Category Archives: photography

Exploring Natives…and Some Extras!

If you’ve been reading my blog, you may have noticed my obsession with weeds (here, here, and here are some examples). So when I heard that the Lux Art Institute was hosting an artist whose work features weeds, I couldn’t wait to visit. And I wasn’t disappointed. Beverly Penn makes exquisite sculptures by casting what others might classify as ordinary or weed-like flora in bronze and then creating beautiful art that seems to breathe, move, and reflect light. I wish I could have taken photos of the art–but the museum requested no photos in the studio.

And as an added extra, when I had a minute to chat with the artist, she talked about how her current work (that she is working on as she is in residency at the Lux) uses the native plants that grow prolifically on the Lux grounds. As we left the studio, we headed out into the grounds to see the sculptures installed in the native plant trail…also surrounded by even more native chaparral.

I took this photo of the native buckwheat. And if you look closely you will see a little extra in the background–one of the fanciful birdhouses that is a part of the sculpture collection at the Lux.

As I walked the natives, I couldn’t resist stopping to put my macro lens on to get closer to these often unappreciated beauties. Seeing Beverly Penn’s sculptures inspired my curiosity and had me wanting to look even more closely at these plants that seem to grow like weeds…and many consider weeds. Lately, they have been celebrated for their resilience in drought conditions, requiring considerably less water than the decorative plants that many like to cultivate around homes and businesses.

This Hummingbird’s Trumpet uses its brilliant scarlet to attract pollinators…and my eye.

I was surprised to learn that this vibrant yellow bloom is called the California Brittlebush. I love the bumpiness of the centers when when you get close.

I’m really not sure of the name of this purple flowering plant. The bloom is interesting because it includes a spiky ball and then a delicate flower.

My interest in weeds has also allowed me to find the beauty in the stages of blooming that some might dismiss as ugly or uninteresting. This plant, the Seaside Daisy, had a few blossoms in full bloom with white petals and a bright yellow center. But I found myself interested in the blossoms that were past their prime, “gone to seed”–reminding me of dandelions and their tenacious seed dispersement and the beauty of the husks as the seeds blow away.

I was also drawn to the black sage…a common plant in these parts. The blossoms are now skeletons, and yet somehow their intricate beauty draws me in and the fragrance evokes San Diego summer.

I loved the extras that presented themselves as I headed off to the Lux today. I was reminded to appreciate the natives…and look closely to find their beauty and intricacy. And one more extra: I ran into one of my students (and her little sister who will be my student when school begins in the fall) as they came out of the art studio and I was about to enter. Their mom mentioned that they were there because we had studied weeds…they just couldn’t wait to see what the artist was doing with weeds as her subject! What a great beginning to summer!

Beach Rooms

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As I’m sure you have noticed, I take lots of beach walks. And since I take lots of photos on those walks, in order to keep from taking the same pictures over and over again, I have to be ready to find a new focus each time I go.

I saw the new Daily Post weekly photo challenge last night…room. And as I headed for the beach, I started to think about what room would mean on the beach. My first thought was that the beach offers lots of room to breathe. While that is true, once I arrived, I saw a variety of rooms on the beach.

As I headed down toward the shore, I noticed the lifeguard stand. This particular one had been put away during the winter, but is back out now…complete with a lifeguard. This is definitely a room for the lifeguard and he was making himself comfortable as he watched all the people on the beach.

Heading down the beach, I started to notice the spaces that people who live on the bluffs above have built right above sand level. It is clear that they see the beach as an extension of their home and have gone to elaborate lengths to create some comfortable rooms and spaces to keep their beach gear.

Notice the beach stones used to build the lower wall on this one!

Not long after, we came across a group of people with surfboards who had built this teepee-like structure from reeds that grow nearby. They seemed to be gathered to honor one of their own. The women gathered in beach chairs and the men with their surfboards, clutched flowers as they readied themselves to enter the waves. It is a common ritual to gather on surfboards in the ocean to pay tribute to a fellow surfer…a memorial at sea, choreographed by the friends of the one who has died.

