Michael Harris Photography

I was excited all day as the rain came down, knowing eventually it would clear. Me

If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. Carl Sagan

'UFO's' attitude toward the subject is very similar to mine.  It's not an advocacy; its philosophy is more 'I want to believe this, but I want it proved.' Dwight Schultz

Children wish fathers looked but with their eyes;  fathers that children with their judgment looked; and either may be wrong. William Shakespeare

Happy holidays from an island, its warm, sunny, the air clean and the food is great. Best wishes to family, friends and everyone who lives on this island and all the other islands in the universe.

You can observe a lot by just watching. Yogi Berra

Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape. William S. Burroughs Over 100 Haitians used this 40 foot sailboat to escape Haiti. They were intercepted off Harbour Island, North Eleuthera, Bahamas. You can read the Eleuthera News article HERE. The boat left to its own has run aground and sank in Bottom Harbour.

Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts. Soren Kierkegaard

The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next. Mignon McLaughlin

A trip across America the sometimes beautiful. Do we really need all those signs?

A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts. Joshua Reynolds

A work of art is a world in itself reflecting senses and emotions of the artist's world. Hans Hofmann    

There is a muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind. Annie Dillard

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. Hans Hofmann Doing my best to simplify my images as well as my life. This was shot with a 200mm at f3.5 to blur the background then a 2 color gradient to simplify the color.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. Dalai Lama

One of many starts at the 2011 Rolex Cup on Biscayne Bay, South Florida. The 2012 Rolex Cup is coming up January 22nd through 28th. A week of exceptional sailboat racing. This image was taken from a small boat near the start line with a 70-200mm zoom. I tell people this image took 3 years to make, as this was the 3rd year I attempted to make a unique decent image of this event.  This was the year though, I was in the wrong place as the gun went off for this last start. Fortunately there were several boats over early and they had to restart, that gave me time to get in the right place. This image was selected as photo of the week on The Mindful Eye site and a fabulous critique was done on it by Craig Tanner, you can see it here; The Start

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy.  Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. Dalai Lama

What time is it? What is time? Now that is a much harder question. I just listened to some very smart physicists say that given the right speed and direction we could see our past and changing the direction the future. Don't think I'm ready for that...

It is better to have your head in the clouds, and know where you are...  than to breathe the clearer atmosphere below them, and think that you are in paradise. Henry David Thoreau

If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.  Mitsugi Saotome  Taken with the camera held stationary on the deck of an anchored sailboat, while gentle waves and soft breezes rocked and swayed the boat.

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. - Anais Nin

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water. W. H. Auden

Photgraphed the above lionfish while snorkeling in Bottom Harbour, N Eleuthera. There are several small patch reefs between Bottom Harbour Club and Cistern Cay a few hundred feet from shore. Everyone, no matter how small had at least 1 lionfish and several single rock reefs had 3 of them. We saw in total 12 to 15 size varied from very small 3inch to about 8 inch. What's The Problem? (copied from the Reef website ) For a quick one-page fact sheet put together by REEF, USGS, NOAA, and Simon Fraser University on invasive lionfish, click here . Lionfish are:• Voracious predators being shown to eat native fish and crustaceans in large quantities. (Juvenile Nassau grouper have been found in lionfish stomachs in the Bahamas)• Not known to have any native predators• Equipped with venomous dorsal, ventral and anal spines, which deter predators and can cause painful wounds in humans.• Capable of reproducing year-round with unique reproduction mechanisms no...

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are so confident while the intelligent are full of doubt. - Bertrand Russell Thanks, Senator for the reminder.

One advantage to getting older is you are forced to start slowing down. And by slowing down you are given the opportunity to see beauty you might otherwise have missed.                MH

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning. - Ivy Baker Priest   

My friend and amazing photographer T.J. Avery is conducting a photography workshop at his favorite stomping grounds, Big Bend National Park, Texas. TJ knows Big Bend, has photographed the area extensively and has had his BB images published. He has put together a fabulous workshop and if you want to discover a great national park and learn some new skills join him in October. The details for the workshop are here Big Bend Workshop . Not sure about Big Bend? Here are some images I took in 2009... Here's the link for more of my Big Bend images .

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice. Wayne Dyer   Pololu Valley, North Kohala, HI halfway down from the lookout.

Grace means more than gifts. In grace something is transcended, once and for all overcome. Grace happens in spite of something; it happens in spite of separateness and alienation. Grace means that life is once again united with life, self is reconciled with self. Grace means accepting the abandoned one. Grace transforms fate into a meaningful vocation. It transforms guilt to trust and courage. The word grace has something triumphant in it. Yrjo Kallinen

Cultivate solitude and quiet and a few sincere friends, rather than mob merriment,  noise and thousands of nodding acquaintances. William Powell

A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship.  But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. John Muir What looks like a casualty of Hurricane Andrew (1992) I found this ship wreak almost a mile inland in an area that is only accessible on foot. It now has a new job.

Ring the bells that still can ring.  Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything.  That's how the light gets in.   Leonard Cohen

We are tied to the ocean.  And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch  we are going back from whence we came.    John F. Kennedy

I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a  world so small that my mind could comprehend it.  Harry Emerson Fosdick

As the eagle was killed by the arrow winged with his own feather, so the hand of the world is wounded by its own skill.   Helen Keller Taken in Everglades National Park .