This is the Newport Beach coast a little before dusk. In the background, 26 miles across the sea, is Catalina Island. The buildings are part of Fashion Island, a mixed shopping/commercial development.

I don’t know that this is a great picture, but I’m putting it up to force myself to stretch a bit. As I’m sure you’ve all figured out, I have a strong preference for sharp, color-saturated images. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I should be more open to the variety of possibilities inherent in movement, focus, and different color palettes. I don’t think pictures like this will become a regular thing—my taste is still my taste—but they might become slightly more frequent.

March 9, 2019 — Lake Forest, California

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate