Life on the Water

November Sunset in Upper Broad Creek, Along The Neuse River, in North Carolina

Sunsets seem to be the image of choice for ANYONE who’s holding a Camera or Cellphone while on or near the Water. Why is that? The two just seem to go hand-in-hand. But in some Photography Circles, They are an Old as a Cliche as can be had for a subject. It is curious thing. If you’ve seen one sunset, You’ve seen them all, Right?

I’ve thought about this a lot. And coming from someone who has photographed everything from Brides to Trucks to Waterfalls, One would think that a sunset before Me, would be, well… “just another sunset”. I know for sure that they are certainly the bane of most all Image Editors. They’ll let you know, right up front, “No Sunset Pics” and that’s because they have millions in hand already. But I think I might know a partial answer/explanation to the above question.

Maybe, It’s because.. Like Winter’s Snowflakes, We see Every Single One as Unique and Different. And they ARE, to those of us that can load up a terabyte of drive space with our sunset images alone.

Thank Goodness.. And God’s artistry.. that no two Sunsets ARE alike. Ever. Just how boring would that be? Each one seems to be more beautiful than the last. And once again, We are amazed! We just can’t let that moment slip by, Can we?

So each time we experience one, It’s almost as if our eyes tell us that we’ve never looked upon one that beautiful before. (Constant amazement is Great, isn’t it!)

Thoreau described it perfectly with his statement quoted above. Among other things, We don’t just “look” at sunsets. We “see” them. And each of us, by Nature.. see things differently at times. Throughout history, this is manifested in all of the world’s greatest artist’s work.

So the next time someone just has to show you their latest recording of the oldest image subject in the world, try and Think about what is was that THEY saw when the button was clicked or the shutter was pressed. Through someone else’s eyes, You just might be amazed too.

Welcome To The Pelagic Lens

Images and Observations from A Sailing Photographer

It is not what you look at…But what you see..

— HD Thoreau

An Introduction..

This is the first post on my new blog and when asked for a name, I decided to call it The Pelagic Lens. The term “Pelagic” signifies to me everything that takes place on, in, and around the water. The word “Lens” is arguably, One of the most important parts of a Camera and something through which a Photographer’s entire world comes into view. So I just put the two together to signify the theme of this blog.

This will be a Blog about Spending time with Friends, Creating Images, Nature, Boat Stuff and the Thoughts and Visual Images that pass across (and sometimes stick) in a Sailing Photographer’s head as I go about my daily Life on the Water. Here you will find it all. Including the stories, trials and triumphs that Nautical Life Invariably entails. In addition, You may pick up some knowledge about Photography and even learn some Nautical terms.

I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Blogging just seems to be a natural extension as an accompaniment to photography, so to tie my most favorite two things together, We’re going to give it a try.

Inside, You’ll find all sorts of stuff. Mainly posts on Photography, Sailing and a lot of the stories that surround the two. For me, that’s two great things about getting older. The Memories in my Hard Drives are many and I get a lot more stories to tell!

Try to be patient.. I’m a far cry from an English major and my punctuation and Grammar will be, well…unique. Part Sailor and Part Photographer. I would prefer to call it being a “Spicy Romantic”. My daughter, Cameron, calls it Frustratingly Charming.

Most of you who already know me know that I am only anal about 3 things.

(1) My Photography

(2) Sailing and My Boat, “Brilliant Cut”

(3) And Bailey, My Dog

It will be most certainly “Not rule conforming”.. I’ll assume First and sometimes even Third person reflections but hey, what’s life without multiple perspectives? But honestly, I’ll do my Southern Best to get the point across with Thoughtful Observations, Humor, Quality Imaging and a dash of Humility. Learning WordPress (this platform) will altogether be a different thing.

As in “Weather Windows” for Sailing, I won’t lock myself into any ridged schedule or deadlines on updates. I’ll post when I’ve got something I think you’d be interested in. In addition, If you ever”hang out” with me, You can probably expect a moment in the Blog spotlight. (I promise I’ll be Gentle). Hopefully, everyone will find something here to enjoy at one time or another. If You’d like, subscribe and Please “Share” below to get notified when I post new updates.

Again, Welcome to The Pelagic Lens. Hope to See You on the Water!

Steven