Photography by Michael Harris

197 - Expectations

2012-02-15T23:19:00.004-05:00

Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.
Mark Twain

196 _ Happy Valentines Day

2012-02-14T10:53:00.003-05:00

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
Confucius

195 - Competition

2012-01-31T21:44:00.003-05:00

And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual,
it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.
Andrew Carnegie

USA boat passing in front of the boat from Switzerland in the 2012 Rolex Cup

194 - Happiness

2012-01-23T21:23:00.000-05:00

The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.
William Morris

193 - Change

2012-01-19T22:58:00.001-05:00

Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living.
Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope.
And out of hope, progress.
Bruce Barton

More Mangroves

192 - The Mangrove

2012-01-16T18:45:00.001-05:00

I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do.

John Muir

191 - Moon on Moon

2012-01-09T21:27:00.005-05:00

For most people, we often marvel at the beauty of a sunrise or the magnificence of a full moon,

but it is impossible to fathom the magnitude of the universe that surrounds us.
Richard H. Baker

190 - Good Day

2012-01-06T11:26:00.002-05:00

If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one.

Cavett Robert

189 - Improve in 2012, 10 ideas

2012-01-04T14:25:00.001-05:00

Thinking about how you can improve your photography in the new year I came up with a list of items that might help. If you have any additional ideas please comment.

1. Review 2011 the Good Stuff

What images do you like and why, what images did friends like and why. Is there a common theme you can build on?

2. Review 2011 the Not So Good Stuff

What mistakes did you make. It is easy to ignore or delete bad images, revisit mistakes and make sure you know what you did and have you fixed the problem. Another reason to review mistakes is they can lead to new ideas.

3. Journal

Record findings in 1 and 2 in your journal. If you don’t have a journal start one.

4. Weakness

Vision, capture or post processing which is your weakness, if you don’t know ask a friend, don’t get defensive. This year work on your weakest area the most. Next year reevaluate.

5. Read More

Ten years to get good at anything shorten the time-frame by reading as much as you can about the techniques that interest you. More and more information is now online, but don’t forget about great resource in print. There are numerous books out there pertaining to your area of interest. Talk to photographers you respect and inquire which books they recommend reading. As you read photography blogs keep an eye out for posts on reviews and recommended reading. For example "The Photographer's Eye" by Michael Freeman.

6. Carry a Camera

Oh and use it. Practice techniques you know, practice something new you read about (see 5). Practice around the house, at parties, shopping, etc. Don’t wait for that field trip to pick up the camera.

7. Start a Simple Project

Work on your own or better yet get a friend and work together.

8. Put your Work out There

That doesn’t mean show your spouse or mom. Let friends and fellow photographers see it, ask for comments, don’t get defensive.

9. Look at Others Work

Look for inspiration, analyze why images you like are different than yours. Ask questions figure out how to do what others do.

10. Have FUN!!

If this is truly a passion it should be fun. If you are not having fun, figure out why. Is there a fear getting in your way? Examine it, talk about it, remove it.

188 - Eventually

2011-12-29T22:28:00.001-05:00

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

187 - Orion and the lookout

2011-12-27T22:20:00.000-05:00

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

Carl Sagan

186 - UFO

2011-12-27T10:25:00.000-05:00

'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

185 - A Wish

2011-12-25T22:47:00.001-05:00

Children wish fathers looked but with their eyes;

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

184 - Happy Holidays

2011-12-25T12:18:00.000-05:00

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.

183 - Watching

2011-12-22T21:04:00.000-05:00

You can observe a lot by just watching.
Yogi Berra

182 - Desperation

2011-12-21T16:49:00.002-05:00

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.

181 - Thoughts

2011-12-20T21:06:00.000-05:00

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

180 - Courage

2011-12-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

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

179 - Priorities

2011-12-12T21:30:00.000-05:00

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

178 - Thoughts

2011-12-07T10:56:00.001-05:00

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

177 - Reflecting

2011-12-05T22:11:00.001-05:00

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

176 - Energy

2011-12-04T22:00:00.001-05:00

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

175 - Simplify

2011-12-03T19:26:00.001-05:00

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.

