At this time of year, I’m asking the readers of the blog and my books to consider the voluntary payment and contribution system which makes my work possible.

This is turning out to be a much more interesting and challenging year and time than I expected – life is like that.

I find myself doing more and more of what Anne, one of my readers, calls “Light Work,” work that transcends photography and my search for color and light. I think many of us are called now to think about who we are and who we want to be. I want to be part of an Army Of Good.

-This year will be a challenge and a test for all of us, regardless of our political beliefs. I am seeking out small acts of good and kindness.

I am working with a national refugee settlement group to help new refugees and their children. We have, thanks to you, already helped collect more than $3,000 for welcome bags for refugee children. Supporting immigrant refugees and especially their children will be a substantial part of my work this year. I could use a hand.

Red and I are stepping up our therapy work, in dementia units, assisted care facilities and veterans rehabilitation and treatment centers.

I continue to take photographs and share them with you and anyone else who wants to use them. To date, I’ve offered more than 60,000 images for free. The equipment is not free. I don’t charge for the photos or watermark them and you are free to use them in any way you wish. Photography is an expensive art, I have to spent about $3,000 in the next weeks and months for repairs and new equipment. I also want to buy a color portrait lens, which costs about $1,777. I especially want to use the lens in my refugee work, and also the animal photographs.

In my evolving portrait work, I seek to capture and share the images of the unseen, people who will never be on the news, but who are beautiful and important That is a critical and new part of my work and my mission. And of course, I will continue to maintain and publish my blog which now has nearly four million visits a year.

I’m putting off the purchase of a full frame Infrared camera for now, there are other priorities for me. The other camera costs can’t be put off.

As you know, the blog has raised more than $80,000 in support of farmers and animal owners and lovers who have been unfairly persecuted in their efforts to live and work with animals – Joshua Rockwood, a farmer, the New York Carriage Horses and their owners, several private citizens fighting to keep their dogs or cats in the face of unjust accusations.

We have helped raised more than $60,000 in support of projects related to the survival of community, including the struggle of the Round House Cafe to stay in its home or find a new one.

I imagine the coming months and years will increase the need and opportunity for “Light Works,” and I am ready and committed.

But I do need your support. My blog needs about $5,000 in maintenance fees and adjustments for mobile devices. The blog has grown in audience and function, and that is a gift to me, it has enriched my life and my work.

Even without those needs, the blog is expensive to maintain, there are fees and technical issues that constantly arise.

Then there is a farm – that’s another story. I don’t use support or contributions to pay for anything but the blog and the work the blog supports.

I’m asking for your support to continue to do this work, and some of the new work that seems sure to be presenting itself. Publishing has changed, and income from my books has been sharply reduced since the recession, for me and almost all authors. This is a new macro-funding idea, small contributions from many people. I believe in it.

This search for support is not a complaint, I love my  blog and my work and my life, but in the new world of media, I can’t really do all of this by myself. The contributions have helped immeasurably. Small contributions from large numbers of people make it possible.

The big idea behind this kind of program is to pay for the work being done by artists and authors online. As people have moved online for their reading and entertainment and stimulation, it is only fair to pay people for their work and time. I spent many hours a week working on the blog and taking photos, and I appreciate being paid for my work.

Please consider the voluntary payment and contribution program. You can donate one time, or support the blog in small monthly payments, whichever suits you. You can send contributions by mail, if you prefer: Bedlam Farm, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. Or you can contribute via Paypal or major credit cards.

No financial information of yours is stored on my site or server.

I can’t start or stop subscriptions, it is simple for you to do that and control it yourself.

Subscriptions can be canceled at any time. Subscribers are warned a full week before any renewals are processed. It is very easy to cancel at any time. You can also cancel through Paypal or your credit cards should that be necessary. That has only been necessary two or three times in several years.

For your protection (and my sanity), I have no access to your money at any time.

So please consider supporting this work in any way or amount that is comfortable for you, in one payment or by subscribing. I want to say that people who can’t pay or don’t wish to are welcome to access my work for free, my  blog will always be free to those who wish to read it, payments or no.

And thanks for thinking of this, thanks twice for supporting my work. And Happy Holidays to you.