Don Sutherland's most commented articles

In his A History of the English-Speaking Peoples , Winston Churchill wrote: Every nation or group of nations has its own tale to tell. Knowledge of the trials and struggles is necessary to all who would comprehend the problems, perils, challenges, and opportunities which confront us today... It is in the hope that contemplation of the trials and tribulations of our forefathers may not only fortify the English-speaking peoples of today, but also play some small part in uniting the whole wor…

On the evening of July 23, I lost my beloved dad. During the closing weeks of his life, he demonstrated the kind of dignity, courage, and love that only made him even dearer to us, his children. Even into his final days, he would not let the advancing cancer temper his joy of seeing his children and grandchildren. Although his very youngest grandchildren could not comprehend the situation and behaved as toddlers and infants typically conduct themselves, they still brought a smile to his face.…

Prior to 2019, July 2016 was Anchorage, Alaska's warmest month on record. Summer 2019 as a whole was even warmer than July 2016. The duration of the excessive warmth and extreme temperatures recorded during the summer would have been very unlikely, if not improbable, without human-induced climate change.

2015 has been a dark year for humanity. In January, we mourned the brave cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo who lost their lives simply for exercising their inherent right of free speech, along with others who died in related incidents. Now, as the year nears an end and the joyous Hanukkah and Christmas holidays approach, Islamist terrorists have again inflicted their deadly and barbaric savagery on the people of France. In doing so, they trampled human dignity and the most basic and inaliena…

My first full month at Ipernity has been a rewarding one. The people—welcoming longtime members of Ipernity and contacts who migrated from Flickr—have been wonderful. They have made it a special community. The Ipernity team has been highly responsive during the extraordinary period of transition that has been underway, always helpful and informative. The photos give Ipernity a distinctive feel. From magical abstracts to colorful butterflies, from delicate floral detail to soaring mountains,…

One of the places I often visit to take photos is Manor Park (Larchmont, New York). Among other things, with its location on the Long Island Sound, it offers a great place to photograph the rising sun in all its glory. Its twin gazebos and Umbrella Point also provide a photogenic setting for capturing and preserving memories ranging from wedding portraits to snowy landscapes. Rumor has it that wedding portraits captured at Manor Park mean that the marriage will truly last till “death d…

In his “Autumn Hymn,” Richard Newell observed: Soon shall all the songless wood Shiver in the deepening snow… Instead, December 2015 unveiled an entirely different scenario. Large parts of North America, Europe, and Asia basked in unseasonable warmth. In North America, as wave after wave of warmth washed over the Continent, the “deepening snow” did not come and the “songless wood” did not “shiver.” Rather, the verse of Alice Lord’s “Indian Summer’s Aftermath” much better describ…

The second of the most intense pair of heat waves ever to roll across the European continent is now departing Scandinavia and headed for Iceland and Greenland where it will finally dissipate altogether. On account of these unprecedented bursts of heat, the weather record book has been rewritten across much of Europe. All-time national heat records were set in Belgium (41.8°C/107°F), France (46.0°C/115°F), Germany (42.6°C/109°F), Luxembourg (39.0°C/102°F), and the Netherlands (40.7°C/105°F). A pr…

I typically refrain from writing political commentary here. But these are no ordinary times, at least in the United States. The January 29, 2017 edition of The Washington Post reported : Sharef once worked for a U.S. government subcontractor in post-invasion Iraq as a translator and a program manager. He got his visas, after two years of vetting, through a special U.S. resettlement program for Iraqi employees of the American government. Working for Americans was filled with perils, he…

At one of the Ipernity groups, a somewhat lively debate has developed. How it will evolve remains to be seen. On one side of the discussion is the notion that people’s commenting on others’ photos is excessive and essentially not very constructive. There is also the complaint that some of the photos receiving comments are “far-from-perfect.” Of course, if perfection is truly the standard required for one to express appreciation for another’s works, there is probably no danger that people wi…

