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...

  “ With photography, a new language has been created. Now for the first time, it is possible to express reality by reality. We can look at an impression as long as we wish, we can delve into it and, so to speak, renew past experiences at will. ”  - Ernst Haas     This was a wonderful time, nestled into a nook in the sand far back from the gentle surf, watching the light of the setting sun play on the sky over a beautiful corner of Hilton Head Island. It was unusually warm for the time of year, and I was dressed in sandals and shorts as I waited for the color to peak. As I passed the time on a Facetime call with my wife, three older ladies strolled up the beach towards me.      They seemed in a happy mood so I said hello and asked if they were locals. It turns out they were actually on vacation and were enjoying the warm evening with a walk in the sand. I offered to take their picture and one of them passed me their phone. Afterwards, they asked a...

  “ Fear is a thing that prohibits a lot of photographers from reaching their full potential. ”  - Collin Pierson     If you've made it this far, how many scary things along the way did you fear that when they arrived, if they ever did, overcame you, bested you, defeated you? None, because you are here now. And even if they did do so, and your feared thing did beat you, how did fear help you other than to warn you to be cautious and prepared? Fear paralyzes, caution actively prepares. And even the cautious can lose, because events are outside our control, but still I ask: how does fear help? It doesn't, but it does rob you of joy and calm at the moment of your greatest test. So put fear aside, for it is useless to you. Because you are here and you feared many things before, most of which never came but were only imagined, and whatever did come, you figured out and were brave. I know this because here you are still are. As I wrote in my post on February 19, ...

Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us. ”  - Ralph Hattersley     I felt inspired to write a poem extolling the faithful service rendered by the easily unnoticed jetties that protect our beaches. As I wrote in my post on July 17, 2021... Depth Charge Such eagerness released by the invisible gusty force, the sea builds with the breeze an expectant hope. Whose power climbs as the ocean follows its course, ‘Til its water begets foamy waves up the shoreline’s fine slope. Tumult and tossed, the surf does froth and boil, And would rise up and carry away the coast’s sandy glitter. But for the old barrier, wood and joining steel to spoil, that counters the mighty curl of the seaside heavy hitter. Apricot waves and lathered salty spray deflected, our faithful breakwater’s purpose writ large. The early morning surf diverted, the beachfront protected, a fan of sunrise mist...

  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 “ Photography can light up darkness and expose ignorance. ”  - Lewis Hine     Happy Birthday, America! Even if the actual date is debatable. From my post on July 3, 2021... So What Happened on July 3, 1776?      John Adams, the future second President, was serving as a member of the Massachusetts delegation to the Second Continental Congress. Meeting for over a year in the Pennsylvania State House, the delegates from the thirteen colonies had been working on reconciliation with the British crown. King George III ignored the petition and declared the colonies to be in revolt. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia offered a resolution for independence from England, asserting, "that these colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states..." It was at this point a committee of five members, including John Adams, was assigned to draft a formal doc...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ 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     I have found throughout my life that the excited anticipation of some future event is often as pleasurable as the event itself. Knowing about a planned trip to Disney World, for example, is just as joyful as being there. Years ago, when I still enjoyed professional American football, the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl with the constant television hype, analysis, and player interviews were often more fun than the game itself which was usually a blowout. As I've grown older, I've found myself much more in tune with the changes that happen with the passing of the seasons. I especially love Spring with its inherent sense of rebirth, especially at the ocean shore. As I wrote in my post on May 1, 2021...      If you’re lik...