Triple Reflection Cross This picture was taken of the 112 foot Cross near Bigfork, Montana on a foggy January night in 2014. My wife and I were on our way back from a spectacular photo perfect winter day in Glacier National Park. I could not drive due to neck surgery a week earlier for cancer, so I was in the passenger seat gazing out at the stars when I noticed a well lit swirling fog sounding the Bigfork Cross. I turned to my wife and ask if we could stop for a few shots. This was asking a lot since she had worked overnight the night before and was pushing 24 hours with little or no sleep. She agreed that this was a God moment and we needed to act. Apon arriving at the fishing access that lies along the Flathead River just below the cross I knew we were in for a another supernatural photo shoot. Let me tell you a little about this cross. It was built 43 years ago by Ed Ottosen on the property settled by his family. He had some help from his family and a few friends but the cross was a marvel of engineering and workmanship that took 3 years to build. His previous 56 foot wooden cross was burnt to the ground by vandals, so he built a bigger one, this time out of steel. While painting the letters on the cross Ottosen took a 100 foot fall landing on the word “HIM” the next day he was back up painting again. You can read more of the story from a article I found in the Bigfork Eagle by Mike Richeson dated 9-27-2006. Here is the link: flatheadnewsgroup/bigforkeagle/news/article_144ba392-f89a-5b94-b50a-6e3c825cff13.html When we arrived at the cross the fog was swirling by the cross at a fast pace yet we did not feel any wind where we were located. The fog started about a quarter mile to the south of the cross and was moving to the north, swirlling behind and in front of the cross then disapearing about a quarter mile to the north. There was no fog anywhere else and skies were clear. When shooting the cross I was not sure what I was getting because of the fast moving fog. After processing the photos I was amazed by the beauty and supernatural images that I captured. The reflected cross with words visable on the fog above the cross was truly a maricle. The chances of me capturing the Triple Reflection Cross were slim to none. My perspective along with the surface planes of the fog in front of the cross, the face of the cross, the fog behind the cross all had to be perfectly aligned. The timing of the shot, the settings in my camera (20 second exposure), the moving fog, and the lighting had to be perfect too. To get the reflection of the face of the cross (with the text) meant it had to be projected from the fog in front of the cross up into to the fog above the cross then to the fog behind the cross. Since the cross is upside down on the fog behind the cross, the plane of the fog above the cross had to be near 90 degrees to the cross. Similar to the effect you get when shooting the background mountains reflecting onto the 90 degree plane of water in front of the mountains. The mountains then appear upside down in the water. I tested this out with my bathroom mirror and a couple of mirrors and was able to duplicate the effect but it wasnt easy. Everything had to be in perfect alignment and the perspective to see it was slim. The cross reflection showed up in four frames stretched over roughly a 2 minute time frame. During those 2 minutes I did not see the reflection with my naked eye or any of the other amazing shots that were captured that night. All I saw was the bright cross and the moving fog but something told me God was showing off here. Our eyes, as amazing as they are dont always give us the real picture. Most animals for instance see much better at night than we do. I believe this photo opportunity was one of many that God has layed out before me to show himself to us and renew our faith in him. God is like the wind. We cannot see the wind but we can look out the window and when we see the trees moving we know there is wind. If we step outside with the wind we not only see the wind we feel it on our face. If we invite God into our lives he will join us and we will see him work and feel his spirit. To see more images from this shoot and many other blessed moments visit my main gallery. You can order prints from here or feel free to contact me directly to get prints. johnharwood.smugmug/organize/Landscapes/Lightindarkness Thank You, John Harwood Email:john.bsva@gmail Phone:406-544-5781 Triple Reflected Cross with another shot showing the face of the cross
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 23:05:08 +0000
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