Photo:Engage

  “ If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you're not out there, you'll only hear about it."   - Jay Maisel      For 123123 Day, I present a coordinated trio of images from my long-anticipated trip to witness sunrise at Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island off the coast of southern Georgia. Happy and Healthy New Year! As I wrote in my posts from July 22, July 31, and August 2, 2023... “Dragon Tree” by Douglas Florian The dragons all heap scorn on me Because I’m born an earthly tree. While dragons roam and dragons race, I’m stuck at home, tied to one place. For though my sap is dragon's blood, My roots are trapped in dirt and mud.  Great claws I grow, But I can't gore. And I don’t know To even roar.  In dragon dreams I scheme to fly And scream in fire across the sky To leave this lowly life terrestrial, And soar, what’s more, in skies celestial.      I had the most marvelous morning sitting amongst the trees and photogr...

  “ Without vision, the photographer perishes. ”  - David duChemin     How do you see the world? You probably think you see the world objectively, as basically the way it actually is. And in some ways, you might. But in other ways, the way you see things is determined by your paradigm at the moment.      For instance, imagine you're on a busy train headed home from work after a long day and, with several more stops to go, a father and two young kids board the train. You watch the father slump in his seat but the children are restless and begin to bother the other passengers by yelling back and forth, and even running up and down the aisle a little, bumping into people. It's hard to imagine how this father can just let his kids run wild this way! You can see the other riders are growing irritated with the kid's behavior and eventually, and with great restraint you might add, you finally get the father's attention and ask him if he might not be able to c...

  “ A photograph can be an instant of life captured for eternity that will never cease looking back at you. ”  - Brigitte Bardot     We can try to outrun them. Or pretend they don't exist. Or that they don't apply to our current circumstances. But no matter what we do, universal principles will be there to correct our actions. We can't get away from the consequences of our choices because bedrock principles will always be the standard against we are judged, if only by our own uncompromising conscience.      Drifting away from our principles for a short time is perfectly normal but it's important to periodically take stock, accept responsibility for our mistakes, and realign ourselves with what we value most. We must never allow ourselves the hubris that comes with thinking we can outmaneuver that which never changes. We will only find ourselves dashed upon the rocks, the unyielding true principles of life.      Consider the classic naval...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ Taking a picture is like giving a piece of your soul away. You allow other people to see the world through your eyes. ”  - Katja Michael     A temporary cessation of activity is how the dictionary defines the word quiescence , and I think that's an apt description of the lower Delaware town of Dewey Beach in mid-winter. Frenetic with youthful energy in the summer with packed hotel rooms, entertainment for every taste, and an endless array of water sports on the bayside and sandy fun on the ocean, Dewey Beach transform into a very quiet, tranquil version of itself in winter. No less beautiful, but far more peaceful...      I was reminded that these empty piers "will start filling up soon" as springtime ushers in the promise of warmer weather. So I say we should enjoy the break while we can. The throngs of happy tourists and endless brake lights on Coastal Highway will...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ Photography is a language more universal than words. ”  - Minor White      February is the month, too many years ago now, that my father passed away. And in March only a few years later, my mom suddenly left us. The sense of loss and agony of missing them is overwhelming sometimes but thankfully, those feelings are much rarer than they used to be. Still, even now I often find myself with a question about our family or an old recipe where my first instinct is to call my parents... it's hard, as anyone who has lost a close family member or friend knows all too well.      Many of us hope those gone before are in a better place and perhaps more at peace than they were while here, especially if the end of their lives involved failing health and pain. I hope everyone's final moments between here and there are peaceful and filled with embracing warmth and comfort. As I wrot...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ In photography, there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality. ”  - Alfred Stieglitz      It's too easy to assume that we can do tomorrow what should be done today. Stephen Covey argued that we too often use our time on the urgent instead of the important, assuming we'll be able to deal with the important things later. A stoic would say to remember that we are going to die, or memento mori. Marcus Aurelius, in his Meditations, wrote, "You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think."      Let us realize how precious our lives and relationships are and try to treat them with the respect they deserve on a daily basis, remembering we may not be able to make amends tomorrow for hurt and pain dispensed today. None of this is depressing if we remember the point: our time is a gift and we shouldn't waste it trivially. My...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself,  for what we see is what we are. ”  - Ernst Haas      Who doesn't enjoy watching and listening to the waves crash against the jetty? Even a gentle surf becomes something special and powerful when it has something immovable to break against. The amazing colors in the predawn sky make a spectacular backdrop for the blues and white highlights in the wave curls and jetty spray. Although it requires an early morning wakeup, a fair amount of preparation, and a wee bit of luck to capture an image like this, I find the experience gratifying even I never get to release the shutter. As I wrote on December 19, 2020...      It’s mornings like this one that make my efforts as a photographer so filled with joy. The clouds at the horizon helped pump a lot of creamy color in the sunrise sky w...

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...