First of all, I want to say thank you for visiting my site. I'm glad you're here, and I hope you enjoy looking through my pictures!
For those who may be curious, here is a little "behind the lens" look at me and 5683 Photography:
About Me:
My name is Kelsey. I love Jesus. I like to smile at strangers. I think every day should be an adventure. I constantly crave pistachio ice cream. I dance in the rain. I'm not afraid to ask hard questions. I swim - a lot. I stargaze. I make lists. I follow butterflies. I pray. I go out of my way to step on crunchy-looking leaves. I enjoy baking. (fortunately, I also enjoy exercising). I look for simple joys in the every day, and I think life is too short not to live intentionally.
About 5683 Photography:
Many people wonder why I decided to use the title "Five Six Eight Three Photography" for my work. To understand that, however, you need to know why I take pictures in the first place...
About Why I Take Pictures:
I mentioned above that I love Jesus. I take pictures because I love Jesus. Hear me out.
I love Jesus because He saved my life. He wants to save yours too. The Bible tells us on the very first page that God created the first humans, Adam and Eve, that He loved them, and that He wanted them to know Him and love Him back. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve disobeyed the rules that God had given them. Because God is perfectly just, He could not tolerate disobedience. The loving relationship between God and humans was messed up because they had chosen to love themselves and what they wanted more than God and what He wanted. Just like Adam and Eve, every human that came after them disobeyed God's rules too. God can't overlook that either. He either had to punish us all and keep us separated from His holiness forever, or He could do something to reconcile us but still brought justice for wrongdoings. Because God loves us, He chose the latter. God sent His son Jesus to earth as a baby to live as a human and unlike all the rest of us, Jesus never broke any of God's rules. Then, even though Jesus didn't deserve it, God punished Jesus with all of the pain and torture that we deserved for our disobedience by having Jesus put to death. Jesus proved that He was more powerful than death, however, and came back from the dead three days after dying on the cross. Because Jesus received the punishment that we deserved and triumphed over death, God's holiness is satisfied to look at our messed up, disobedient lives through the lens of Jesus' sacrifice. God promises that is exactly what He will do for us, but only if we are willing to acknowledge our disobedience and him do look at Jesus's sacrifice and forgive us. What an amazing promise to us from God!
I have already asked God for Him to use that lens when He looks at me. I am so immeasurably grateful for that merciful gift, so I spend my life trying to learn more about God and how I can be like Him. That also means I want to tell everyone about who He is and how much He loves them!
Now we are about to come full circle: My photography is one way that I try to show people who God is. I take pictures because we can look around us at our world and at each other and see evidence of what God is like. Paul was a man in the Bible who also wanted to tell people that Jesus' sacrifice meant that they could be forgiven, and he explained it like this: He wrote, "For what can be known about God is plain to them (people who have not yet been forgiven), because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:18-20 So taking a photograph of something God created is like documenting the clues God has given us about who He is.
About 5683 Photography (again):
To draw all the loose ends together, I try to use my photography as an arrow that points people to see God, so that they too can be reconciled to him and experience His love.
I am 5683 Photography because on a classic telephone keypad, The numbers 5, 6, 8, and 3 are the numbers you must hit in order to spell out the word LOVE. God's love is what my life is all about, is yours can be too. If you want to talk to me more about God, faith, photography, or anything else, feel free to email me. My email can be found under the "Contact" tab at the top of this page.
About my equipment:
I shoot with a Canon EOS Rebel Xt1i, which was purchased in the spring of 2010. I have two lenses, an 18- 55mm and a 55-250mm.
About my other blog, 5683 and the Story of Me:
My writing blog is currently not available, as it needed a good sweeping and a makeover. I will let you know here when it is operational again.
Now that you know a little bit about me and my photography, please jump back over to my pictures and feel free to comment or email me so I can get to know you too! I hope you will follow my blog and continue with me on my journey to learn more about our world, God, and His love that surpasses all understanding.
May what you see point you to what you cannot see.
Love,
Kelsey
