Silent Sunday: March 29, 2015
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Category Archives: photography
Silent Sunday: March 22, 2015
Fresh Eyes
I live in a place where there are plenty of beautiful and interesting things to see…and I work to see my place anew each day. But it’s hard sometimes. And sometimes I end up seeing the same things I always see.
And I think that happens for students too. The classroom becomes familiar and learning looks like the same old thing. That’s where field trips come in…they offer opportunities for students to see learning through fresh eyes, in a different context, in a different place.
I was definitely feeling the need for some fresh eyes today. After working for eight straight Saturdays, today was rare free one and we made plans for a “field trip” to the desert. We’re lucky here in San Diego, we have coast–beautiful beaches–near where I live and not even two hours to the east, we have the desert. So today, we headed to the desert to see what spring had to offer.
We were hoping for a riotous spring bloom knowing that we’ve had a bit of rain since the new year. But once we arrived, we learned that spring had sprung…in February! Luckily, there were still beautiful desert flowers in evidence–maybe not a riotous display, but definitely worth the trip.
Our first glimpse of the desert this morning came from above. As we looked over the valley below, we noticed the quiet. I caught this moment of my husband drinking in the silence.
The desert is already warm this time of year, so we set out early for a hike, knowing it would likely be near 90 degrees by the time we got back to our car. We watched for desert flowers, for snakes (especially rattlesnakes), for big horned sheep, and birds and bugs too. And we weren’t disappointed.
The cholla cactus (the first photo), was pretty plentiful and many were blooming. The prickly pear was less obvious, and many were not blooming. I felt lucky to catch this one right near the end of our hike!
Lizards skittered across our path, sunned themselves on rocks, and raced into cracks in the rocks. Butterflies, moths, and bees were drawn to the plentiful yellow flowers. I noticed this caterpillar hanging from a slender stalk. (Love that caterpillars will pose!)
The snake we saw was slithering in the spaces between rocks…and luckily we only caught a glimpse…and it didn’t appear to be a rattler. We didn’t linger–no sense tempting fate when it comes to snakes! But we did catch sight of some big horn sheep. There was quite a group–12, I think–coming down to a stream near the oasis we hiked to. Here are a few we watched from some rocks above.
Their coloring is amazing–making them nearly invisible in the rocky locale. We saw babies as well as adults…you can see them stopping to check out whether to bolt back up the hillside!
It was surprising to see a waterfall deep in the desert. We could hear the running water before we saw it. And the California fan palm, the only palm tree native to California, completed that iconic image of oasis. Shade, water…and a nice place to rest before heading back into the hot sun to finish our hike.
My husband snapped this shot of me traversing a shallow portion of the small stream!
I feel like I got to view spring through fresh eyes today. I was looking closely and responding to novelty. I snapped photos and then when I returned home, looked up information about some of what I saw. I had to try and retry framing my shots, not sure how to capture the tall ocotillo reaching up toward the hot desert sun with the desert cliffs as backdrop.
Today’s field trip was just what I needed…a chance to see the world with fresh eyes, to go beyond the familiar and rekindle my interest in learning about this place I call home.
Silent Sunday: March 15, 2015
Silent Sunday: March 8, 2015
Seeing Orange
In spite of the rain on Sunday and Monday, it seems that spring has sprung in San Diego. Today’s warm temperatures brought out the bathing suits, shorts, and lots of people heading to the beach. And there is plenty of orange around.
The vibrance of golden poppies, the amber of giant kelp, a hearty soup of fresh vegetables, pasta, and beans, hang gliders with sun shining through their colorful sails, beach umbrellas casting shadows as protection from the sun, a tangerine hanging from a tree, a tractor lumbering down the beach–used to protect expensive homes from eroding cliffs, and the sun dipping low on the horizon silhouetting the people sitting on the sand berm watching the waves roll. I’m feeling the shift from winter as the days lengthen…and we spring forward overnight.
What’s orange in your part of the world?
Silent Sunday: March 1, 2015
Connecting to Learn and Grow: March’s Photo-a-Day Challenge
I’ve been studying the concept of Connected Learning for a couple of years now, and have spent lots of time working to understand how the information in this infographic is relevant to me as a learner and how it might also impact my students.
And through my studies I have become a connected educator…and a connected learner, especially when it comes to photography. I learn so much from my fellow photographers and following their blogs. Joy and Margaret and Janis and Cee and Naveen and Connie and Lynn and so many more people inspire me, teach me, encourage me, and support me as I explore what it means to take photos every day, striving to improve my skills and challenge myself.
So for this month I thought it might be fun to highlight connections in our #sdawpphotovoices photo-a-day challenge. The connections might be environmental like those that Janis makes. Janis is passionate about keeping the beach clean and regularly posts gorgeous photos of trash she collects on the beach using the hashtag #litterati on Instagram. Here’s an interesting post called Yuck! she wrote about the trash she collects. Yesterday, maybe because of our stormy weather, the beach where I do most of my walking and photographing was much trashier than usual…and like Janis, my husband always walks with a trash bag to pick up the trash we find along the way. Here are a couple of pieces of trash we picked up (and disposed of) yesterday.
