New Jersey, NJ

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. The state is named after the island of Jersey in the English Channel.

It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania.

Parts of New Jersey lie within the metropolitan areas of New York and Philadelphia. Inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, the first European settlements in the area were established by the Swedes and Dutch in the early 1600s.

The State's name was taken from the largest of the English Channel Islands, Jersey. The English later seized control of the region, which was granted to Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton as the colony of New Jersey. New Jersey was an important site during the American Revolutionary War; several decisive battles were fought there.

The winter quarters of the revolutionary army were established twice by George Washington in Morristown, which was called the military capital of the revolution. The New Jersey Journal, a newspaper published by Shepard Kollock, who established his press in Chatham during 1779, became a catalyst in the revolution.

News of events came directly to Kollock from Washington's headquarters in nearby Morristown, which he published to boost the morale of the troops and their families, and he conducted lively debates about the efforts for independence with those who opposed and supported the cause he championed.

Later, working-class cities such as Paterson and Trenton helped to drive the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century. New Jersey's position at the center of the BosWash megalopolis, between Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., fueled its rapid growth through the suburban boom of the 1950s and beyond.

Geography

New Jersey is bordered on the north and northeast by New York; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south and southwest by Delaware across Delaware Bay; and on the west by Pennsylvania across the Delaware River.

New Jersey can be thought of as five regions, based on natural geography and population. Northeastern New Jersey, the Gateway Region, lies within the New York metropolitan area, and some residents commute to the city to work.

Northwestern New Jersey, or the "Skylands", is, compared to the northeast, more wooded, rural, and mountainous, but still a popular place to live. The "Shore" along the Atlantic Coast in the southeast has its own residence and lifestyle characteristics owing to the ocean.

The southwest is within Metropolitan Philadelphia, and is included in the Delaware Valley. The fifth region is the Pine Barrens in the interior of the southern part and is covered rather extensively by mixed pine and oak forest, and as such has a much lower population density than much of the rest of the state.

New Jersey can also be broadly divided into three geographic regions: North Jersey, Central Jersey, and South Jersey. However, some people do not consider Central Jersey to exist at all, but still many believe it is a separate geographic and cultural area from the North and South.

The federal Office of Management and Budget divides New Jersey's counties into seven Metropolitan Statistical Areas, including sixteen counties in the New York City or Philadelphia metro areas.

 

 

 

 

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "New Jersey".

In Vigorous Pursuit of Creativity

by John M. Lund

An Ocean of Images, Monetary Gain, and Personal Satisfaction

Few things can be as rewarding for a photographer as the vigorous pursuit of creativity (love that phrase...read it in the latest issue of CA). Creativity is key to creating work that stands apart from the vast ocean of images and subsequently has value both in terms of monetary gain and in terms of personal satisfaction.

Creativity is also extremely important in conducting business itself, in finding ways to get your work completed, in finding ways to get your work seen, and even in finding ways to get paid!

Maximizing Creativity

With the importance of creativity, the question arises: How can we increase and maximize our creative propensity? Is there a way to nurture and grow this all-important quality? If you Google that question, the answer is yes; and there are many theories about just how to do that. I have tried a number of approaches and will share the ones that seem to work for me.

Intention: The Most Important Step

The first and most important step to building your creative powers is to have the intent. While I have my doubts about a lot of new age practices, I do believe there is something very powerful about writing things down. For me, the first step towards creative empowerment is writing down my intention to build my creativity.

I go through phases where I will write down an affirmation that "I am a creative powerhouse with an infinite supply of new and potent ideas", or something like that. OK, I know it sounds a bit silly, but I do believe it works! Even better, write down how many ideas you will come up with.

The more specific your ideas are the better, even to the point of allocating ideas for images and ideas for building your business. I have to admit, I am a little sporadic with this process, but when I find I am running low on ideas, it is my first step to getting back on track.

Creativity, Judgment, and a Master List

Creativity is like a muscle. It gets stronger with exercise. So the next step is to start coming up with ideas. Remember, judgment is the enemy of creativity. Don't judge your ideas yet, just come up with them, and write them down. I guarantee you that if you don't write your ideas down they will slip away, just like dreams do.

I keep a notepad and pen with me at all times to record my ideas whether they are spontaneous or otherwise. I can't tell you how many times I have learned this lesson over and over again! Keep a master list of ideas that you never throw away. An idea that at first seems great can seem really stupid the next day, yet a week, a month, or even a year later it can rise to the top again, or generate another idea. I have learned to keep even my silliest ideas on paper (or in pixels).

Sometimes ideas that you just can't figure out how to do, or how to do economically, suddenly reveal themselves as simple executions when viewed after a lengthy time period.

Look at the Opposite, or Add a Twist

Another favorite exercise of mine is to view an interesting photo or image, mine or someone else's, it doesn't really matter, and see if I can either do the opposite, or add some twist to it.

Recently I pondered the hot topic of social media. The buzz is about the benefits of connectivity and visibility through social media networks. I made a conscious decision to explore the opposite of the benefits, to look at the dark side if you will. What came to mind was the possibility of having a lot of people pissed off at you. How could I illustrate that?

The image I came up with was Angry people's faces, looking out at you from inside the computer at a social media site. That would not only communicate the downside of social media, but also infuse it with humor as well. It makes for a great counterpoint to the positive images of social media that I have already created.

It is surprising how often looking at the opposite side of an idea can take you in a new creative direction.

Rising above the Crowd

Creativity is your ticket to rising above the crowd (sourcing). It is something you can strengthen and cultivate. Set the intention to be more creative, practice coming up with ideas, write your ideas down, add a new twist or look for the opposites and give your ideas time to mature.

If you make creativity a constant part of your life both your career, and your life as a whole, will improve.

About the Author

John Lund Stock Photo: A Rock Start Leaps High On Stage During A Concert

Stock Photos: A Rock Star Sings On Stage

Stock Images: A Rock Star Reaching Out