and put more variety into the picture, will I call it “enough”?

This is a better picture but I was taking a picture of autumn leaves, now it’s not about the leaves anymore. It’s autumn though.

Every added ingredient changes what the picture is about. I would like to take a picture of autumn leaves that would make people say “wow, autumn leaves” in other words “enough”. Maybe less is more and thus “enough”?

OK, we are getting there. Autumn leaves. not all are in focus so the eye is drawn toward a few yellow leaves and some brown and a red leaf on the same tree. Still too much to be “enough” ?
Autumn leaves. Some fallen some still attached on a very young tree. There’s a story here. Life, death, winter preparation, Will the young tree winter well and some day have thousands of colorful leaves to display the glory of God it’s creator?

What is enough? Is it not being satisfied with what we have? Is it being content in whatever situation we find ourselves? Are we not like a picture to the rest of the world around us? What do they see? Too much of ourselves? Vain attempts at too much of God with words? Too much of deeds with no apparent explanation? When others see us do they see a story they want to hear?

I sure hope my life on display evokes the postures of others to lean in and hear a wonderful story. A changed life because of knowing Jesus as my creator and rescuer, as my friend and Lord, as my guide through life and as one who is more than “enough”.

Last night in the boat I was thinking about what makes a picture “enough”? What makes my life “enough”? I glanced up to see a large hawk land in a tree. I was a long ways away from the hawk and even further from the moon coming up. Low light and I’m in a rocking boat so the odds of a picture turning out were short of miraculous. For just a picture I’m going to call it “enough”.

He is watching the moon come up and keeping an eye on me trying to get closer.

I like to think my life is worth more than any picture could be. Too much (of me) is never enough when less of me (with Christ) is more.

Gary

30 thoughts on “Too Much Is Never Enough When Less Is More”

  2. Sight can be like background noise is to sound. You hear but you don’t hear. Some of your pictures help me see what I wouldn’t normally see and there is beauty and wonder in them that I would not ordinarily see. I am thankful for what you help me see Gary. Blessings brother.

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    1. A great discussion starter Bruce, thankyou.
      We need each other to see everything. Sometimes I think we are like the 10 blind men describing an elephant (one grabbed the tail…”the elephant is like a rope…)
      thankfully someday we will really see. . We do see things from our created “bent”
      I see things from my artistic tendencies and I live in the woods (my excuse0.

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  3. Our pastor used to joke, “There’s no perfect church. But if you find one, don’t join it. Because, if you do, it won’t be perfect anymore.” In like manner, there is no perfect photograph or perfect story. There will always be something, this side of heaven, that isn’t quite right. But your pictures are close enough to perfect for me, Gary. The hawk with the giant moon is amazing!

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    1. Thanks David. Funny part of the story: I was hoping it would stretch out it’s wings before flying. I was ready. My camera ran out of battery and the hawk stretched out it’s wings before flying away while I was changing the battery pac. I have that image in my head only and it set the bar higher for a moon photograph. I’m still happy with what I took as it most of my shots were blurred from shooting in a boat…not real stable.

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  5. Wow! That last picture is amazing!!! I would love that photograph in my house. (Hint) You do such amazing work. I know you are telling a bigger story through your photographs, and it is definitely working! We want our life stories to reflect God’s love; in HIs light, the imperfect becomes more than enough. The important thing is that we keep striving to tell His story…

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    1. Thanks Linda. you are so right. I hope in some way to be a part of peoples stories in eternity. In the telling I know that I am so visual I need the pictures to help my words.
      I’ll email you a better picture quality than what is in the blog

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    1. Thanks David. Between all of us, the sights and insights from them are greater than any one persons experiences when shared. This is why I am always pushing in our church for sharing testimonies and stories. We are linked together more than is comfortable to cultures fierce personal independence. What I gain, you gain and what you gain I as well. that’s a good campfire discussion.

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  8. I thought I left a comment! These pictures are incredible. I am always wanting one more shot whether it be from another angle on the boat or crouching down in a field. I can get really frustrated when I see a great shot and don’t have access to a camera. I should be glad to have the image in my mind. I am so thankful God does use His Creation to speak to us. I am thankful for you and your thought provoking posts!

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    1. You sure get it Mandy.
      It can be a bit like entering a black hole (imagined here) as we will always want a better shot, a closer one, better focus or less focus on the subjects surroundings. Then on occasion we dream of better cameras and monster lens and a more stable tripod and …and…There is something to getting better but also really something to really enjoy and be satisfied with some of the simplest shots that tell another aspect of our journey here in Gods footsteps.

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    1. Thanks Ann. I have always attempted to be better at what I accomplish and yet be content in all things. They are not the same thing but yet overlap greatly sometimes. Sometimes writing from a different angle, perspective, is a bit like the same old tried and true hot dish for supper but served on a different looking plate

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  10. Gary, my favorite pictures are your closing silhouettes of the eagle and the fisherman. They seem to embody your final statement- “Too much (of me) is never enough when less of me (with Christ) is more.” In the silhouette, you see the crisp outlines of the object but your eye is drawn to the light. Perfect timing on reading this post as I just read John 3 today and highlighted the verse “He must increase but I must decrease.”

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  12. Well I can tell you that for me, your pictures are always enough! Enough to satisfy that love for nature and the things I can’t see here in the city. But I also like how you brought our spirituality into it. The more people see Christ in us, the less they see us. I guess that’s the goal. 🙂

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  14. Let your commenters be the judges of your work, Gary. : ) That’s a stunning photo of the hawk silhouetted against the moon! But I find equally appealing the four brilliant maple leaves against the dark background, reminding us: “Glow like bright maple leaves against the brown drabness of the oak” (1 Corinthians 4:6a–for autumn)!

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    1. There is much wisdom in your advice Nancy, thank you. Great insight on the glowing vs drab leaves.
      Sometimes i know an insight is around the corner of my mind and others see it right away.
      You glow well Nancy and the world seems to be liking drab more and more.

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      1. Thank you, Gary, for your kind words. You are so right about the world gravitating toward the drab. All the more motivation to shine with all the watts we’ve got! 🙂 “JESUS is the answer,” just as we sang decades ago.

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    1. Thank You M.B. Going out in the woods or on the lake with my camera equipment seems to be a hassle sometimes but when a huge hawk or smaller eagle line up with the moon and stays put awhile, it’s more than worth it.

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