As we continued our walk this maze of stairways caught my eye. Unlike the ones I saw earlier, these seemed to emerge from rooms far above on the bluffs rather than near the shore.

And some rooms are more temporary in nature. I love this room…a fort made from a boogie board and beach towels. A perfect place to hide away from the sun and easy to pick up and go…either into the waves or to head back home.

The beach is filled with rooms. Some have roofs and no walls, providing shade without privacy, while others are almost tents, blocking wind and offering shade–and a great place to read!

As we got ready to leave, I couldn’t help noticing the sign behind the room-less showers…of course the full sign read bathrooms, but I couldn’t resist taking this photo!

I love the beach for the room it offers to breathe and to think, the cool frothy waves and briny sea air seem to soothe worries and offer space in an otherwise full life. But today, I also noticed all the other rooms at the beach…for shelter, privacy, ritual, storage, and service. I’m reminded that rooms serve many purposes and come in endless varieties. And now I’m wondering…what unexpected places have you found room(s)?

One Photo, Two Ways: June’s Photo a Day Challenge

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Not too long ago a friend of mine posted this article on my Facebook page…with the message, “Thought of you.” The article opens to unfold images of famous places…one the way you are used to seeing it, and then another from an entirely different perspective. Some are unexpected juxtapositions of the classics with modern life like the Pantheon through the windows of McDonalds while others expand your view like the picture of a tree-lined path in Central Park that pans out to allow you to see the park in the larger view of the city.

I love the ways that photography helps me see the world…and present the world in ways that are beautiful, unexpected, unique, and interesting. And I like that I can take the same picture in many different ways. One of the most important lessons that I continue to learn as a photographer is that it’s up to me to create that image through my lens.

You don’t take a photograph, you make it. – Ansel Adams

As I considered this month’s challenge, I wanted the opportunity for us to play around with the idea of taking the same shot/image and doing something different with it. So…will this mean posting two photos each day? I think maybe it will. And to encourage this experimentation, let’s try a different category of creation each week.

June 1-8: Frame of Reference

Every day take two shots of your subject, each with a different frame a reference. In this example I took this shot of the lighthouse in the distance. It shows the rocky jetty…and people walking on it toward the lighthouse. The second shot is much closer and captures more of the movement in the water. You might use a collage app to post your pictures side by side, or you can post each separately.

June 9-15: Cropping

For this week, take a photo each day and use a cropping technique to create two different shots…the original and the cropped version. With cropping you can eliminate some of what we can see in the photo, change the place where we see the central image, or draw our eye in a new way to where you want us to place our focus. My original photo here was of the hot air balloon rising. My iPhone camera struggles a bit with distance shots…and there is a lot of background in the picture. Using Camera+ I was able to crop the photo, eliminating the ground, the trees, and the other balloon, focusing your eye on the balloon in the sky.

June 16-22: Filters

This week use a filter (or two or three) to create a new version of your photo. There are many apps that offer filters…from Instagram and Camera+ to Vintique, Picfx, Snapseed and more. Be playful…try something you hadn’t considered before. With this photo, I loved the original and the way the tall palms play with the low-lying clouds. And then I was playing with Picfx and found this brown filter that makes the clouds even more prominent.

June 23-30: Use a combination of techniques

For the last week of June, try combining techniques to create a photo two (or three) ways. You might crop and filter, shoot from different angles and crop…explore the ways that layering techniques change the composition and effect of your photo. Here’s one I tried a few different ways. The original was a long shot of the Cleveland skyline. In the second version I cropped to eliminate the extraneous foreground and used a “scene” in Camera+ to brighten the photo. And then in the third I imported the cropped and brightened version into another app to apply a filter.

