Photo:Engage

  “ Visual ideas combined with technology combined with personal interpretation equals photography. Each must hold its own; if it doesn't, the thing collapses."   - Arnold Newman     If you find life and its many challenges difficult to keep organized and some things are out of whack, you're not alone. Staying focused with minimal distraction is a key life goal for many of us. How can we stay balanced, and not in danger of falling like the proverbial fiddler on the roof?      Some would suggest that we prioritize our activities, putting our first things first as author Stephen Covey taught. We should integrate all aspects of our life, meaning to rid ourselves of that which is incongruent with our principles and goals. We should set goals for ourselves, so we have the beneficial stress of something to work for, and a reason to celebrate when we succeed. We should ensure we practice self care, for a faulty body has a hard time having a sound mi...

  “ We rely, I think, on landscape photography to make intelligible to us what we already know. ”  - Robert Adams     Not every visit to a special place will have great photographic conditions, but the subject deserves an image, does it not? Here I spent a few hours walking in the amazing forest and swamp on the raised wooden boardwalk through the epic Congaree National Park, enjoying every minute in the subdued light. As I wrote in my post on February 25, 2023...      The largest intact copse of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the southeastern United States, Congaree National Park lets you walk into the past, to a time before the mass deforestation of most of our country’s native forests. This we can do largely through the efforts of one dedicated man, journalist Harry Hampton, who lobbied relentlessly to save this 11,000 acre forest from the lumber companies.  'Congaree Bald Cypress'      Congaree National Park is named f...

  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 “ To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. ”  - Elliott Erwitt      Written shortly before the new year began, the day after Christmas in fact, I tried to describe how the years pass connected to each other but also commemorated by themselves for their significant events. 2020 doesn't stand out as a particularly good year considering the pandemic, the continuing racial strife, the uneven policing, and the polarized political environment. I was hoping to see better things in 2021, but perhaps I was too naïve. The more things change, the more they stayed the same. One can only hope that we see things get better especially with the COVID vaccination program ramping up. As I wrote on December 26, 2021...    ...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ Photography is a love affair with life. ”  - Burk Uzzle      The post-holiday blues are a common enough phenomenon. But some wise people have taken to reflection, finding peace in the "day before the day before" the special day or in the days afterwards. It's important for us to remember the meaning of our holidays. As I wrote in my post on January 2, 2021...      The second day of the new year always feels strange to me, even a little sad. Yesterday was the joyful holiday that celebrated the promise of new things, the potential for the year to come. We enjoyed staying up until midnight as the calendar changed and spending the first day exulting in the possibilities. But the second of January... that usually means the holidays are over, that most people are taking down their decorations and lights and starting to carry on with the business of real life.    ...