Photo:Engage

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ There will be times you will be in the field without a camera. And, you will see the most glorious sunset or the most beautiful scene that you have ever witnessed. Don't be bitter because you can't record it. Sit down, drink it in, and enjoy it for what it is! ”  - DeGriff     Season's Greetings! Please enjoy this Christmas post from December 25, 2021...      Many of us are familiar with the story in Matthew 2:11 of the Bible that tells us of the gifts brought to the infant Jesus by the three wise men. But did you know these expensive gifts may have had greater meaning than just adulatory tributes in the life of Christ?      Gold is the most straightforward of presents as the greatest precious metal and truly a gift worthy for a king, as Jesus is the King of all Christians. Frankincense, which comes from Boswellia sacra tree resin, was a wonderfully fr...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ I fell in love with the process of taking pictures, with wandering around finding things. To me, it feels like a kind of performance. The picture is a document of that performance. ”  - Alec Soth     “Some one has justly remarked, that ‘eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.’ Let the sentinels on the watch-tower sleep not, and slumber not.” -  an article in the May 2, 1833 edition of  The Virginia Free Press and Farmers' Repository      We will never forget. ‘Vigilance,’ Fire Control Towers on the beach, sunrise at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware, in black and white. Clicking on the image will open it in full screen

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ I think good dreaming is what leads to good photographs. ”  - Wayne Miller     What makes any particular photograph interesting? That probably depends on who the viewer is but for the most part, it's about subject, composition, and light. Answer these questions: What is the focal point of the image? Is it composed well? And is there good lighting?      It's quite common to see photographs of a pretty scene that lack an obvious subject. Grand vistas often awe us in person but lack pizzazz as a photograph. Why? The image has no subject. The subject is where the viewer can rest their eyes as they look around the image. It's likely the main point of the image. Make sure your images have a subject!     Let's address lighting. This is tricky because it's very subjective. Harsh lighting from a noon summer sun casts vertical shadows and makes an image look flat...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective. ”  - Irving Penn      One of my favorite memories is being on the beach mid-winter with my young children, flying a kite in the brisk sea breeze. Dressed in fleece and hats, we probably steered the boys clear of the cold water but enjoyed the empty space on the sand and the chill of the salt air. My wife snapped a personal photograph of the three of us that always makes me warm inside when I see it. If you ever find a beach in range on a cold day, go see for yourself why many locals think winter is the best time of the year! As I wrote in my post on January 16, 2021...      Locals know what I’m talking about. That time of year when it’s a bit too damp, chilly, gray, and generally overcast to be pleasing to the fa...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ Photography is a love affair with life. ”  - Burk Uzzle      The post-holiday blues are a common enough phenomenon. But some wise people have taken to reflection, finding peace in the "day before the day before" the special day or in the days afterwards. It's important for us to remember the meaning of our holidays. As I wrote in my post on January 2, 2021...      The second day of the new year always feels strange to me, even a little sad. Yesterday was the joyful holiday that celebrated the promise of new things, the potential for the year to come. We enjoyed staying up until midnight as the calendar changed and spending the first day exulting in the possibilities. But the second of January... that usually means the holidays are over, that most people are taking down their decorations and lights and starting to carry on with the business of real life.    ...

Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ Wherever there is light, one can photograph. ”  - Alfred  Stieglitz      It's wonderful to be photographing down at the shore again. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed my recent studies of Raleigh and Cary and the neighboring areas near my North Carolina home. Documenting some of the history of a place, especially ones so vital and dynamic as the state capital and vicinity, is an honor and privilege. I am always grateful for the liberty to go where I wish and photograph what I like. And I'm glad to be able to share my work with you.      The Delaware shore, in my experience, is the equal or better of most any beach area on the planet. At once both commercially developed with many shops and homes and yet still abundantly wild and protected, the state has an extensive seashore in its state park system where developers will never build. The parks maintain not only s...