There’s one surefire way to start becoming a better photographer. Stop taking pictures.

A picture is what you take when you accidentally mash your hands on the shutter release while your camera sits idle on the living room table. It’s when you bump the camera while it hangs from your shoulder and snap that oddly angled picture of your feet. It’s the photos you took of your friend just because they asked you to. It’s also generally what most of us are shooting the first time we pick up our cameras – myself included.

But if you really want to advance your photography, you’ve got to stop pressing that shutter release just because you can. Instead, take the time to create a vision. Stop taking pictures. Start creating images. (more…)

Image: Jon Pontecorvo, Flickr

I have delicious childhood memories of summer vacations, watching TV at night, munching on popcorn and sipping sodas. Back in the day, before dental sealants and epidemic childhood obesity, soda was one of the four food groups, along with donuts, ice cream sandwiches and penny candy that actually cost A PENNY. Back then when Mom said “Go play outside” that’s exactly what we did, at least in my neck of the woods. What ever happened to the good old days? Nowadays soda drinks get a bad rap for everything from tooth decay to diabetes, obesity and now cancer?

The American Association for Cancer Research reports that sugar-sweetened sodas have been linked with risk of pancreatic cancer.  University of Minnesota School of Public Health research has found that consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased a person’s risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly two-fold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks. The researchers noted that most of the studies with soft drinks have been in people of European descent. So they looked at data from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, assessing whether sugar-sweetened soft drinks and juices had a noticeable effect in a different ethnic population. (more…)

Image Credit: vgm8383, Flickr

From time to time we see and hear glimpses of the realities of our elected representatives, who have stressful jobs and important responsibilities and decisions to make. More importantly, our senators and representatives are often guests of paid corporate lobbyists, people who make their livelihoods by promoting a particular corporate world view. Sometimes the lobbyists promote competing views and politicians develop really good skills to “finesse” contradictory needs.

Sometimes, the corporate lobbyists have an overwhelming solidarity of influence. Imagine enormous multinational companies, who sell products like oil, coal, autos, military contractors and pharmaceuticals, who depend on huge quantities of cheap electricity to make their astronomical profits, all using billions of dollars of their  financial resources to convince our congressmen and women that special considerations for their particular business are essential to the economic and social well-being of the world. It would be hard to imagine a political action group or groups that could be equally well-funded to represent the scientific data for the common good of ordinary people. (more…)

My son recently arrived home from college for two weeks before he jetted off to Chicago to visit friends, then back to the Carolinas for second semester. The week has been a swirl of 20 years of memories of a baby who has now become a man, negotiating the world and learning how it all works. No reunion would be complete without some time outdoors.

And so off we went to the country- which isn’t very far if you live in a place like Vermont. There are very few moments in life more satisfying than tromping through the woods with your son and hearing all about his new adventures. And of course the camera is there to record images of the place and time. Being in nature with my family and my camera is an activity I enjoy more and more each week.

This is a set of photos taken during the past year that show four seasons in Vermont. They are exceptional enough to frame as landscape art. You can buy them as a set of beautiful postcards from the LoveEarthAlways store here: See Vermont Postcards.

Buy this beautiful set of postcards from the LoveEarthAlways store here: See Vermont Postcards.

Here is a chance to help kids with cancer an it won’t cost you a thing!

Camp Takumta in Vermont, a well-established summer camp for kids with cancer, is trying to win a $250,000 grant from Pepsi to build cabins on its campsite. Two winners of the Pepsi challenge will each get $250,000 from Pepsi.

How can you help? That is EASY! Just go to takumta.org and go to the Pepsi link in the middle of the page and submit your vote for Camp Takumpta! You can vote multiple times (after waiting 20 minutes) and your vote will help Camp Takumpta win the Pepsi cash to build their cabins.

Here is a chance to VOTE and know that you are going to do good! But you must vote by March 31st when the contest ends.

VOTE EARLY! VOTE OFTEN! VOTE FOR KIDS!

“Since its founding, Camp Ta-Kum-Ta existed happily on the shores of Malletts Bay, Vermont, where we helped more than 1,400 children with cancer to cast off their cares for one magical week each summer. Change was thrust upon us in 2008, when we learned that the camp facility would no longer be available to us and most importantly, to our campers. We purchased 103 beautiful acres in South HERO, Vermont in November. Our current needs are:• Cabins for the children and staff• A Security Building• Renovations to the main lodge for the medical treatment area.”

Video: JonBrooks105

Our guest author, Becky Striepe, is an independent crafter and freelance blogger living in Atlanta, Georgia. Her passion is working with vintage fabric and salvaged materials.

Becky says, “My indie business, Glue and Glitter, is all about using existing materials in products that help folks waste less without feeling deprived. I believe in the power of little changes: using cloth napkins instead of paper or a reusable bag instead of a plastic one. Things like this add up to make a big impact! Even the act of cooking is so much greener than takeout when you consider all of the packaging and whatnot involved in ordering that Chinese delivery. If a Lunch Kit would get you packing your lunch for work or school, or a cute apron encourages you to get in the kitchen and put a meal together, I hope that I can make one to inspire you!.”

Hat tip to my pal Taylen for sending this link! Shaun and Tawny Reynolds’ company Sundrop Jewelry uses passive solar power to create gorgeous recycled glass jewelry! They’re super-transparant about their materials and sourcing over on their blog, which makes me love them even more!

On the blog, they talk about everything from where they get their silver findings to the impact of shipping and what they’re doing to improve all of it. It’s refreshing to see a company so open about its processes. I love how on the level they are about everything – they admit areas that could use improvement right alongside great news about how they’re lightening their business’ footprint.