174 - Practice

2011-12-02T22:04:00.001-05:00

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

173 - The Start

2011-12-01T20:13:00.001-05:00

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

172 - Simple

2011-11-27T19:15:00.001-05:00

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

171 - Time

2011-11-11T16:59:00.001-05:00

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...

170 - Paradise

2011-11-08T22:09:00.003-05:00

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

169 - Star Signatures

2011-11-06T21:43:00.000-05:00

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.

168 - Courage

2011-10-19T20:37:00.002-04:00

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

- Anais Nin

167 - The Wedding

2011-09-11T22:40:00.002-04:00

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.

W. H. Auden

166 - The Lionfish

2011-06-30T16:19:00.002-04:00

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 not commonly found in native fishes• Relatively resistant to parasites, giving them another advantage over native species• Fast in their growth, able to outgrow native species with whom they compete for food and space.

Non-native marine fishes can pose a major threat to marine fisheries, habitats and eco-system function. Increased reports of non-nativespecies and the successful invasion of lionfish in Atlantic waters have proven the need for early warning and rapid response to confirmed sightings. The Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), has been working with Federal, State and local partners as well as divers and dive operators, public aquaria and foreign fisheries departments to enact rapid response documentation and removals and assist with scientific investigations related to non-native marine species.

165 - Reminder

2011-06-16T21:54:00.001-04:00

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.

164 - A Walking Practice

2011-05-15T23:11:00.000-04:00

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.

163 - Beginnings

2011-05-12T08:42:00.000-04:00

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

- Ivy Baker Priest

162 - Big Bend National Park

2011-04-12T13:09:00.001-04:00

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.

161 - Choice

2011-04-07T21:34:00.000-04:00

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.

160 - Grace

2011-03-29T16:13:00.004-04:00

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

159 - Solitude

2011-03-10T14:10:00.002-05:00

Cultivate solitude and quiet and a few sincere friends,

rather than mob merriment,

noise and thousands of nodding acquaintances.
William Powell

158 - Boating

2011-03-07T10:18:00.002-05:00

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.

157 - Light Gets In

2011-02-25T21:51:00.001-05:00

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

156 - We Came

2011-02-09T21:10:00.000-05:00

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

155 - Understanding

2011-01-30T16:54:00.001-05:00

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

154 - Wounded

2011-01-09T10:48:00.001-05:00

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.

153 - Feelings

2010-12-29T23:10:00.000-05:00

Feelings are much like waves, we can't stop them from coming

but we can choose which one to surf. Jonatan Mårtensson

152 - Start the Day

2010-12-28T12:10:00.000-05:00

There is nothing like a good shower to start the morning off right

There is nothing like being alive in the sun and moon light

151 - Happy New Year

2010-12-27T15:59:00.002-05:00

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better person. Benjamin Franklin

150 - True Reality

2010-12-26T21:33:00.000-05:00

Our true reality is in our identity and unity with all life. Joseph Campbell

149 - Going Home

2010-12-09T10:05:00.001-05:00

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountain is going home; that wildness is necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life. John Muir

148 - Busyness

2010-12-03T08:30:00.000-05:00

The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is on the contrary born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else- we are the busiest people in the world. Eric Hoffer

Thanks to all for your vote, I have been awarded 3rd place in the Canon Photography in the Parks Contest. Now it time to get busy again... Mike

147 - I need your vote (No I'm not running for office)

2010-10-27T22:23:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,

My image "Octopus House" has been selected as one of the ten finalist in the Canon's "Photography in the Park" Contest.

Their judges have gotten it to this point and now its up to the public to pick the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Grand Prize winners.

I am so excited and would greatly appreciate if you would give Canon your info and vote for my image.

