Can they provide a model and direction for human evolution? Color texture and geometry combine here to elicit an immediate visceral response—a Wow!— whether from a potential pollinator or a human observer. It’s the energy of attraction. But from where does it originate? From the flower itself? From the image of the flower? From the […]
Introduction This begins a series of posts on the subject of whole systems thinking. After the topic is introduced, I’ll offer a contemplation that relates to the headline photograph and text. Historically, patterns observed in nature were discussed and documented in China five thousand years ago, before they were articulated by Lao Tzu (Gia-fu Feng, […]
Approaching the perennial questions A mind game that has enhanced my appreciation of the scope of the universe began when, on a clear day somewhere in the 60s, I sat on a park bench overlooking the Ohio river. Having recently read about laser technology, I pointed an imaginary laser into the sky and wondered how […]
By our works we are known Blunt, South Dakota When I photographed these orderly rows of young corn extending to the horizon, I was thinking about the farmer and his work, evidenced by the tractor tracks and the amount of time, money and energy it took to plant this enormous field. Reflecting on the image […]
Drop a pebble in a pool of water and waves ripple out. Drop a word or and idea and these ripple out as well. So also emotions, behaviors and the products of creativity. At some level, given enough time, everything affects everything. And everyone else. This is the entire image that I use for my […]
I recently encountered a metaphor relating to reality. I passed over it quickly so I’m not able to reference the source, but the image stuck with me—perhaps because it aligned with Plato’s notion that the reality we experience is akin to shadows projected onto the wall of a cave. In my reading, the author […]
From darkness we advance toward the light The metal stairway in this image evokes in me considerations of the evolutionary spiral, the universe’s operating system, which we know to “favor” increased novelty, diversity, adaptation, complexity and order. Along the bottom steps of the oil tank, I see the significant ordering that has already occurred. In […]
Making the slightest contact, separate masses tend to “pull” to one another Reflecting upon these raindrops, I’m drawn more to their journey than to my usual inclination to trace subject matter back to its origins—perhaps because the first appearance of water on Earth has not yet been ascertained. Water known however, that gravity keeps it […]
“Exquisite” happens when parts unite to form a greater whole Aside from the beauty of the reflections, the image of this motorcycle encourages several lines of contemplation. The first is a deep appreciation for the human capacity to extract elements from the earth and shape them into virtually unlimited forms. Size, shape and surface, even […]
High in the field of frigid darkness The place where potentials reside, Atoms rise, congregate and coalesce. I am born, a vaporous singularity. Wandering there, I reach out to the closest being A speck of dust carried in an atmospheric wave, Clinging, descending. The order within expresses symmetry, six arms. Growing, gaining […]
Contemplative Photography 