Life’s determination to expand from a center or core Layering is how many things grow organically—from the inside out. Metaphorically, when we want to understand an object, system or process we “peel away” the layers so we can see what’s inside or what’s happening. It’s the basis for analysis, taking things apart to look “under […]
In the eyes of animals In this image I see perfection, a creature perfectly adapted to and living in harmony with its environment. Full disclosure, I tend to view all animals that way. By that I mean they are fully what and who they are, true to their nature with no desire to be other […]
Seeing the sacred and profane in the same object One of my long-standing pet peeves has been littering. I even won a speech contest by ranting and raving about it in my high school years. Linda and I were running errands recently and we saw several places strewn with litter. Two years ago when I […]
Form changes while substance stays the same For me, every element of this image provides opportunity to reflect. The color alone evokes the sensibility of winter, the time of year when, for many of us, the often overcast sky tends to dampen the desire for activity. The lines where snow meets ice and water recalls […]
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 […]
Wisdom teachers are putting the abuses of freedom in check. The iris symbolizes hope, wisdom, faith, trust, and bravery. The biosphere has hit a limit, delivering a constant stream of evidence in the form of more frequent and increasingly destructive fires, flooding, droughts, tornadoes and earthquakes. At the same time, and probably related at some […]
It’s not nothing; nowhere is it empty Photographing on the American Great Plains was heavenly—not only for what was on the ground but especially for what was overhead. In 2012 I ambled the backroads of South Dakota and Nebraska for ten days, intent on capturing space, in addition to landscapes. My interest in “space” […]
There is no chance and anarchy in the universe. All is system and gradation. Every god is there sitting in his sphere. Ralph Waldo Emerson From atoms to galaxies the sphere is a prominent form because it requires the least amount of energy to form and has the least possible area for the […]
What is it? Where is it? The image of this nest evokes the notion of home. At a family gathering where Jennifer, my daughter, referred to her “home” at the dinner table, I questioned whether she meant her home with us, her parents, or her home nearly two hours away with her husband and son. […]
All flags wave in the winds of nature Aside from the symbolism represented by the stars and stripes, the American flag standing against the sky speaks to me of the contrast between nations and nature, and how the former are dependent upon the latter. The flag, most flags, symbolize a people, a group characterized by […]
Contemplative Photography 