Slide Programs
by
Pastor Jack Vanden Heuvel
I have been making slide programs since 1965. These programs combine color slide photography with music and narration. I started doing digital slide programs in 2008. I am a nature nut. Photographing nature gives me a way to share with you the exciting things I see! I also like beautiful music, so it is fun to put the two together. Combining beautiful pictures with beautiful music enhances both and is aesthetically exciting! The photography varies from wide angle scenic shots, to telephoto, to close ups, to abstracts,to people. Abundant themes are woven through these programs that serve as a catalyst for meditation and worship.
Length is usually 40-45 minutes.
1. THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH: THE PRAIRIE AND THE WOODLANDS (2005)
God created a beautiful world for us to live in! From pasch flowers coming up after a prairie burn, to porcupine grass growing on virgin prairie, the Rockford Prairie, children’s faces, to autumn along a Lake Superior beach near Paradise in Upper Michigan, come and see the beauty of the earth! God makes things beautiful and tantalizes our aesthetic sense. Music includes Breathe by Hungry, Forever by Chris Tomlin, and Abba I Belong to You by Peder Eide.
2. IMAGES FROM ISAIAH: THE ARIZONA DESERT AND ISRAEL (2005)
The book of Isaiah is filled with powerful images. I look at images like God giving us a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair, and the suffering servant images of Isaiah 53, closing with a picture of shalom. While talking with a Jewish professor, he noted the similarities of the Arizona desert with the Negev of Israel. Photography includes scenes of saguaro cacti and desert birds like the Gila woodpecker, to Israel scenes of the Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem and the Western Wall of the temple mount, the desert, and the Mediterranean Sea. Songs vary from Garments of Praise by Revival in Belfast, Jesus Lover of My Soul by Hillsong, The Wonderful Cross, and some black style Sacred Steel.
3. THE ROCKY PLACES (2005)
The American West is full of Rocky Places. I begin in the Colorado Rocky mountains near Ouray at Yankee Boy Basin in July, considered by many to be the best in the world for wildflowers. See prairie smoke flowers on the top of Grand Mesa. I also go to Arches National Park, Monument Valley, a brief stop at Canyon lands, and then Yosemite in Springtime. Music includes How Great Thou Art, Here I Am to Worship, and Shout to the Lord.
4. FROM THE PRAIRIE TO THE PACIFIC (2005)
I begin with bird photography, then show the beauty of many prairie flowers, and scenes from the Konza prairie in Kansas. Then we move briefly through the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado and some of the rocky places, and spend time on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean around Los Angeles, especially Dana Point, Laguna Beach, and Santa Barbra. Music includes Darlene Zschech singing Amazing Grace, The Love of God by Mercy, Sheila Walsh doing Here Is Love Vast as the Ocean, and All for Jesus by Revival in Belfast.
5. THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING (2002)
The eccentric naturalist John Muir said, "The mountains are calling, and I must go!" I have always felt like that too. It was exciting for me to make this program! It includes photography of Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Tetons, and the Colorado Rockies. It also has people photography in it. Contemporary music includes Come, Now is the Time to Worship, You Are a Holy God, Everywhere I Go, and Shout to the North and the South. The mountains show the power and majesty of God, and it is a great atmosphere for worship and joy.
6. PRAIRIE PONDERINGS (2002)
I have become increasingly appreciative of the prairie. This program focuses on these grasslands, especially Iowa. I also have a whole section on Spring wildflowers, and specifically identify various kinds. For variety, I also throw in a section on a trip I made to Belarus, where I taught Bible to some young church leaders for a couple weeks at an Academy. There is some beautiful music including Child of God by Hungry, and Lord You Have My Heart, by Delirious, and the great nature and symphony background music of Dan Gibson with the narration.
