A gateway to peace of mind Twenty-twenty will be remembered as a year filled with crises. The Coronavirus pandemic, Black Lives Matter, political stalemate, police brutality and social polarization top the list. And scientists say the coming decade will be the tipping point in climate change. All can be seen as a catalyst, moments when […]
Stepping away from distraction and divided attention The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. — Jesus (Matthew 6:22) To be whole, authentic, we’re advised to be single-minded—present in the light of Now, present in the light of consciousness. I […]
The nature of this aesthetic dimension is expressed as a continuum, determined by the number of visual elements within the frame. A photograph of the moon against a black sky with no stars counts as one element. If the light of an airplane is visible, or if there are stars, each is another element. Changes […]
As an aesthetic tool, “emphasis” shows one element standing out or apart from others. It can differ from them in subject matter, color, size, shape or placement within the frame. Whatever the difference, the exceptional element stands out as the center of interest. It’s the most important element and key to the image’s meaning. The […]
A blog series featuring form, line, color, contrast, texture, gradation… Television tower This posting begins a series that will focus on the aesthetic tools that visual artists and others use, singly and in combination, to create still and moving images that accomplish specific communication objectives. Knowing the purpose of an image before we pick up […]
Having more comes great responsibility In the 2010 movie, “Meek’s Cutoff,” a scout, claiming to know a shortcut through part of the treacherous Oregon Trail, led a wagon train of three families across a desert. Although the film doesn’t answer the burning question: “Did they find water after many days without it?” the artful and […]
Technically speaking, “contrast” in the pictorial realm is the ratio between the darkest dark and the lightest light in an image. “Soft” contrast at one end of the continuum indicates that there’s very little difference between the lights and darks, the extreme being a “muddy” or “flat” image, gray overall—as in the image below. […]
For over a year now I’ve been photographing flowers, plants and weeds in the studio against plain black and white backgrounds. This initiative entitled Reverence For Nature’s Geometry: Flowers, Plants and Weeds In Black and White began with the intention of exhibiting the prints in a gallery setting, allowing me to use my 4×5 […]
A recent study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that “Taking photos enhances the enjoyment of positive experiences across a range of contexts and methodologies.” Among the 2000 individuals studied, those who took photos generally derived more enjoyment from a positive experience—such as a family outing or travel—than those who did […]
I’ve been working on a portfolio web site for quite some time. Now that it’s on-line I am delighted to share it with you. The purpose of the site is primarily to gain more exposure for my work. There are many images, so you might want to bookmark the site and review it a bit at […]
Contemplative Photography 