What the Lens Sees

                                     What the Lens Sees

      As the sun begins its descent by just kissing the horizon the atmosphere explodes in a palette of brilliant colors of every hue and shade.  Jonesford quickly focuses his lens so that he won’t miss a second of Nature putting on her most stylish ball gown to welcome the change of seasons along the Eastern Shore.

     The lens does not lie when reflecting back what the human eye really sees.  Or does it portray to the viewer what an unseen sorcerer wishes to appear on the earthen stage to draw the observer into an alternative universe where the sorcerer will play out a puppet show staged only for its own advantage and amusement?

      What hides behind that brilliant explosion of color? Can Jonesford dig beneath the surface to find the true universe hidden beneath the sorcerer-produced spectacular–or will this photographer find that what he sees on the horizon is all that exists?

      This photographer’s palette thrills and delights him. It calms his senses and brings forth in him an energy from deep within his soul.

      However, is this the total coloration of his existence? Should he simply allow himself to delight in that which the sun brings forth—or should he scratch below to discover the origins of the colors and if, in fact, they hide their true meaning of life because the unseen sorcerer does not want the photographer to see the calamity of the future he has mapped out not only for Jonesford, but for all of us?

      Maybe the only reason for the existence of the photographer is to capture Nature’s brilliant reflection of the ball gown in which she has chosen to wrap herself as this particular day draws its curtain to a close.

      If the sorcerer is teasing us with this dusk does he truly want to reveal to us what he has hidden behind the brilliant display just to frustrate us so he can play with us, or perhaps bend us to his will with some evil purpose?

      Perhaps Nature, or even whatever god or force has complete leadership of the universe, has total control and the sorcerer’s power only exists as an illusion to deceive the Prince of Darkness and force him to play his hand so he can be trapped with his own game playing.

       Jonesford snaps as many views as he can, perhaps in an effort to go deeper into the picture of dusk that the lens opens to his limited human vision.

      Since this human vision quickly reaches its limits the photographer probably never will discover on his own whether more exists for him or his lens to explore.

      Will the forces around him come to his aid so the totality of that which he seeks can burst forth in a true vision?

     However, does the leadership of the universe wish him to discover the hidden truths–or is this something not meant for mere human consumption?

     Or will the sorcerer bust through the barriers imposed by him or her that controls to see that all truths come forward? Does the sorcerer even have such a power or does he or she even care about the truth?

       Perhaps the larger question should explore whether or not the immediately visible universe is meant to reveal to us a path forward for the future.

      Maybe an alternative spear of existence contains the answers the photographer–and his viewers, for that matter–have sought for so long.

      The ultimate continuation of the conflicts between the sorcerer and the godhead may result in the destruction of all worlds and the triumph of nothingness.

      Who then controls?  Will Jonesford, a lonely shutterbug on a lonely road in the backwoods of Maryland, make the decision of the future of humankind simply by the snapping of a moment in time with his simplistic, man made device?

      Will the sorcerer lead the current world to its own destruction simply by painting a number of different colors, shapes or forms across the sky as the photographer sees it–or will he robotically lead humankind to an alternative universe where he or she alone rules over the ultimate caldron of darkness?

     Or–in the third scenario–will the godhead decide which universe will continue under its guidance or destroy itself depending on the godhead’s view of the merits of the many lives lived by the photographer and his “posse”?

     Jonesford, a simple recorder of human events and of the natural forces in the world as he sees it, in most likelihood doesn’t see himself with some eternal role in the future of creation.

     His life probably has moved forward with him as a cog in the wheel, not the crank that turns the globe on its axis.

     He started out on a sunny afternoon just to capture the beauty of the Delmarva beach sky trying to bring its magnificence to a world seeking some solace from its continuing conflict.

      The photographer had no clue of being captured by the forces of good and evil and winding up in an eternity-changing conflict.

     Supposedly, the sorcerer is attempting to capture what the lens has shown so he can drag the photographer along on his evil quest for domination of the world as it exists and perhaps of an alternative universe still not ready to show itself.

      The godhead sees its role as presiding over all worlds to bring it into whatever future it perceives as the accomplishment of what it considers the triumph of good over evil.

      Where will it all end? Who will bring home the victory and will a true victory actually result?

      The lens allegedly captures all–truth or falsehood–good or evil–on and on as creation moves along its path. But does the lens actually see everything?  Can other photographers manipulate it to their wills?  Do they care what the lens sees or do they just want to paint their own pictures–and their own endings.  Who snaps the photograph–and does it actually take place at dusk–or at dawn?

        What if this entire story only involved a lonely photographer snapping a beautiful shot of the sun setting over the ocean in Delmarva?

         What if this just has been one tremendous puton and the author won a sophisticated game of gotcha?