A micro look
Reassigned North Georgia pastor publishes photography book on Scenic City
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Now that Dr. John Page has captured the micro beauty of Chattanooga, he has to leave the area.
The Graysville (Ga.) United Methodist Church pastor has just released “Chattanooga Details: The Scenic City Close Up,” a photography book that captures the beauty of the area and its attractions in bite-size snaps.
“As I began to take these photographs, I began to look at the angles and perspectives more,” said Dr. Page, who will be appointed associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Athens, Ga., next week. “I thought, ‘How could they be viewed from a different angle, from a different perspective than we’re used to seeing?’”
The 58-page book has photographs of places such as the Tennessee Aquarium and the 21st Century Waterfront in close-ups that even longtime residents may not immediately recognize.
Nathan Vaughn, 42, a member of Graysville UMC who purchased one of the books, said the photographs forced him to think about where he’d seen what was on the page.
“I liked the way he framed up his pictures and put it together,” he said. “It’s interesting to realize that you’ve been looking at something all these years and can’t recognize its finer details.”
Dr. Page said he has always enjoyed photography, but he began to appreciate the particular beauty of the city when he was appointed in 2006 to Graysville UMC, which is just across the Georgia line on Graysville Road, from East Brainerd.
Through walks and bike rides with his wife, he said, he began to take more photographs and found himself capturing details in his lenses.
“I think (the attention to detail) is how my brain is wired,” Dr. Page said.
He said he used a Canon Rebel XSi and Kodak EasyShare C643 to record the images. The purchase of a digital camera increased his passion for the hobby.
“That ramped up my interest and pursuit,” Dr. Page said.
He said the lines and angles he found in his pursuit made the city ripe for photographing.
“It’s just a gorgeous city,” said Dr. Page, 40. “Chattanooga has a lot to offer. There’s a lot of beauty here.”
The United Methodist pastor said it is the details in an object, whether created in nature by God or within something made by man, that form a perfect whole.
“Without the details,” he said, “the panoramic vistas wouldn’t be quite as beautiful or exist as they do.
“Seeing that beauty ... gives witness to the fact that whoever made it paid attention so it would look the way it looks. I like it when we pay attention to details.”
Dr. Page said the book is laid out in such fashion — with the index to photos at the end — that it allows readers to examine their memory as to the subject of each micro photograph.
“I thought native Chattanoogans would have some fun with that,” he said. “I thought it would add some whimsy to it as well.”
Although itinerancy is part of the United Methodist Church, Dr. Page said he is sorry to have to leave the area.
“That’s a bittersweet part of putting this book together,” he said. “You learn all this wonderful stuff about this wonderful city, and now you have to leave it.”