Of course, the part I’m most enamored with is how they form those lovely drops. Check out this totally rad video of the process:

What a simple setup, and the results are just beautiful! They stock earrings, belly buttons rings, necklaces, and wine charms in their online store as well as in bunches of shops around North America.

Please comment if you wold like to see more blog pieces like this one!

Human Activities Impact The Climate System

Image Credit: Hurricane Ike, NASA

There has been a lot of discussion in the media about climate change, especially since the ‘climategate’ scandal and the climate talks in Copenhagen. It seems that many Americans are either dug in to one viewpoint or another or confused about what is really going on.  How can we sort out if climate change is real, or if it is the result of some overblown data, or worse yet, a scandal?

This is a  short article on climate change based on the most reliable evidence available that will shed some light on the scientific basis for the discussion. It was created with materials from the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) Benchmarks for Science Literacy, which are two of the largest, most respected scientific organizations in the world, funded by the US government and specializing in the best, unbiased data and research anywhere. It also comes from information produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminisration (NOAA) .

NOAA is charged with helping society understand, plan for, and respond to climate variability and change. This is achieved through the development and delivery of climate information services, the implementation of a global observing system, and focused research and modeling to understand key climate processes. The NOAA climate mission is an end-to-end endeavor focused on providing a predictive understanding of the global climate system so the public can incorporate the information and products into their decisions. In other words, NOAA is an organization that has no built- in bias on climate change, and we can assume they have the best data and modeling to be trusted with interpreting that data.

NOAA’s “Guiding Principle For Informed Climate Decision” is “Humans can take actions to reduce climate change and its impacts.” Furthermore, NOAA describes:

The Essential Principles of Climate Science: (more…)

The following article is by http://www.focusoncruising.com/ John Campbell @focusoncruising who is in presently in Antarctica.

Gerlache Strait

March 19th, 2010

Oh, what a difference a day makes! Still overcast, but the sky’s not pressing down on us. We’ve entered Gerlache Strait, a body of water defined by the islands of the Palmer Archipelago on one side and the Antarctic mainland on the other.

The view from the deck is awesome, majestic, overwhelming. This experience cannot be contained. It flows past the boundaries your mind futilely erects to understand it. This is elemental, Nature in all her glory. This is not our place, we have no power here, we’re just transients allowed a brief look at Beauty.

The islands are much closer to us, their peaks towering over the ship, eliciting gasps from those who have ventured outside. To port lies Antarctica. We still can’t believe we’re here.

We continue to sail south, each minute bringing us further south than any of us has ever been. Everywhere you turn new vistas appear. We watch awestruck, trying to absorb it, trying to find the words that only poetry can provide. The only choice is to suspend any attempt to categorize or compare, and simply allow the experience to transport us.

We continue along the Strait for several hours, the clouds gradually clearing, until we reach our turning point, the furthest south we are to go. The snow-covered peaks glisten in the sun. Huge, billowy clouds crown the land. The plan is to turn around Wiencke Island and enter the Neumayer Channel, exiting at the north end back into the Gerlache Strait. As we approach, the Bridge advises that we can soon expect stronger winds. Off the bow, we have visual confirmation. The water is much choppier ahead. A katabatic wind, howling down one of the glaciers, is crossing our path. The wind increases almost instantly from 5 knots to 80 knots. Entering the narrower Neumayer Channel is out of the question. With some difficulty, the wind fighting us all the way, the Captain and his bridge crew turn the ship back into the Gerlache Strait. We miss seeing the Channel. Our consolation? We get to retrace our path back up the Strait, bathed in sunlight, impossibly beautiful. Eyes tear on deck. perhaps from the wind.

If you would like to see more Antarctica Adventures from John Campbell, please let us know in the comments below.

FREE Open House Web Lecture – “Natural Cancer Prevention”

If you are interested in natural cancer prevention don’t miss the FREE Spring 2010 Open House Lecture and Event on 4/15/10 from 6 to 8 p.m. EST. Dr. Lise Alschuler, ND, F.A.B.N.O. will present a 1-hour lecture on the topic of Natural Cancer Prevention. The event will be hosted live at MCPHS’ Boston campus. The lecture will be simultaneously cast online. Certificates of Attendance will be granted. A reception following the lecture will provide an opportunity to meet our faculty and students. For additional information and registration click here.

http://www.mcphs.edu/academics/programs/pharmaceutical_sciences/applied_natural_products/webinars.html

Double date on the dock! Saturday morning we caught the two Common Merganser couples chatting and primping on the dock. It was a glorious morning at about 58 degrees capping a week of record warm spring weather. Alas, a cold front was moving in from the northwest, bringing clouds and cooler temps later in the day.

After chatting for awhile these two beauties took to the 34 degree water and paddled up the glassy lake, while diving for fish snacks and checking out the flotsam.

While were were picnic-ing at waters edge this busy little Downy Woodpecker had the same idea, lunching on some fare in an old tree. Woodpeckers are very persistent and surprisingly industrious in their pursuits. This one had family in the area working on other trees nearby.

A mallard threesome jets along fishing as they go… Often it is the male birds that are more attractive. In this case, I am not so sure I would agree. In a few weeks we will see momma followed by some beautiful little brown ducklings swimming up and down the shoreline, learning the tools of the duck-world.

Greta the Great Blue Heron is known for her loud SQUAWK! when flying but right now she waits for some action in the bay. She is a prolific fisherman and deceptively big and gangly when her neck is extended and wings are stretched out. She also known for leaving a queen-sized mess on her perch.

All photos: Glenn Fay, on Lake Champlain, LoveEarthAlways