You can only vote once per email address, but you also have a chance to win a Canon camera just for voting.

Here's how,
First you have to select a teen photo, then mine's in the adult group, then select between the two and then enter all your info. Sorry for the hoops, seems they only want serious voters.

You can vote for "Octopus House" here;
http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=1326&refID=16

Thanks so much for your support,
Mike H

146 - The Best Things

2010-10-18T08:29:00.000-04:00

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. - Robert Louis Stevenson

145 - Together

2010-09-12T23:11:00.000-04:00

Title Going Down Together
An image I took early one morning for a club competition. The theme of competition was Old, Run Down, Weathered, Abandoned and/or Discarded. When I first spotted this I knew it had potential, it wasn't until much later that it hit me over the head. You would think that after almost 50 years of sailing, living on and always near boats and water that the symbolism would have spoken sooner. Anyway I'm going to go give her a hug and I don't mean the boat...

144 - Genius

2010-08-30T21:54:00.000-04:00

The especial genius of women I believe to be electrical in movement, intuitive in function, spiritual in tendency. Margaret Fuller

143 - Beauty

2010-08-22T14:57:00.002-04:00

Do you love me because I'm beautiful,
or am I beautiful because you love me?

- Oscar Hammerstein, II

142 - Observation

2010-07-15T19:10:00.000-04:00

You can observe a lot just by watching. - Yogi Berra

A frighteningly large close-up of sculptor Tasset's eyeball, "Eye" is blown up more than 1,000 times and looms 30 feet over its base in Pritzker Park at State and Van Buren streets, Chicago. The shocking blue eye stares east on State Street, and is all red veins from the back.

141 - The Bean

2010-07-14T19:47:00.000-04:00

Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. - Bishop Desmond Tutu

The above is a sculpture called "Cloud Gate" it is located in Millennium Park downtown Chicago. The city scape is a reflection of downtown. Locals call it "the bean".

140 - Missing

2010-07-03T19:43:00.000-04:00

I'm always energized by Anti crepuscular rays. I never noticed them when I was younger, now I see them all the time. I often wonder what else I'm missing.

139 - Discovery

2010-06-25T12:24:00.003-04:00

The most beautiful thing in the world is, precisely, the conjunction of learning and inspiration. Oh, the passion for research and the joy of discovery! Wanda Landowska

138 - Imagine

2010-05-26T22:55:00.004-04:00

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

John Lennon

137 - To Forget

2010-05-25T15:24:00.003-04:00

To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves. - Mohandas K. Gandhi

136 - The Amazing Outdoors

2010-04-09T13:43:00.002-04:00

Nature is just enough; but men and women must comprehend and accept her suggestions. Antoinette Brown Blackwell

This sky was exactly as its shown, all I had to do was run around until I found the century plant.

135 - Illusion

2010-03-22T22:26:00.008-04:00

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all.

Joni Mitchell

Additional Images from the project

134 - Sea Turtle Pose

2010-03-16T21:48:00.008-04:00

The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.

Blaise Pascal

Save the Sea Turtle

133 - Friends

2010-02-23T22:43:00.003-05:00

We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend. Robert Louis Stevenson

132 - Balance

2010-02-20T20:59:00.004-05:00

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. Carl Jung

131 - Love

2010-02-17T19:34:00.003-05:00

Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. Albert Einstein

My son and daughter-in-law just had their first child, a beautiful little girl named Alana. When she arrived in the hospital room the energy level went off the scale and it all felt like love.

130 - Sail We Must

2010-01-28T08:35:00.003-05:00

Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it -- but sail we must and not drift, nor lie at anchor. Oliver Wendell Holmes

129 - Change

2010-01-12T19:32:00.006-05:00

The most powerful thing you can do to change the world, is to change your own beliefs about the nature of life, people, reality, to something more positive... and begin to act accordingly. Shakti Gawain

I threw him to deeper water...

