An acquaintance recently invited me to join a writing group, a very organized group, with agendas and roles. I like the sound of it! New members are asked to share their writing backgrounds. Here is mine. Photo Prayers Every week since 2007 (well, most weeks), I write a prayer and pair it with a photograph. […]
He admitted to himself it had him.
“William Weigland took a hurried look at the sketch map, decided to chance it, and swung left off Route 22 on a narrow macadam road. He drove a few hundred yards and pulled the Buick to the side of the road. He stared at the map and admitted to himself that it had him.” […]
Seven Comments on Change
As part of its exhibit “Sea Change”, the Washington Printmakers Gallery in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. asked me to say something about change. Click here to see my “Seven Comments on Change” — words and photos taken from my Photo Prayer project over the past ten years. The photo is me as a […]
Ideas and Enthusiasm
Why do ideas, so brilliant when they first inspire us, appear deadly dull when we return to them? Ideas of things to do are like fireworks when they first come to mind. As each one appears, I can hardly wait to pursue it. I quickly jot it down, looking forward to taking it up when […]
What do we need? What should we pray for?
Soon to die of an assassin’s bullet, Louisiana Governor Huey Long’s last words were, “God, don’t let me die. I have so much to do.” Foolishly, he thought more time was the answer. It is not. If we were given ten extra years of health, or twenty, it would not be enough to get everything […]
“Florida” Selected for Rehoboth Art League Exhibit
I am delighted that “Florida” — an ominous photograph with contrarian text — has been selected for the 5th Annual Regional Juried Photography Exhibition at the Rehoboth Art League (RAL), 12 Dodds Lane in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Opening reception, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Friday, January 31, 2020. Juror’s Talk by Gabrielle Tillenburg, Saturday, February […]
Bread and Variety
Bread has been a symbol of sustenance as well as boredom for many thousands of years. When the tribes of Israel, fleeing from captivity in Egypt, were nearly dying of hunger in the desert, God rained down manna upon them — the bread of heaven. But soon, miraculous as this food was, people got bored […]
Humble Yet Radiant
Even the humblest of things can be glorious. Here, for example, is a photo taken just outside Harvey Road Auto. I had just paid for the repairs to my pickup truck, got my keys, and left the garage. Off to the right I looked down to see this oval of orange rust covered by a […]
Turtles All The Way Down
In one cosmology, the universe rests on the back of a turtle. In another, the one I prefer, it rests on forgiveness. How else could quarks and leptons be so closely bound? How else could atoms combine to form compounds? How else could people, even you and I, abide in unity? Is there any limit […]
Making Photos, Reading Poetry
People make photos and read poetry. That was my immediate conclusion the other evening in Barnes & Noble, as I went back and forth between the poetry and the digital photography sections. Such a difference in titles! The photo section was all about how to take better photos but there was very little in the […]
Faux Folk
This is NOT a photo by William Christenberry. Neither is it a photo of authentic vernacular art. In that sense it is doubly false. Or is it? This gnome’s house is some artist’s creation in the style of a folk artist. The photo is my creation somewhat in the style of William Christenberry. “In the […]
The Form of Writing
“The form of writing matters,” writes Christopher Calderhead. He says, “Humans are mark-making animals.” He does not say that making marks is what distinguishes us from other animals, or that making marks is our essence, just that it is something we do naturally, and that how we do it matters. Calderhead wrote this in his […]