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...

“ A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know. ”  - Diane Arbus     I didn't see it when I composed and captured this image that beautiful morning on the sands of Rehoboth Beach. And I wasn't certain I would process it in monochrome, although I had a suspicion it would work well that way, what with all the contrast.     But what I didn't see was how the pylons of the jetty would glisten in the rising sunlight revealing several little beings robotically clapping in unison at the coming of the light. I saw it clear as day, although not a single other person seemed to. I'm not sure the witticism in my title for the photograph helped either. Either way, I suppose it is now a private joke, one I'm sharing with you.     As for the quote from my old Roman favorite, it's of a different though related note. Even if something gathers no acclaim, it doesn't lessen its intrinsic value. It is beautiful all the same. Re...

  “ 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, ...

  “ To consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk. ”  - Edward Weston      This image is the last of three making up my first triptych. In case you're still wondering what a triptych is, allow me to explain. Historically, it is a type of art composed of three related pieces, usually panel paintings, which were hinged together such that they could fold or be allowed to stand upright on their own, often for use at the altars of churches in the Middle Ages. The middle panel was generally the largest, although today that's not necessarily the case.      A modern triptych can mean anything composed of three parts, but in my case, it's three photographs that are related to each other and that together tell a story. The first part of this triptych is an image I called   Vertigo . The second is called Residuum . Here, then is photograph number three of my first t...

  “ The two most engaging powers of a photograph are to make new things familiar and familiar things new. ”  - William Thackeray      This image is part of a triptych. In case you're still wondering what a triptych is, allow me to explain. Historically, it is a type of art composed of three related pieces, traditionally panel paintings, which were hinged together such that they could fold or be allowed to stand upright on their own, often for use at the altars of churches in the Middle Ages. The middle panel was usually the largest, although today that's not necessarily the case.      A modern triptych can mean anything composed of three parts, but in my case, it's three photographs that are related to each other and that together tell a story. The first part of this triptych is an image I called Vertigo . Here, then is photograph number two of my first triptych, as I shared in my post from January 22, 2022...      Many of us dream ...

  “ The camera is much more than a recording apparatus; it is a medium via which messages reach us from another world. ”  - Orson Welles     This image is part of a triptych. It's my first one. What's a triptych, you may ask? Well, historically, it denoted a type of art composed of three related pieces, usually wood panel paintings which were hinged together such that they could fold or be allowed to stand upright on their own. The middle panel was usually the largest, although today that's not necessarily the case. Nowadays, a triptych can mean anything composed of three parts, but in my case, it's three images that are related to each other and that together tell an interesting story. Here, then is image number one of my first triptych, as I shared in my post from January 15, 2022...      Have you ever felt like you were emotionally falling? That everything happening in your life was just too much? More often than we might admit, many of us have that...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ The camera makes you forget you're there. It's not like you are hiding but you forget, you are looking so much. ”  - Annie Leibovitz      In a world seemingly custom designed to sink us into despair, we must remember the great good around us: the many people we know who do good things for their community. The helpers, as Fred (Mr.) Rogers' mom used to tell him. Look for the helpers when things are bad. You'll see the good overcoming the evil. We need inspiration like this, even when it's nature that provides it. As I wrote in my post on September 18, 2021...      We become quiet from anticipation as the darkness peaks just before the dawn. The show’s about to begin! Let the curtains open on this morning’s bright star. Let the sun’s glorious light wash over us from ‘Center Stage.’ Let the opportunities of a new day release what’s been holding us back. Let us realize wh...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera. ”  - Dorothea Lange     I get so discouraged sometimes from the pervasive divisiveness in our society. People so often seem to look at other people as obstacles...      Other cars going too slowly, too many others on the sidewalk or in the stores, wearing masks to slow the spread of the pandemic virus (the virus is real) or not wearing masks because of personal freedom (it's a conspiracy), vaccinations or no vaccinations, too much traffic, not enough workers, impatience at the restaurant or in line at the gas station or when waiting for a government service. Not to mention how everything is political nowadays. The list of ways other people bother us is seemingly endless. And yet, as I wrote in my post on July 24, 2021...      Other people aren’t problems; they’re fellow people with their own t...

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 “ Quit trying to find beautiful objects to photograph. Find the ordinary objects so you can transform it by photographing it. ”  - Morley Baer     Clues. I'm always looking for clues, the little details that reveal the bigger picture. What can I find that shows me that something happened where I'm standing? Animal tracks, wind-bent tree trunks, matted grasses, and repeated patterns in the sand are all different clues to what an area is all about, what lives there, and what might happen next. I love this type of exploration and how it makes my photography such a personal, memorable experience. As I wrote in my post on May 8, 2021...           As our beautiful rotating Earth travels along it elliptical orbit, the sun and the moon exert their varying gravity on our planet. This celestial ballet raises and lowers the water level of our seas and oceans. In tur...

  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...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ Only photograph what you love. ”  - Tim Walker      For whatever reason, this was my worst performing social media post so far. Perhaps the image was weak. Although I love this view of wild beach grasses glowing with golden hour sunlight, maybe it just didn't resonate with my audience. Personally, I am tired of seeing the same basic photograph of the beach at sunrise or sunset. They're beautiful, of course, and some photographers capture them better than others, but the look is repeated ad nauseum. I am trying to move my audience to something fresher... something unexpected. And perhaps by doing so, I am falling prey to my own pride.     Because maybe my images just aren't what my audience wants to see, good intentions and good writing be damned. Or maybe the photography I'm currently producing isn't that good, no matter what I think. The new editor of Sidetracked ma...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ Photography is not about cameras, gadgets, and gizmos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn't make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel. ”  - Peter Adams     The world watched in amazement this past week as global shipping was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The ongoing challenge at the Pacific Ocean docks of the United States continues with more than twenty-five cargo ships remaining backed up waiting for a berth to unload their goods, the result of the COVID-caused labor shortage and a surge in orders from American companies anticipating a big increase in consumer spending as the pandemic presumably winds down.      Far more interesting to the casual observer, though, was the drama in the Suez Canal. The cargo ship Ever Given of the Evergreen Line ended up stuck with its bow jammed into the sand on a particularly n...

  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...

  Photo:Engage     a photography blog you  want  to follow “ A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective. ”  - Irving Penn      One of my favorite memories is being on the beach mid-winter with my young children, flying a kite in the brisk sea breeze. Dressed in fleece and hats, we probably steered the boys clear of the cold water but enjoyed the empty space on the sand and the chill of the salt air. My wife snapped a personal photograph of the three of us that always makes me warm inside when I see it. If you ever find a beach in range on a cold day, go see for yourself why many locals think winter is the best time of the year! As I wrote in my post on January 16, 2021...      Locals know what I’m talking about. That time of year when it’s a bit too damp, chilly, gray, and generally overcast to be pleasing to the fa...

  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...