Noted Photographer Prays 'Open My Eyes,' Produces World-Class Images
by Randall Murphree
July 21, 2006
(AgapePress) - - The phrase "inspiring images" is vastly inadequate to describe the breathtaking photographic work in Ken Duncan's collection titled Reflections 2. Duncan compiled the photos from his travels around the world. The unique book offers moving scenes from nature -- with occasional evidence of man's presence on the scene. 
Taken as a whole, the volume reminds one that, though man is the crown of God's creation, he is, on another plain, quite the minuscule part of God's handiwork. Taken individually, the panographs are a virtual feast for the eyes, an elixir for the spirit.
The photographer trademarked the word "panograph" to describe his panoramic photographs. His first Reflections volume displayed his native Australia exclusively. Reflections 2 expanded to include panographs from a number of other countries.
The coffee table book is formatted with 9"x19" top-bound pages, thus allowing the sweeping horizontal photos to be featured without a crease. They are complemented by appropriate quotations from an eclectic array of voices -- e.g., Elvis, Helen Keller, Jimi Hendrix, George Carlin, Woody Allen, Psalms and Proverbs.
Occasionally, Duncan articulates his own axioms that reflect ageless truths. For example, one panograph from Kinderdijk, the Netherlands, features a row of windmills backlit by a brilliant yellow and mauve sunset. Duncan writes, "God provides the wind of His spirit; all we have to do is set our sails in the right direction."
Visit Ken Duncan's website
Another spiritual truth is embodied in the words of Fred Bock: "The brook would lose its song if you removed the rocks." That thought complements Duncan's picture of Fern Gully, Young Creek, Vic, Australia. In the stunning panograph, a small stream spills water over rocks amid lush green ferns and moss-covered boulders.
It isn't a coincidence that Duncan finds spiritual truths in his work. In an exclusive interview, he said he was raised by Christian parents, but didn't come to faith in Christ until he was a young adult. After years of searching in other religions, he found meaning only in Christ.
"I was a hard-liner who had to hit many brick walls before I gave in to Jesus," he said. His faith quickly added meaning to his photography career, as he now sees God's hand in the grandeur of the nature he loves to catch on film.
Duncan's other noteworthy books include America Wide: In God We Trust, a book for which he spent three years and 80,000 miles traveling America to collect more than 100 panographs from all 50 states. Unlike Reflections 2, with its brief quotes, America Wide unveils Duncan as a good storyteller, too. He includes a number of commentaries connected to the photos and their meaning for him.
Earlier this year, he released Where Jesus Walked, a collection of inspiring and significant sites in the Holy Land. Fittingly, the text in that volume is primarily Scripture.
Despite the magnificent images he captures with his lens, Ken Duncan insists that he's just an average photographer with a lot of faith and patience. "Often when I am on location," he said, "I will call out to God and say, 'God, what am I doing here? I don't know what to do. Please open my eyes that I may see what You want me to see.'"
Not a bad prayer for anyone -- with or without a camera in hand.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
