Advice on advice

If you came to this post by following one of the links under “composition,” I’m going to apologize up front, because this isn’t exactly about how to compose photos. Yet, it does have some relation, so stick with me for a second as I explain.

Last week was a busier one for me due to photography students (which is just fine,) but it repeatedly raised something I’ve noticed read more

Just because, part 10

Arrived early to meet with a student, spent some time investigating what the park had to offer. I just happened to like this one, largely because of the focal plane capturing two separate subjects so well. And there’s something about the marvelous shape of the buds.

If someone’s not familiar with any of the species herein, they could be drastically mistaken about the scale – everything read more

Frustrations, part 11


The dog fennel plants that provided so many photo subjects last year, visible in the wide image for my last ‘Frustrations’ post, are now taller than I am, and routinely examined for interesting subjects. This evening I noticed some suspicious dewdrops, suspicious because they were read more

Nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure

Despite the fact that, just this past weekend (as I type the first draft anyway,) friends of mine have made disparaging comments about debates that take place on the Intersnarl, I return once again to the fabled Fountain of Free Will, a topic sure never to die because philosophy has taught us nothing if not how to continually fail to “get it.”

This time around it’s a post on Why read more

Lost in your eyes


On Saturday, I was chasing bug pics when I got an expected call to meet with friends, and snagged one frame of some amorous flies on the parsley flowers before I had to put down the camera (sacrilege I know) and head off. I couldn’t see these eyes in the viewfinder (for the reason illustrated at right,) so the surprise came much later when I unloaded the memory card.

Now, the big question: read more

Odd memories, part 10: Shattered childhood

The year is 1970, or maybe ’71. I am in kindergarten, embarking on a field trip in New Jersey to one of the many Revolutionary War sites in the area. Like all other boys in class, I have my colonial tricorn hat made of three pieces of blue construction paper stapled together. The bus ride isn’t long, and I remember turning off at the hospital (where I had not long before had my head read more

But what if it is broke?

I’m very fond of pushing different perspectives, because I believe it helps us to understand many things better, and changes our predefined views of our world. Some perspectives, however, are heavily ingrained, and perhaps even self-perpetuating, so introducing something ‘new’ is complicated.

With the lead-in out of the way, let’s take consciousness, and to do so, read more

Moon of steel


Yeah, it was a non-event, even in areas that had good visibility – mass media really can’t handle astronomical events very well, but much worse is the social-media-fueled rumor mill. “Mars will be so close it will appear to be the size of Jupiter in the sky!” yeah, yeah…

Now, a curiosity. The haze is from the moon shining through scattered thin clouds, but the stepped read more

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