Photographer, Artist, Author
If the remission of pain is happiness, then the emergence from distraction is aesthetic bliss. I use these terms loosely, for I am not making an argument but rather attempting to describe the pleasure that comes from recognition or rediscovery of certain essences permanently associated with human life. These essences are restored to our consciousness... Continue Reading →
This incessant interplay between cognition and feelings [...] produces what we call consciousness. There obviously is a different feel to a wave of intense emotion versus an abstract thought, but each conscious form is an experience that gives us a unique perception of reality. The pattern in which these various conscious forms come in and... Continue Reading →
In our time it seems entirely appropriate that the widest choice be open to artists. Those using the camera or other photographic means to produce works of artistic merit should seek to exploit their medium in the most adventurous ways. […] The derogatory use of the term artifice is more often than not a bugaboo.... Continue Reading →
Two questions I received recently (via my Ask Me Anything form) touch on the topic of the impact that landscape photography may have on the very thing we photograph: the landscape. Huntington Witherill asked: I've often wondered… Given that landscape photographers' works tend to glorify those sacred places celebrated through their photographs – and presumably,... Continue Reading →
There are so many stories, more beautiful than answers. ~Mary Oliver For several years now I’ve been coming to terms with some transformative events and new circumstances in my life. These things changed me and my outlook in important ways, some of which I likely don’t fully understand yet. If you look at most of... Continue Reading →
Of this there can be no question-creative work requires a loyalty as complete as the loyalty of water to the force of gravity. A person trudging through the wilderness of creation who does not know this—who does not swallow this—is lost. ~Mary Oliver Many thanks to those who sent me ask-me-anything questions in the past... Continue Reading →
If the remission of pain is happiness, then the emergence from distraction is aesthetic bliss. I use these terms loosely, for I am not making an argument but rather attempting to describe the pleasure that comes from recognition or rediscovery of certain essences permanently associated with human life. These essences are restored to our consciousness... Continue Reading →
I would prefer by far to write music which has something fresh to reveal at each new hearing than music which is completely self-evident the first time, and though it may remain pleasing makes no essential contribution thereafter. ~Roger Sessions I love music. My musical taste is diverse, and I almost always have something playing... Continue Reading →
I'm posting this article, originally published in LensWork Magazine, in response to Irina Drelciuc, who sent me this Ask Me Anything question: "have you ever felt like there is nothing new or fresh to be 'told' through photography, what is the use of doing it unless you come up with something striking different?" If you... Continue Reading →
The danger always exists that our technology will serve as a buffer between us and nature, a block between us and the deeper dimensions of our own experience. Tools and techniques ought to be an extension of consciousness, but they can just as easily be a protection from consciousness. ~Rollo May In his book, The... Continue Reading →