Photography like cinema has the potential to bring a high degree
of reality to the message of the Bible when allied with sacred music. To explain what I mean I will quote the age
old *quip “A picture is worth a thousand words.” A photo placed on a large overhead screen of
the rugged terrain over which Joseph and Mary traveled to reach Bethlehem has
the unique power to cause the worshiper to instantly be mentally transported to
that scene. Even more than words,
instrumental accompaniment or vocal inflection, a photograph of Mary on a
donkey and Joseph trudging along beside her has much power to transport an
audience from the padded pew to the bleakness of the long road to Bethlehem.
Christian musicians have not even begun to utilize the potential
of multimedia involving photography and music.
There is a sense in which a still photograph has the potential to imprint a visual message on an
audience without the possible distractions that may be caused by a moving
picture. If the tenor of a story is
intended to be primarily presented through music, a photograph is most often a
valuable and non- obtrusive ally and concomitant to the music being presented.
Can photography be problematic when it is allied to sacred
music? Yes, it most certainly can be
more of a hindrance than it is helpful.
Photography like the other allied arts is a direct window through the
eye gate to the mind of the viewer. It
only stands to reason that a music
director should be extremely careful of the photographs that he or she sets
before an audience to be a concomitant to the Gospel message.
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