LEBANON – Steven Strauch would be the first to tell you he’s an amateur photographer and downplay his talent behind a camera. But while the director of missions for Laclede Baptist Association does not have any formal training and merely picked up the hobby a few years ago, his skill for finding the beauty of God’s creation speaks – as the saying goes – a thousand words.
Taking pictures grew out of a love of travel and the creation of a Facebook page Strauch manages called Five Tips Road Trips. He began taking pictures to illustrate his day trips for others, and eventually the quality of pictures began to overshadow the destinations around the Ozarks.
“I was always the kid taking a hundred pictures,” Strauch said, “but now I go on trips thinking intentionally about the photos.”
Strauch has two areas of expertise, for lack of a better word: natural landscape and old churches.
“Different photographers have their niche,” he said. “People ask me to take family pictures – and I will – but I’m not very good at taking ‘people pictures.’ I’m much better at taking pictures of churches. I of course have a deep love of the Church, but I especially like old churches. I’ve always loved old structures, and the regional history surrounding them.”
Since then, churches celebrating anniversaries have asked Strauch to capture the beauty of their buildings and Strauch has made it a mission to visually document each church in his association.
Two of his photos of the State Capitol were auctioned off at the charity gala at the Capitol last December, and out of that a state representative has ordered 10 prints. Several churches have contracted him for stock graphics, and he’s in talks to use his work for a book cover, as well as some marketing materials.
“I always try to look at it as a ministry,” Strauch said. “When people compliment my work, I say that God made it, and I’m just blessed to see His creation. It’s a way of being out and enjoying the beauty of creation.”