7. THE OCEANS OF OREGON (2002)
The photography in this program centers on the ocean. The Oregon coast line is astounding, mainly because of the unique rocky shoreline and the stacks of rocks in the breaking surf. Most of the pictures were taken from Bandon south. Harris Beach was our favorite area, and here my wife and I camped. Ocean waves often sound during the narration, and there are many lighthouses shown, including the famous Haceta Head. I also include a series on the Big Trees, the Redwood forests of Northern California Coastline. Music includes Be the Center, and I Surrender by Hungry, and closes with my favorite, Shout to the Lord!
8. HOLY GROUND (2) (1999)
This program is like Holy Ground (1) in that it uses quotations from the Psalms. Worship, prayer, stillness, and solitude characterize the themes. A variety of photography in the midwest includes some shots along the Mississippi River in summer, and Galena. There are also pictures of Florida wading birds, and the Rocky Mountains. Music includes classical, Amy Grant, and ends with a personal favorite song of praise, "Shout to the Lord."
9. THANKSGIVING AND JOY! (1999)
Themes and stories of thanksgiving in the context of mountains and grizzly make this especially appropriate for October and November, though anytime of the year is fine. There is also a section on the four seasons, on beaches, and closes with a focus on joy and heaven with "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder," by Twila Paris. Mountain and autumn photography predominate, with the last song on the beaches of Florida. Includes music by Michael Card and Hillsong.
10. DARKNESS TO LIGHT (1999)
Though there is much darkness in life, there is also light, and we must always seek to see, what for me is a symbol of hope--the color purple, symbolized here by the cosmos flower. We ask the Lord to shine on us with his warmth, love, and grace. Part of the way he does this is through friends. My eclectic musical tastes become obvious here when I include electric guitar, a unique a cappella rendition of "Kum Ba Ya" by Cynthia Clawson, a country song cut by a friend and I, Leann Rimes doing "Amazing Grace," and Kathy Tricolli with the closing "Hold Out Your Candle!" Photography varies widely from autumn leaves to people, cosmos flowers, and ocean beaches. 45 minutes
11. SPRINGTIME! (2009)
Spring is exciting! See spring in north Iowa, Pike's Peak State Park on the Mississippi River, in downtown Philadelphia and Itasca State Park in Minnesota. The camera lens focuses on beautiful dogwood trees, a Baltimore oriel in a white pine tree, big white trilliums and and a ruggled grouse in one of his drom rolls. Music varies with my eclectic tastes.
12. THE GREAT SPIRIT (1996)
The opening of this program is rooted in a love for the earth, and reflections on what it would have been like to experience the land as the Native Americans experienced it. Unique to this program is a section on Christmas, when the Spirit of God became flesh and lived among us. I also take a little fun time to talk about what I think heaven will be like. Music varies from native American flute music to Chicago style blues by Glenn Kaiser. Photography includes the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan, and the Colorado Rockies.
13. THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING AGAIN! (2008)
Starting out in the Great Sand Dunes of southern Colorado, the photography shifts north to Glacier National Park in Montana, and then Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies! It was John Muir who said "The mountains are calling, and I must go!" I try to include the feel of the mountains, from vegetation to animals to mists and majesty! Music often includes sounds of nature such as the raven.
14. THE CREATOR LOVES PIZZAZZ! (2008)
The variety and pizzazz of this world is exciting! The title comes from a quote by Annie Dillard. This program is my first after switching from slide to digital photography. In digital I am able to get photographs I could not get before, and put them in a program format with a brnad new projection system that flows nicely with transitions, and words that I could never do before. It has been exciting! The photography starts out with birds you never saw before, and includes the illusive warbler. I show a variety of animals, people, mountains, the ocean, the Great Sand Dunes of southern Colorado, and the pure white sand dunes of New Mexico. Music is my usual eclectic variety that keeps pace with the variety in photography! Enjoy the creativity of God, and enhance your sense of wonder!
15. FAVORITE HYMNS (2009) - Famous hymns such as In the Garden are used, as well as more contemporary forms of songs such as Just As I Am Without One Plea. Photography varies widely with flowers, winter frost, the Lake Michigan beach, and pelicans on the Gulf of Mexico.
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