Open minds and unconditional love My posted contemplations are primarily about appreciation, gratitude and perception. While fear is generally an undesirable sensation, I appreciate it as one of the primary forces that affects human behavior universally. Fear has survival value for individuals, and socially it’s an evolutionary driver. I also appreciate it’s significance as one […]
Getting on board the thoughts of others The image of these tractor tires calls to mind the word “entrainment” because they are essential components of vehicles designed to pull and plow. According to several dictionaries, to “entrain” is to pull, drag or draw along. Because the word describes a process, social scientists apply the word “entrainment” […]
Pay attention to the ordinary Whenever I bring up this image it reminds me to pay attention to the commonplace items and situations that tend not to be seen or are easily passed over. It may be the act of seeing beyond looking, more than anything else, that enriches the present moment. Brief acts of […]
In imagery and in life My dad, a toolmaker for Ford Motor Company, used to say he could make anything out of metal. He also said, “The difficult I can do tomorrow; the simple takes a little longer.” It’s the same with photography—or any kind of art or design endeavor. Although there is an underlying […]
The value, precautions and prospects of machine-made images Inspired by Jerry Uelsmann‘s photomontages in 1975, I spent the better part of a day searching through my proofs to find images that might work together to make an intriguing composite. On another day, I did the actual printing in the darkroom with a variety of masks, […]
How and what we see are interpretations In part, our uniqueness as individuals traces to our capacity to perceive, beyond merely looking. Aldous Huxley famously observed that “The eyes and the nervous system do the sensing, the mind does the perceiving.” The eyes gather information and the nervous system delivers it to the brain […]
Our reality is shaped by how we spend it Fundamentally, the job of the film and television director is “attention management,” capturing and holding the viewer’s attention and moving it from place to place within and between scenes. In ancient cultures, chiefs, rulers and landlords played that role, sending out “criers” who went around shouting […]
Contemplative Photography 