The difference between mediocrity and excellence In addition to the quiet sensibility that this image evokes in me, it speaks to the human journey, our quest for meaning and purpose, even our individual place and function in the world as we paddle this way and that with attention focused mainly on the surface of things. […]
Chapter 5: Elements of Composition In pictorial art, composition relates to how visual elements are organized within a frame. Through the centuries, both Eastern and Western artists developed guidelines to help them maintain a viewer’s attention. Aspiring artists and many in the public appreciate that the organization of elements within a frame influences the viewer’s […]
From where we are looking, what is our view of the world? Being six-foot-five, I’ve always viewed the world from a slightly higher perspective than most people. For instance, I see the tops of furniture and people’s heads, and I can see farther in a crowd. No big deal. But that each of us […]
The nature and extent of what’s possible Reflecting on this single point of light emerging from the darkness, I think about the Big Bang or Big Breath and connect it to the notion that from nothingness the universe burst forth into “pure potential.” To see what I might have on this subject, I went to […]
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 […]
Nothing is what it appears to be In this image I reflect on the notion of “reality,” that it’s both individual and a construct. There’s the reality that I, as the photographer, experienced—the bright sun and the people on the hill. And part of that reality includes cars in a parking lot and an observation […]
This image resulted from inspiration I received many years ago after seeing the work of Jerry Uelsmann, a master of the multiple printing technique. His work caught my attention because he was a graduate of R.I.T.. Although the word inspiration derives from inspiratio, which is Latin for “divine guidance,” a modern dictionary renders it a […]
They apply to everything, not just families This image conjures for me an imagined family, perhaps two or three generations of farmers. The decaying barn speaks of a generation when the field was plowed with horses that, along with feed, seed, tools and machines required a shelter that didn’t require plumbing or heating. And wood was […]
There are no “accidents” Look closely. Anyone who has engaged in sustained creative activity, irrespective of medium and expression, has encountered a multitude of “happy accidents,” positive outcomes that occur spontaneously, without intention or planning. Here, a dragonfly happened to be in the frame when I was photographing the sun and clouds. Somewhere in my […]
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” […]
Contemplative Photography 