Meanwhile a young trio were saving life on a bigger scale take a look here...

Other images from this trip...

128 - Renew

2009-12-24T20:17:00.006-05:00

The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have an opportunity to start a new. Renew love, renew hope, renew courage and renew our soul.

Happy Renew Year, Michael Harris 2009

127 - Sustainability

2009-12-17T11:32:00.003-05:00

Sustainability isn't about the quick fix or the cheap solution. Generally it means making a commitment and trying, as best we can, to honor it. In any worthwhile enterprise, from protecting the environment to preserving a relationship, we are going to encounter difficulties. The good life is not a problem-free life. In point of fact, the process of overcoming adversity often produces some of the most rewarding experiences we will ever have. Human beings need to be challenged to 'test their mettle,' as it were. Throwing in the towel at the first sign of trouble or small inkling of distress may be the easy thing to do, but it doesn't help our self-concept. Most of life's troubles can be overcome if we are willing to work through them with patience. Michael Schuler

126 - Miracles

2009-12-08T21:28:00.003-05:00

People are always looking for miracles. But I think the real miracle is to be on and part off this earth. Every day we are part of countless miracles which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, incredible clouds, mountains and rivers millions of years old, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

125 - The Present

2009-12-05T22:09:00.003-05:00

The body exists in the past and your mind exists in the future. Find a way to bring them together to enjoy the present. A place conducive for this is Rio Grande overlook in Big Bend National Park at sunset.

124 - Delight

2009-11-29T21:25:00.004-05:00

Imagine my delight when I saw this. Atlantic ocean on the right the Bahama bank on the left and a thin layer of clouds just like the island.

123 - Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T11:25:00.003-05:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 16mm, iso100, 1/15 sec at f/8.0, +CPL

Family life is full of major and minor crises -- the ups and downs of health, success and failure in career, marriage, and divorce -- and all kinds of characters. It is tied to places and events and histories. With all of these felt details, life etches itself into memory and personality. It's difficult to imagine anything more nourishing to the soul. Thomas Moore

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

122 - Friendship

2009-11-23T09:32:00.003-05:00

Good friends, good sunsets and a quiet conscience: this is an ideal life.

121 - Seeing

2009-11-11T22:28:00.003-05:00

I know I'm not seeing things as they are, I'm seeing things as I am. Laurel Lee

This is taking a while to learn...

120 - Future

2009-11-07T21:38:00.003-05:00

The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time. Abraham Lincoln

119 - Pains

2009-10-29T09:31:00.004-04:00

The pains which are yet to come can be and are to be avoided. II.16, Sutras of Patanjali

Past pain is finished. Pain that we are in the process of experiencing cannot be avoided, but can be reduced to some extent by yogic practice and discriminative knowledge. Unknown future pains can be prevented by adhering now to yogic discipline.

118 - Wisdom

2009-10-27T19:53:00.005-04:00

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. Confucius

And I think it takes all three methods to become wise.

117 - The Ancient Traveler

2009-10-12T22:10:00.004-04:00

The most ancient traveler in the universe is love. It is love that travels from the unknown to the known, from eternity to eternity. From The Essence of Spiritual Life

116 - Morning Peace

2009-10-10T21:03:00.005-04:00

Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free. The Dalai Lama

115 - The Sky Breathes

2009-10-01T16:30:00.005-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 16mm, iso100, 1/6 sec at f/13.0, +CPL

I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. Thomas Jefferson

114 - Connections

2009-09-22T20:41:00.004-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 24-70mm at 35mm, iso100, 1/60 sec at f/9.5, +CPL

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Albert Einstein

113 - Coincidence

2009-09-18T06:11:00.007-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 16mm, iso100, 1/15 sec at f/8.0, +CPL

According to Wikipedia, Coincidence is the noteworthy alignment of two or more events or circumstances without obvious causal connection. The word is derived from the Latin co- ("in", "with", "together") and incidere ("to fall on"). In science the term is generally used in a more literal translation, e.g., referring to when two rays of light strike a surface at the same point at the same time. In this usage of coincidence, there is no implication that the alignment of events is surprising, noteworthy or non-causal.