I was badly shocked and saddened by the vicious terrorist attack that took place in Paris yesterday. I mourn its victims, those from Charlie Hebdo and the police officers who were murdered. I also mourn the policewoman who lost her life today, whether or not that incident was related to yesterday’s terrorist attack. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, and to the French people. At the same time, I join the growing chorus of sentiment in proclaiming, “Je suis Charl…

Summer’s heat lingered well into September this year. The mercury soared to 97°F (36.1°C) on the 8th day of the month and 87°F (30.6°C) on the 18th. Yet, despite the sometimes furnace-like breath of stubborn summer, the days were growing steadily shorter. Each morning, the sun seemed to sleep a little longer. Each evening, the sun departed a little earlier. Each minute of daylight became a little more precious. Each hour of darkness seemed to stretch beyond what should have been allotted. Th…

One moment in early March, the ground was covered by snow. Despite lengthening days, the late-starting winter of 2015-16 struggled to hang on. But seemingly the next moment, all the snow was gone. Where snow and ice had once hugged the earth, the landscape blushed in the growing colors of spring. Each passing day, the mild breezes of a rising spring kissed new life into the once-barren landscape. Soon, the ground was covered in an extraordinary explosion of daffodils. Everywhere one looke…

Each year, the New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, New York) transforms its Children’s Garden into a Haunted Pumpkin Garden toward the end of September. The children’s emotions—ranging from joy to fright—are about as varied as the number of children who pass through the Haunted Garden each fall. Haunted Pumpkin Garden Haunted Pumpkin Garden “Mine!” (Haunted Pumpkin Garden) Haunted Pumpkin Garden In mid-to-late October, just as the last Monarchs are departing, giant pump…

In “The Four Seasons,” Vay-Hah-Ess wrote: Ernest went with his parents and several playmates to the nearest village, on a warm summer day; and they remained there the entire day. All around them they saw green cornfields and meadows, decorated with thousand fold flowers; also pastures in which young lambs were dancing, and wanton foals were skipping about.—They ate cherries and other summer fruit, and enjoyed themselves right well during the whole day. “Is it not true,” asked his father, on…

The persistent and frequently severe cold that covered the New York Metropolitan Area produced average temperatures more reminiscent of the spread of the television in the 1930s than the era of smartphones, tablets, and WiFi. In New York City, the mean February temperature came to just 23.9°F (-4.5°C). That monthly average was a record 11.4°F (6.3°C) below normal. No month since regular recordkeeping began in 1869 had ever had a larger cold anomaly. Moreover, only 1885 (22.7°F/-5.2°C) and 1934 (…

Lying along the waters of the Long Island Sound, Manor Park is filled with beauty. Among other things, one can capture the rising of a fiery red sun, boats anchored in pristine blue waters, gazebos that overlook the Sound, shimmering metamorphic rocks that were once part of the Appalachian Mountain chain, and even hummingbirds gracefully dining on the nectar of a trumpet vine. On some of the typically hot summer days, one can find respite in the Park’s iconic gazebos from a refreshing sea breeze…

On February 7, I posted a photo of the illuminated leaves of a Japanese Maple taken shortly after sunrise on a late October day. And then: nothing more. The days passed. The weeks passed. A month passed. No photos. No blog entries. Nothing. It was not until April 1, before I posted another photo. Time will tell whether that posted photo was an April Fool’s joke. Perhaps I had heeded the timeless advice of the bears of Yellowstone National Park from one of my past vacations: “When it’s winter…

As I head out to China, a few quick thoughts on my first year at Ipernity. Yes, it has been a year since I joined the Ipernity Club. Time seems to have passed so quickly that it is difficult to believe that it actually has been a year. Overall, my experience has been a rewarding one. The combination of an evolving and dynamic community of photographers and a responsive Ipernity team have created an environment that is conducive to personal growth as a photographer, building and sustaining rel…

In 1878, Carl Sandburg wrote: The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on. Nearly 140 years later on April 3, 2015, Sandburg’s descriptive poem transcended the paper on which it was written. The words leapt off the pages and a thick blanket of fog rolled across the Long Island Sound on “little cat feet.” For a time, it sat over the water, shrouding Long Island and also the landscape across Larchmont Harbor in…