Many of the photographers mentioned above highlight the beauty of the natural world in their photos…often capturing the uniqueness of the place where they live. Connecting with the local environment means paying attention to the details that others might overlook. I’ve been pretty obsessed with seagulls lately and have tried to capture in photos the variety of seagull behavior I observe. Quirky is often hard to snap…but if you look closely, you can see that this seagull is shouting out directions to the others around. What you can’t see is that there are lots of other seagulls nearby, seeming to respond to his directions!
I’ve also noticed the ways the gulls gather during low tides, milling around together in pretty large groups. They don’t seem to be eating, but do seem to enjoy hanging out together. I notice when I walk toward them, they start walking away from me. If I get too close, they often take to the air!
And there aren’t many lifeguards on duty in the winter, but the few who are there make regular runs in their trucks when the tide is low. I always love seeing the red lifeguard trucks on the beach! (No one else drives on our beaches…and during high tides, there isn’t much beach exposed!)
Other photographers I connect with highlight the urban experience in interesting and unusual ways. I find myself having to stretch to take interesting pictures in the suburbs where I live. (I’m much better when I visit interesting urban, metropolitan places.) But I did notice the balloons against the cloudy sky over the newly opened Petco.
And these rows of flags when I looked up. The flags remind me of swimming lane lines…and I purposely included the palm tree peeking into the frame!
Then there are the photographers that take gorgeous images of flowers. I love macro shots…but yesterday I only had my phone with me when I came across many native species seeming to thrive after the morning rain as I headed to my car after presenting at a science conference on a local community college campus. These California golden poppies caught my eye!
So March’s photo-a-day challenge is to connect…with another photographer, with nature, with the environment, with architecture, with your place, with the unique quirkiness of the subject… and more. Here is a list to help inspire you as you connect.
1. weather
2. plants
3. work
4. transportation
5. environment
6. animals
7. people
8. inspired by a photograph
9. nature
10. household
11. sky
12. architecture
13. interaction
14. explore
15. color
16. sound
17. celebration
18. green
19. ugly
20. ordinary
21. beauty
22. connecting to art
23. taste
24. local
25. exotic
26. pets
27. tree
28. signs
29. children
30. movement
31. still
Let’s spend March making connections…to each other, to our place, to ideas and passions. Let your interests drive your subjects…and your peers support your continued growth. Pick a single photo to post each day or create a gallery of your efforts. Post a photo or gallery each day with the hashtag #sdawpphotovoices to Twitter, Instagram, Flicker, Google+ and/or Facebook (the more the better!), so that we can all enjoy the posts. If you would like to expand your exploration, write the story that the photo tells, compose a blog post about a photo, a week’s worth of photos, write a photo essay, or make a video or slideshow. You are invited to create a pingback by linking to this url or post your blog address in the comment section. It’s fun for me to see what others are doing with the same prompts I am using!
You can post every day, once a week, or even sporadically throughout the month…whatever works in your life. You can post your pictures in the order of the prompts or post the one you find on the day you find it–or make up your own prompt for the day or the week! You get to make your own rules…and find your own connections. Be sure to share and tag your photos with #sdawpphotovoices so we can find them!
Let’s connect through our photos, our passions, our goals, and our interests. I can’t wait to see what connections you make through your lens!
Exploring Symmetry…LA Style
I know that symmetry is a mathematical concept…one of precision, perfectly matched halves. But mostly, in the world, symmetry is not so perfect. But there are echoes of symmetry all around us. My eyes were hearing the echoes of symmetry the other day as I explored downtown Los Angeles with my son.
There is something so special about spending the day with my son and our cameras. We walk and talk and take photos, noticing details, trying new shots, seeing the world through each other’s eyes. And there’s a certain symmetry in that too.
My eyes were drawn to this old building visible from the parking garage. The symmetry has been spoiled by graffiti, age and disrepair. But there is still something beautiful about it.
In contrast, this old historic building has been preserved, both inside and out. Inside, the exquisite marble floors and intricate wrought iron frame the antique mechanical elevators. And outside, I had to angle my shot to exclude the modern Subway sandwich sign and stoplights to capture the beauty of this elegant old building.
We also ended up climbing flight upon flight of stairs as we explore the is old rail system called Angel’s Flight. Built in 1901 it traveled up and down a block…and after scaling the stairs…I see why they wanted a railway!
Grand Central Market was an explosion of colors and smells…and quite a tasty place for lunch! I was drawn to these cactus pads…there is a certain symmetry in these bins of produce and the jumble of price signs rising out of them.
I’m not sure that any of my photos fit the mathematical definition of symmetry…but for me they communicate the idea of symmetry, the creation of purposeful balance and arrangement. Just like my day with Nick…the perfect balance and arrangement of time, exploration, and connection. And the cherry on top…dinner with my daughter-in-law! Symmetry!
Thinking Through My Lens 