Patterns of Engagement

Photography as a gateway and an invitation to be present

Ken Gillgren — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:50:32 +0000

I originally got into photography by taking pictures of my son’s soccer team – partially therapy, it forced me to behave along the sidelines–I’m not a helpful cheerleader; and partially recognizing and celebrating the roles of each youth on the team, of course, starting with my son. At that point I’d burn through one to [...]

Learning to see in other languages

Ken Gillgren — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:30:49 +0000

“I don’t want to die having only seen through English eyes.” That’s The Atlantic journalist, and leading national blogger, Ta-Nehisi Coates reflecting on his motivation for learning French. This type of observation is why I keep his blog at the top of my daily reading list — he combines a sheer fascination with language (he [...]

Cooper’s Hawk on the Hunt: The Shot I Got and One that Got Away

Ken Gillgren — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:30:12 +0000

THE SHOT I GOT Hawks of one kind or another typically don’t get to spend much time at Echo Lake. As soon as one enters the area, the local “Homeland Security” crew of three to four crows vocally greet it and firmly escort it out and AWAY! So it was unusual when this young Coopers [...]

The Blessings of Babel

Ken Gillgren — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:30:00 +0000

I’ve realized that I haven’t made a sufficient linkage between my recent fascination with photography, particularly photos of nature, with the overall framework of this blog, Patterns of Engagement, which so clearly focuses on social interaction. What, for example, does a photograph of an eagle stretching its wings have to do with cultivating the civic [...]

Eagles Taking Off: The Shot I Got and One that Got Away

Ken Gillgren — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:30:18 +0000

THE SHOT I GOT During our annual pilgrimage to welcome Trumpeter Swans that winter in the La Conner area we also come upon migrating hawks, falcons, and eagles, especially along the Skagit River watershed. The lighting on this day was lousy, obscured by clouds and intermittent rain. Nevertheless I had Julia pull over to see [...]

Spiders and Wasp: The Shot I Got and One that Got Away

Ken Gillgren — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:30:54 +0000

THE SHOT I GOT Golden Gardens Park features a protected wildlife pond area. After taking all the photos of sleeping Mallards and turtles I could handle (a very slow day indeed), I set off toward my car, when I noticed a set of spider webs in the bushes to the right of the trail. One [...]

Launch of new blog category: Photo Essays

Ken Gillgren — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:35:17 +0000

After finally cleaning my hard drive, I’ve got the stats for the photos I’ve taken over the past year at Echo Lake near our apartment complex: at least 32 species of birds. Not bad for a once or twice a week local excursion. I’ve come a ways since thinking all ducks were Mallards, and all [...]

Sheltering a budding promise, close to the earth

Ken Gillgren — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:00:58 +0000

I took several photos at the Rainier Beach Urban Farm project, at several different levels of scale, from entire greenhouses, to rows of pumpkin or squash runners apparently vying for the longest reach, and even clusters of neatly arranged seedlings in a box. And then this first swelling of a future squash or pumpkin beneath [...]

Where natural rhythms prevail and refresh

Ken Gillgren — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:00:30 +0000

Urban greenery, in parks, gardens, and sheltered pathways, turns the experience of the city inside out. For some city dwellers, everything “outdoors” is for getting from one place to another place in as little time as possible; we mostly are “passing through” on the way to someplace else. Yet once in a while, we get [...]

When we become the peace that passes all understanding

Ken Gillgren — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:00:59 +0000

I kept watching for this moment to take a picture of the Peace sign that had been marking the progress of the prayer walk through Rainier Beach, sometimes leading from the front, other times lingering further back. Here, the sign stands in respect, bathed in the light of a setting sun, anchored in the silence [...]