Behind the Scenes at Imprint: With Photography Editor, Luke Cleland

Photo by Allie Cleland
Photo by Allie Cleland

  1. Name

    Luke Cleland

  2. What’s your day job?

    I’m a wedding and lifestyle photographer.

  3. How long have you attended Grace Toronto Church?

    I’ve attended GTC for 3 years, since 2017.

  4. What do you do for Imprint?

    I’m the Photography Editor. I make sure there are photos where there need to be photos. I also help those interested in contributing their photography to Imprint figure out where they can help. Our hope is to collaborate with all kinds of photographers that wish to contribute and offer a culture of feedback and encouragement to make that happen.

  5. What initially inspired you to join the Imprint team?

    I believe that one of the best apologetics for the existence of God is beauty, that all truth is God’s truth, and that ultimately as we seek God, we find what is most beautiful. Art, I think, from a Christian perspective, comes out of a search for what is true, good, and beautiful. I was inspired to join the Imprint team, because I wanted to add a community to this search of mine. Creating in a community is how we were made to thrive. As we seek truth together, we seek God together.

  6. What’s your favourite piece for the upcoming print issue and why?

    Held Together by Becky Chair stuck out to me because of the example of untangling jewelry. As part of my photography career, I’ve probably photographed hundreds of pieces of jewelry. And I’ve untangled my share fair of dainty necklace chains that have gotten themselves tangled into a mess. I liked the comparison of a tangled knot with how our lives look at times. And my experience has been, with jewelry and with life, that when you try to fix all the knots at once you easily become overwhelmed and frustrated. Once you accept your limitations and focus on one small step at a time, one loop, one section that needs to be set right, that is when you find joy in the path that God has for you.

  7. Tell us something surprising about Imprint behind the scenes!

    It’s a church magazine! I don’t know about you but I think the fact that Imprint is a church magazine is pretty surprising. I really appreciate how Imprint focuses on fostering the creative abilities of the people in our church and community, and sees the value of good design and art. Seeing the church value creativity and art in this type of context can be rare, but it can be a beautiful thing.