I tend more to mystical teachings that insist on the view that there is absolutely no coincidence in the world. Everything that occurs can be related to a prior cause or association, no matter how vast or how minute and trivial. All is impacted by something related to it that is seen or unseen, cognized or unknowable.

This sunset had special meaning for me and I believe the universe set it to remind me; Number one, how blessed we are. Number two, There are connections that make all of this a lot of fun.

Yesterday with another photographer I was discussing photographing sunsets, I said "And don't ever rule out the east, things happen there that don't happen in any other direction." Well the image above, that I took the next evening (due east) is what I was talking about. This beautiful pattern of sun rays is called anticrepuscular rays. Coincidence???

The second image and don't get wrong I'm not a religious guy, speaks to how blessed we are. I've been to this location numerous times and I've never seen a Sister there. Sister Marisa has a beautiful smile and is very friendly. I asked her to pose for me and she graciously agreed. The anticrepuscular and crepuscular rays are also called God rays. Another darn coincidence...

112 - Kindness

2009-09-15T09:41:00.004-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 70-200mm at 160mm, iso200, 1/45 sec at f/2.8,

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate. Albert Schweitzer

At what age do we forget this?

111 - Effortless

2009-09-09T21:52:00.006-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 16mm, iso100, 1/15 sec at f/8.0, +CPL

There is a feeling of effortless effort when passion is connected to a process. It is amazing to me that when I am creating images the aches and pains in my body seem to disappear for that time. Photography is my meditations.

110 - Blessed

2009-09-04T09:57:00.002-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 16mm, iso100, 1/15, 1/4, 1 sec at f/11.0, +CPL

What work I have done I have done because it has been play. If it had been work I shouldn't have done it. Who was it who said, "Blessed is the man who has found his work"? Whoever it was he had the right idea in his mind. Mark you, he says his work--not somebody else's work. The work that is really a man's own work is play and not work at all. Cursed is the man who has found some other man's work and cannot lose it. When we talk about the great workers of the world we really mean the great players of the world. The fellows who groan and sweat under the weary load of toil that they bear never can hope to do anything great. How can they when their souls are in a ferment of revolt against the employment of their hands and brains? The product of slavery, intellectual or physical, can never be great. Mark Twain

109 - Quality of Light

2009-08-28T08:19:00.007-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 16mm, iso100, 1/20, 1/6, .7 sec at f/11.0, +CPL Combined in Photomatix

Last night I attended a discussion on the quality of light by professional photographer and artist Michael Thoennes. His presentation helped me better understand that all light, natural or artificial, has characteristics that are universal and with an understanding of these principles of light we can create impactive images with the power to evoke emotion. Michael has a complete understanding of this topic, his presentation was interesting and informative. If you get a chance give him a listen.

All of this reminded me of balancing the three qualities of nature. They are called gunas. Roughly translated as (mass or inertia), (vibrancy or dynamism) and (luminosity or the quality of light). When I am able and I remember to balance these qualities in me my photography is fun and I get better results. When my images convey these qualities in a way that connects the viewer to nature's dance to balance the gunas I am grateful.

Namaste, (The light within me honors the light within you.)

108 - Patience

2009-08-19T16:42:00.003-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 20mm, iso50, 20 sec at f/16.0, +CPL

Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. it's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere. Barack Obama

This image was one of a very many 20 second exposures, no special lightning capture equipment just patience.

