Anyone who reads my blog with any regularity knows that I spend plenty of time on the beach. And with my camera in hand, I find that I often begin to study the things that I see through my lens.  I’ve been drawn to seagulls lately…as evidenced in the photo gallery above (all images posted on my blog over the last few months).

And as I take photos of seagulls, I have also studied them.  Noticing their habits, their preferences, their personalities…and more.  As I walk along the shore, I am drawn to the crowd of seagulls.  They seem to be social creatures, gathering together to hang out.  They seem to have some favorite spots…and I walk through them on a regular basis.

I love the way they casually walk away from me as I come near.  Seldom do they take flight as I approach, they just seem to shuffle over a bit as they keep a close eye on my movements.

I am always surprised by their adaptations.  The runoff from the storm drains flows into the ocean near the lifeguard station at our local beach.  I am assuming that this is fresh (ish) water (at least not salt water).  I often see seagulls taking a drink from this runoff–in spite of the fact that we humans get regular warnings to stay away from this water–especially after the rain because of the risk of bacteria.  I caught this guy in action, taking sip from the flowing runoff.

I love to watch seagulls in flight.  They seem so carefree and graceful in the sky…when they are not squabbling with one another over a bit of food.  This guy today was nice enough to fly right in front of my camera.

And there are times when it seems that the gulls take to the sky in a carefully choreographed dance, floating on the air waves, dipping and turning, swooping and gliding.  I notice this most often in the late afternoons when I squeeze a walk in after I am done with work.  There was a beautiful performance going on this afternoon as I headed back to my car for my drive home.

So…what are you studying through your lens?  Nearby birds? The light in the afternoon?  The way snow melts? The plants in your garden or the tree you pass on your way to work each day? If you haven’t yet studied…this is your week for a mini study!

You can post your photo alone or along with some words: commentary, a story, a poem…maybe even a song! I love to study the photographs that others’ take and think about how I can use a technique, an angle, or their inspiration to try something new in my own photography. (I love a great mentor text…or mentor photo, in this case!)

I share my photography and writing on social media. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter using @kd0602. If you share your photos and writing on social media too, please let me know so I can follow and see what you are doing. To help our Weekly Photo community find each other, use the hashtag #study for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

So take a look around…what are you noticing?  What questions does it raise?  Use your lens as a tool for closer study…  I can’t wait to see what you are learning as you study through your lens!