Shutterbug pastor focuses on God’s handiwork
By Bob Baysinger
Managing Editor
July 20, 2004
– Bob Aubuchon
CAMDENTON – Bob Aubuchon is one Missouri Baptist pastor who sees things differently, but not necessarily in the areas of Missouri Baptist life, theology or politics. Rather he often sees through the lens of a camera as he practices a passion that was developed as a boy when somebody gave him a “Brownie” camera.
That early love for photography has now developed into a skill that has resulted in the potential publishing of a devotional book containing Aubuchon’s photographs and an Internet Web site that includes some of the preacher’s favorite shots.
“A photograph bears witness to what we see,” Aubuchon said in a interview with The Pathway at his First Baptist Church, Camdenton, office. “The Bible (1 Cor. 10:31) tells us that we are to glorify the Lord whether we eat, drink or, in my case, take pictures. I try to do this with my photographs whether it’s the oddity of the picture or the beauty of the picture that is seen.”
Aubuchon pastored Trinity Baptist Church near Willow Springs before taking the Camdenton pastorate two years ago.
Along with a Bible on his church office desk sits a digital camera he carries almost everywhere, looking for a “shot.”
“When I was working as a youth pastor, I had a person tell me that I saw things differently than they did,” Aubuchon said. “I guess that’s why I walk around looking for a photograph to take rather than just seeing something.”
Aubuchon uses God’s creation as the subject for many of his photographs. Pictures that may be included in the publication range from a stately tree standing beside a river bank in Texas to close-ups of daffodils blooming.
“I see my photography as a means of magnifying the creation of God,” Aubuchon said. “As I say on my website (www.oneguy’sphotos.com), I desire each day to live for the glory of God and strive to lead others to do the same. I hope that each of my photos will portray the glory of God.”
Finding photo targets is not difficult for Aubuchon.
“I see God in the beauty of the creation around us,” the pastor said. “I see Him in the manifestation of creation. I even go so far a seeing God in some old, rustic cars. I make a spiritual analogy with these rusty vehicles by saying that we are to store our things in Heaven, not in earth.
“God has given us creation to sustain us and also to enjoy the beauty … from the flowers along the roadside to the dandelion breaking through a crevice in the rocks. All nature exalts God.”
Aubuchon’s interest in photography was stimulated when his Uncle Joe gave him a 35mm camera when he was about 14. He took a trade school class on black and white photography studying “light sources” and how “to manipulate the photo in the darkroom.”
When digital photography came on the scene in recent years, Aubuchon invested in the camera he now uses. He took the digital camera along when he attended a recent pastor’s retreat in Texas.
“I went on the sabbatical to do reading and studying, But I also used it as an occasion to take a lot of photographs. I recently put together 27 of those photographs along with devotional writings. I mailed the book to the pastor’s retreat office, and now they want to talk to me about publishing the book.”
The use of light is obvious in many of Aubuchon’s photos.
He quotes Eph. 5:13 on his Webpage: “But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light … .”
“I see it like this,” Aubuchon said. “On an unexposed roll of film, it is the light that is exposed upon that film that creates the image on the film. In like turn, it is when our lives are exposed to that light, His image is exposed in us – much like the image that is seen through the photographer.
“There’s a saying that says what the person is seeing reveals the door to the soul. It reveals their interests and also some of their passions.
“The photo has the ability to show what is on the photographer’s heart. I work off the premise that the photograph is not in the camera, it is in the mind, heart or eye of the photographer.”
And which is Aubuchon’s favorite photo?
“It’s probably a river shot taken on my sabbatical,” he said. “It’s a reflection of some trees along the Saginaw River in Texas. There are a couple of chairs sitting along the river and a reflection of the trees in the water. The photograph reminds me that I am to reflect His glory.”