Photo:Engage

  “ 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...

  “ 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...