Photo:Engage

  “ If you are truly successful at capturing the pulse of life, then you can speak of a good photograph. ”  - René Burri     If you've never attended a military funeral before, or perhaps have only seen it acted in a movie, then you may find my description below interesting. But it's about much more than the ceremony, important as that is. What is paramount is the life and memory of the veteran being honored and celebrated, and the respect and gratitude directed towards their family by those attending. I'm grateful to have served with such brothers and sisters. As I wrote in my post on November 12, 2022...      When you arrive, you realize more people came to pay respects than you thought would be able to on a Wednesday afternoon, but then you remembered the incredibly gracious way the man you’ve come to remember and celebrate treated everyone he met, so of course a large group would attend his funeral. After waiting for the veterans cemetery to g...

  “ Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better. ”  - Albert Einstein     Sometimes, I think my more specific posts extolling the beauty and history of a certain location turns off part of my audience because perhaps they think they cannot relate to a place they don't personally know. But my sincere hope is that my words and images inspires you to visit the wild places close to your home and to cherish them such that you'll make choices that protect them. Love the outdoors near you! As I wrote in my post on November 5, 2022...      Gordons Pond wasn’t always just the amazing and beautiful mix of water and trees, grass and birds that we get to enjoy nowadays. In days long gone by, when European settlers first were looking around and wondering how to keep their food preserved, areas close to the sea were choice locations for getting their all important salt.       What is now Gordons Pond began as a manma...

  “ I think of photography like therapy. ”  - Harry Gruyaert      Hello everyone. My friend Bob, who I wrote about in my last post, died peacefully on October 14, 2022 after fighting brain cancer for over two years. When I wrote about my not knowing how much more time he had here, Bob had already passed away. The world was much better with him in it. I will really miss my friend. Bob is survived by his loving wife and his three children.      All profits from any sales on my website Marketplace from now until January 15, 2023 will be donated to the Glioblastoma Foundation, in remembrance of Bob. It’s a nice way to add some art to your life and contribute to an excellent charity. Peace be with all of you.     So what does the Glioblastoma Foundation do? From their own website: The Glioblastoma Foundation was created to galvanize glioblastoma drug development . Glioblastoma is the most aggressive type of tumor that arises in the brain. It ...

  “ A great photograph is a full expression about what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is thereby a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety. ”  - Ansel Adams     How strange to sense the presence of love while simply observing two trees on a hillside. But then, the forest, the mountains, and the mist can fill you with a sense of wonderment you might dismiss as folly were it not for the obvious intimacy and constancy those two trees share. And what marvelous lessons we might take with us from watching them resist the wind, one tree mostly full with branches and the other less so but still hanging on, still fully engaged. We could learn much about loyalty from such trees as these. As I wrote in my post on December 18, 2021...      Out by the edge of the forest on the hill, sits a tree that radiates pure magical energy. It’s a wizened old tree, bent but never broken by the wind, backed by the clouds...

  “ The world moves fast, changing everything around us with each new day. Photography is a gift that can keep us in a moment forever, blissfully eternal. ”  - Ali Novak     I used to frequently approach life like a series of missions, tasks to complete and lists to check off as I maximized my efficiency, making the best time possible. The destination was of most importance, not the journey itself. I'm sure I picked up some of this life scripting from my father and probably learned the rest from my time in the Navy. Mission accomplishment was a Chief's job, plain and simple. But to go through life with this mindset certainly made me miss some happy moments along the way. It wasn't possible to savor the wonder of creation when I spent the journey, the real meat of the meal of life, chewing and swallowing as fast as I could so I could get to dessert, the destination.     That's not to say that I was always like this, but I did find myself in this mindset more...

  “ For me, the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity. ”  - Henri Cartier-Bresson     Sure hope the new year is starting out well for you! I thought I'd offer you a hope I have for you and a small bit of wisdom for the ages in this first post of 2022.     I want you to be happy. More specifically, I want you to choose to be happy, regardless of your circumstances.     That's a daring thing to hope for in the modern age, what with everyone's feelings controlling so much of what they are. But your feelings, if not managed properly, can really keep you from being happy.     Let me tell you a quick story... When the town I live in didn't pickup the leaves from the curb in our neighborhood like they announced they would, I was concerned about the possibility of leaves clogging our storm drains and about how the leaves were simply blowing back into our yards after many of us had spent much energy and mon...