107 - Procrastination

2009-08-17T22:42:00.005-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 70-200mm at 125mm, iso100, 1/15 sec at f/11.0, +CPL

How does a project get to be a year behind schedule? One day at a time. Fred Brooks

Found out what can motivate me, "FREE"!! I've been wanting to put together a book of images of Eleuthera for a least a year and it's now done. No you can't buy ten of them, I just had to get it out of my system. Now if you have this problem here's the deal. You pay only shipping (4.99) and you get a hardcover 26 page 8x10 book. The web based software is resonable with plenty of options, so give it a try. Here is the link to AdoramaPix and here is the coupon code PXBKSB had to call them to get the coupon to work, cart software was acting up. So if you've been procrastinating like me give this a look...

106 - The Sky is Enough

2009-08-10T22:38:00.003-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 16mm, iso100, 1/15, 1/60, 1/250 sec at f/13.0, +CPL Combined in Photomatix

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. Hans Hoffman

When the sky is like this I promise to give it more coverage as it will never be like this again...

105 - All Aboard

2009-08-08T14:16:00.003-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 24-70mm at 70mm, iso100, 1/20 sec at f/16.0, +CPL, converted to B&W in LR

To follow up with 104, another rule of creativity from Julieanne Kost that I like is number "8. View every challenge as a possible discovery." This shoot of a railroad museum started as an HDR blue sky venture and ended as shown, possibly the best image of the day.

104 - Be Open

2009-08-04T16:10:00.005-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 70-200mm at 200mm, iso200, 1/180 sec at f/9.5, +CPL

I've been working on creativity lately and came across 18 lessons from a book by Julieanne Kost. Kost is a Photoshop evangelist for Adobe, her tutorials are the best. This excerpt is a PDF file. To open the PDF file in your Web browser, click "Window Seat."

This image is a direct result of her rule # 3 "Be open to whatever comes your way." and rule # 4 "Share what you know and learn from others."

103 - History

2009-07-30T22:24:00.006-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 27mm, iso100, 1/90, 1/20, 1/6 sec at f/16.0, +CPL

History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we make today. Henry Ford

A scene out of the 1930's on South Beach (Art Deco District). One of Miami's famous tourist destinations. Took this image yesterday, there was some processing...

102 - Passion

2009-07-29T21:43:00.004-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 70-200mm at 200mm, iso100, 1/1000 sec at f/4.0

“If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.” T. Alan Armstrong

101 - Colored

2009-07-27T21:57:00.004-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 16mm, iso200, .7, 3 & 10 sec at f/13.0, Combined in Photomatix

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. Mark Twain

This car is unique in that it is one of the few remaining examples of a "Jim Crow" car. In the segregated South, the Seaboard Airline Railway was mandated by law to provide "separate but equal" facilities. The coach section of the car is divided into two, identical sections; one for white patrons and one for blacks. A small, "flip-over" sign, mounted on either side of the bulkhead separating the two sections, reads "WHITE" and "COLORED." In the convoluted thinking of the times, this sign made the accommodations of the car suitable for white passengers. Few realized that at the end of a run, the car was not turned around; only the signs were flipped over. The seats that were "good enough for blacks" now became perfectly acceptable for whites.

100 - Health

2009-07-22T23:24:00.006-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 16mm, iso100, 1/15, 1/4 & 1 sec at f/13.0, +Polarizer

Listened to the President tonight, talk about his plan to revamp our health care system. Then I came across what I think is an appropriate quote for this evening from a great American.

America's health care system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system. Walter Cronkite

The best of health to you all...

99 - Blue Summer 3 or The Pink Beach

2009-07-19T12:11:00.002-04:00

Canon 5DmkII, 16-35mm at 16mm, iso100, 1/125 sec at f/13.0, +Pol.

When ever I see one of the shows "Top Beaches in the World" I have to chuckle, they haven't found some I've seen and their rating system seems to be a lot different than mine. Isolation, crystal clear water, warm water, soft pink sand give it a 10 in my system.

Enjoy your summer!

98 - Blue Summer 2

2009-07-16T21:54:00.003-04:00

Canon 5DmkII,Lensbaby 50mm iso100, 1/125 sec at f/4.0