Photo:Engage

  “ The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but having new eyes. ”  - Marcel Proust     I must admit I didn't realize how important the creation of watering locations by people was to the sustaining power of the refuge system. Like many, I simply assumed that they had always been there, that they were natural features. Without the water, the many avian, aquatic, and terrestrial species that depend on the refuges would have little choice but to compete with people and lose. People built and maintain many of the ponds, lakes, tributaries, and watering holes in the refuge system and it's to them and their hard work that I salute. As I wrote in my post on May 6, 2023...      Let’s take one last look for now at one of the many manmade water sources in Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge. This section of the Oxpen Branch, a small tributary system between the Refuge’s various ponds and lakes, is near the curiously ramped v...

  “ Everywhere is something which could be beautiful. You must only be able to see and to know what and how to take off, to crop from the infinity. ”  - Florin Constantinescu      This day demanded the polarizing filter to clear up the glare from the sun's light reflecting from the water. And how the blues and greens did pop! As I wrote in my post from April 1, 2023...      Driving along toward home in north central South Carolina, I began to get hungry for lunch. I had some homemade pulled pork nice and warm in my Hot Logic mini portable oven and a couple rolls and some mayo were ready. But where to stop? Quite out of nowhere, on my left suddenly was a sign for the Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge. A quick signal and brake and I was easily in the nice quiet parking lot. In fact, I was the only one there. Although the visitor center should have been open, the staff must have been elsewhere because I saw nobody else during my visit....

  “ You just have to live and life will give you pictures. ”  - Henri Cartier-Bresson      From native American fishing grounds to colonial homestead to plantation worked by slaves to hunting retreat to wildlife refuge, Pinckney Island in lowcountry South Carolina has witnessed much in its recorded history. I shared some details in my post from January 14, 2023...      I’ve referred in my recent birding posts to the beauty of Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge. In this one, I thought I’d show you a view of the refuge itself. As you walk north along the main trail, off to your left past the marsh you will see Mackay Creek, a lovely blue sliver of water that also separates the South Carolina mainland from the island of Hilton Head. The creek is named for Alexander Mackay, the first European to call Pinckney Island his home. The island was later sold to the famed Pinckney family, one of whom was a signer of the Constitution. After the Civil War...

  “ 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 ...

  “ No, you don't shoot things. You capture them. Photography means painting with light. And that's what you do. You paint a picture only by adding light to the things you see. ”  - Katja Michael     It's astonishing the number of massacres using firearms there have been since the despicable racist attack at a grocery store in my hometown of Buffalo. I can't include them all here since there's too many.      Everyone is aware and sickened by the attack at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, but there were also people shot in Philadelphia by a man on a mountain bike, six shot in Alabama at a graduation party, a mother and her three young children were shot and killed by the mother's step-father in Michigan, six people were shot near the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, four people were shot in Colorado Springs, Colorado, four people were shot and one of them killed in a shooting in Fresno, California, four people were shot at a house party in Mala...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ Seeing is not enough; you have to feel what you photograph. ”  - Andre Kertesz      Few man-made structures stand the test of time in both beauty and function. It's r are when design and engineering unite in perfect synergy. When I think of beautiful architecture, places like the Taj Mahal, the Chrysler Building, the Sydney Opera House, and the Golden Gate Bridge come to mind. Locations like these have not only enduring beauty but also perfect function.     The Taj Mahal was built as a glorious tomb for the wife of a heartbroken Indian emperor. It is resplendent like no other. For admirers of Art Deco, the Chrysler Building in east-central Manhattan is unequaled in elegance. Sydney's Opera House, with its famous silhouette of soaring "shells," is an archetype of modern expressionistic design and a symbol for Australia's most populous city.      And the ...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ The camera has always been a guide, and it's allowed me to see things and focus on things that maybe an average person wouldn't even notice. ”  - Don Chadwick      What peculiar names we give to places! Who could imagine a head or a gut being terms for an area of water? How can so many rivers and creeks in the Northeast end with the malevolent sounding kill ? (Hint: There's nothing violent to worry about; it's from the Dutch colonists who originally explored there.) Did you know an inlet is also known as an arm of the sea ? Some of these terms are for similar types of water features but depend upon their size... for instance, “you can step over a brook , jump over a creek , wade across a stream and swim across a river " as an old saying goes.      Where I grew up, a creek was actually called a crick , at least by my mom. In Scotland, a large stream is a burn , thu...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still. ”  - Dorothea Lange      Another one of my pleading missives about the dunes: please stay off them while enjoying the beach. The fences and warning signs are there to protect the delicate sea grasses which keep the dunes intact despite the steady ocean breeze and powerful waves. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people of all ages ignoring the signs, breaching the fence, and traipsing all over or lounging on the dunes, often for a group snapshot or selfie. Unleashed dogs are frequently the culprits of grass damage because their owners won't follow the law.      We must protect our beaches and natural resources. Everyone of us needs to be a steward of the environment so we and our posterity can continue to enjoy its many blessings. Working together is the only way forward. While it us...