At play with light — I really didn’t want to take more pretty pictures of flowers — although I often do. And I had no patience this morning for butterflies — although many were flitting about or waiting for their closeup. I wanted a new challenge, something different. Then I stopped to admire how the…

Trying to break a leg — If life is like a stage play, I am in the last scene of the final act. Hey, I’m almost 83! But unlike drama, there is no denouement. The lights will simply go down, the audience go home, and the actor fade away. In Which Me is Me, my About…

Interview with the artist — “My first medium was sand, but now I work exclusively in ice.” The artist took a deep breath, or rather he drew air into his lungs in a series of short steps until his shoulders rose and his chest fully expanded. He held it in for a few moments and…

Six Word Photo Story: Freestyle — A fleeting flutter of butterfly beauty Papilio demoleusis is believed to be the shortest-lived butterfly in the world. Males die after four short days and females after a week. Does it matter how long a butterfly (or a person) lives? Isn’t all beauty — and all life — fleeting? What matters is the happiness we can…

Hints for fiction writers — Two things inspired this post: 1. A warning on a seed packet that the plants are toxic to animals. 2. A memory of an episode on Breaking Bad in which Walter White spies poison in a garden flower. So if your character needs a way to do away with an…

Cooling it in the garden — It’s January and not really spring in Puerto Rico, although it seems like it to me. Light showers refresh almost ever evening. Birds (especially the damned roosters) seem to be singing louder and more often than ever. The island — usually lush — is lusher. I haven’t had to water…

And some tropical trees — “Once you have tasted the taste of sky, you will forever look up.” — Leonardo da Vinci A truism: there are no two skies alike nor two trees. I have not photographed enough trees to confirm this, but it seems logical. I have tasted a lot of skies while traveling…

From my points of view — For a serious photographer, being a tourist can be torture — especially in Paris, one of the most photographed — and photogenic — destinations in the world. Did I really want to take more pictures of the Eiffel Tower? Dare I go home without one? What can I capture other…

Far above and deep inside Puerto Rico — Virtually all of the 2000 or so caves in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico are — no surprise — underground. But there is one, Cueva Ventana (Window Cave), in a mogote in the karst country that is far above ground. I heard about it from one of my adventurous…