Individual Freedom

Independence to the exclusion of concern for others feeds  entropy Obviously, guard rails are intended to keep cars from running off the road—and to reduce the severity of an accident when they do. Not so obvious is the observation that their presence indicates a lack of trust. Appropriately so. Bad accidents, even death, may have […]

Gratitude

I grew up in the city. My grandparents lived in the country, about thirty miles from us. We visited them most Sundays, year round, from the time I was born through high school. Although this is not a picture if their farm, it brings back vivid memories it. Topping the list of the downside of […]

XIII. Pattern

Patterns are pervasive. Visually, through repetition, they set up a rhythm that suggests order. We see them in the most fundamental energy fields within the atom, in the immensity of the cosmos, and the way we function, behave and spend our time. Machines, computers, and time itself reveal patterns in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, […]

X. Light

In considering light as an aesthetic tool, there are two common situations in photography: light that reveals subject matter in its natural condition and light that enhances the subject through management. The factors contributing to management relate to the manipulation of the source—the light’s color or “quality,” intensity, direction, and modifiers, how it’s made more […]

Silence

  Precious silence often accompanies a fresh and heavy snowfall. The contrast between it and the sounds we normally tune out, calls our attention to it. We go outside to watch and listen closely. We even seem to breathe easier as the snowflakes make a barely perceptible sound. Before the shovels and snowblowers come out, before […]

Lifecycles

  When I was in high school, the authors of biology and chemistry textbooks considered independent motion as the defining characteristic of life. If it moved on its own accord, it was alive—organic. Viewed under a microscope, cells and bacteria move. Minerals do not. Water moves, but it was not considered to be “alive,” except […]

Silence

  Precious silence often accompanies a fresh and heavy snowfall. The contrast between it and the sounds we normally tune out calls our attention to it. We go outside to watch and we listen closely. We even seem to breathe easier as the snowflakes make a barely perceptible sound. Before the shovels and snowblowers come out, […]

Silence

  Precious silence often accompanies a fresh and heavy snowfall. The contrast between it and the sounds we normally tune out calls our attention to it. We go outside to watch and we listen closely. We even seem to breathe easier as the snowflakes make a barely perceptible sound. Before the shovels and snowblowers come out, […]

Confidence and Trust

  Obviously, guard rails are intended to keep cars from running off the road and to reduce the severity of injuries when they do. Not so obvious is the observation that their presence indicates a lack of trust. Appropriately so. Bad accidents, even death, may have occurred had we trusted—ourselves and “the other guy.” This […]