So now it’s your turn. Experiment with creating your own versions of one photo, two ways. After you shoot, post a photo (or both) each day with the hashtag #sdawpphotovoices to Twiiter, Instagram, Flicker, Google+ and/or Facebook (the more the better!), so that we can all enjoy the posts. If you are game for some extra action, compose a blog post about a photo, a week’s worth of photos, write a photo essay, try a learning walk, or write some poetry or even a song! 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!

With summer beginning, it’s the perfect time for some playfulness and experimentation…try something with your photos that you have never tried before! You can post every day, once a week, or even sporadically throughout the month…whatever works in your life. Be sure to share and tag your photos with #sdawpphotovoices so we can find them!

Loving Cleveland

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I love seeing a place through the eyes of people who live there. They help you find what makes the place special and unique as they tell the stories of living there.

This was my week to visit Cleveland, Ohio. It’s one of the cities that I had never visited–in fact, never even had a plane stop through. But I think I will be back! There were so many interesting places to visit, new sights to see…and of course, there were the people…

Here’s a few of my favorite experiences:

1. Beautiful downtown Chardon. This is a quaint little township with an iconic town square. Historic homes line the streets and there is a park, complete with a gazebo, right in the middle of town. Of course, my son loves the antique store on the corner, there is everything a person could ask for in a small town…right outside a big city.

2. Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Who has a town that features a picturesque waterfall? That is Chagrin Falls. Another beautiful small town, and this one with natural falls right in the center of town. I’m told the stairways down can be closed when the weather is icy or wet, but on a warm day in late May, it was a perfect place to take photos and enjoy the uniqueness of the venue.

3. Hot air balloons. As a part of its Blossom Time Festival on Memorial Day weekend, Chagrin Falls holds a hot air balloon rally. What I loved best was the “commentator” (this event was held on the local high school field) who explained all the ins and and outs of hot air ballooning. I learned about how they use cool air and super hot air to get the balloons off the ground…and while I’m not quite sure what made this a rally rather than just balloons in the air, it was fun to watch them rise. And who would imagine that Chagrin Falls in northern Ohio is the second largest hot air ballooning area—next to Albuquerque, New Mexico—in the US?

4. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, downtown Cleveland. Everything you didn’t even know you wanted to know about the history of rock and roll is housed in an amazing building designed by the same architect who designed the Louvre in Paris, I.M. Pei. The iconic pyramid-like shape offers incredible views of Lake Erie while housing everything from stage props and costumes of the most famous bands and entertainers we know, to hand written lyrics of rock and roll pioneers.

5. Free Stamp. I love public art…those interesting sculptures that live in parks, drawing attention from locals and tourists alike. They always seem to draw controversy, some people like the artwork and some hate it. Apparently, the Free Stamp in Cleveland has such a history. My brief research gives some conflicting stories of its significance. But then again, that’s what I like about art, we get to figure out for ourselves what makes it meaningful.

6. Historic architecture. I love old buildings…and churches are the best when it comes to historic buildings! We happened upon this one as we drove through the city of Cleveland to find a place for lunch. I couldn’t resist shooting a photo through the car window because of the interesting color and shape of the building. I honestly don’t know anything about it, but it looks cool!

7. Cleveland Museum of Art. It’s so clever to build a building around a historic building to preserve the architecture and expand the museum. They have a wonderful collection at this museum (that we raced through in an hour!) that includes some wonderful contemporary art and some old pieces as well. Out front is one of Rodin’s Thinker sculptures that was damaged by a bomber in 1970. I loved the idea of displaying the damaged art and thinking about the role art plays in our society.

8. A Frank Lloyd Wright house. You might remember that my son and I enjoyed scouting out and photographing a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house (the Ennis House) in Los Angeles a while back. FLW also designed a home outside of Cleveland…which just happens to be on the same road we took to visit my son’s father-in-law’s business. I wish I had gotten a closer look at the Louis Penfield House, I understand it has a magnificent view of the forest and river behind it, but I am happy that I walked up the long gravel drive and got a peek at this historic treasure.

9. Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light on Lake Erie. When my son and daughter-in-law said we were going to the beach, my first thought was, “how far is it to the ocean?” And then I remembered that lakes have beaches too! Lake Erie is huge…and this particular part of the lake is a favorite place for swimming, sunbathing, picnicking, boating, jet skiing, and enjoying a holiday weekend. We walked along the water’s edge, searching for colorful beach glass and noticing interesting rocks. Driftwood littered the beach and we even found a tree stump being lapped by the waves. We climbed the jetty and walked along the uneven rocks out to the end where an old lighthouse sits. There’s a salt plant that sits nearby too…I wish I had the opportunity to snap a few pictures there too!

10. And the highlight of the weekend was the reason we came…to celebrate my daughter-in-law’s graduation from medical school. We got to stay with her family and see their place, Cleveland and the surrounding areas, through their eyes. We were surrounded with warmth, hospitality, and friendship…and enjoyed every minute of celebrating this milestone event that means so much to both of our families (or are we now just one big extended family?).

I’m already looking forward to my next visit to Cleveland! There was so much that we didn’t get a chance to see and experience…and we can’t wait to go back and spend time with these very special friends/extended family. My son and daughter-in-law will be out our way for residency…maybe we will get a chance to show off our city to her family one of these days!

Summer Enters, With a Twist

Up Close

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It takes time to get close, to people and to flowers. You have to pay attention, using all your senses, in order to really see. Sometimes the prickly spines are the first things you notice, and you move away. But then you are likely to miss the beauty and the unique qualities only visible when you get up close…nose to nose.

Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven’t time, and to see takes time – like to have a friend takes time.
Georgia O’Keeffe

Whenever I get my macro lens out, I think of Georgia O’Keeffe and her flowers. I love the way she captured the inner beauty of flowers rather than the view most people see. My camera helps me do that. You may notice that I have a tendency to photograph the same thing over and over again. I notice it…a fascination that keeps bringing me back to a particular subject. It was definitely like that with dandelions. (When I searched my blog for dandelions, I came up with 6 posts!)

In the past few weeks it’s been prickly pear cactus that keeps catching my eye. Prickly pears are common in these parts. And mostly they are ordinary flat round green pads with sharp spines. Some people like to deface them by carving their initials in them, scarring the plant for a very long time. And right now, they are in bloom, sporting beautiful yellow and pinkish blossoms and they’re beautiful!

So each time I see a prickly pear blooming, I find myself capturing a new photo. I watched a bee dive headfirst into a bloom over the weekend…and seem to disappear deep inside. I noticed yellow and pink blossoms on the same plant.

And then I got up close. Using my macro I leaned in close and got to know this magnificent plant in new ways.

Each angle revealing something new.

I looked from the outside in,

and from the inside out.

And even this dried up blossom, well past its prime, displays the hints of past glory in its dignified demise.

Getting up close to the prickly pear reminds me of my students in the springtime. They are blooming too. And I’ve had all year to get up close, beyond the spines, and get to know them and support them as learners and people. And I wonder if nobody really sees them either…they are so small, as Georgia O’Keeffe points out. And the abilities of children are often underestimated. It takes time to get up close and really see each student as a complex, beautiful, unique individual who will bloom on her/his own timeline. Luckily, I get that chance in my classroom, even without my camera!

Having New Eyes

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On Saturday I had the opportunity to get a sneak peek at the new exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum (the NAT) that will be called Coast to Cactus. And while it is still months away from being open to the public, I was inspired by the ideas and messages I found there. This exhibit focuses on the ecosystems of San Diego county…their diversity, beauty, resilience…all that is often unseen and unappreciated.

This quote, scratched out in marker on a piece of paper and taped to a wall, spoke to me and has continued to resonate.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust

I’ve come to appreciate museum exhibits in new ways these days as I’ve learned about their conception and design. Instead of consuming the content they offer, I see them as invitation to see my world anew. The Coast to Cactus exhibit offered me views that I see everyday, and yet invited me to resee them…something I have also been doing through my camera lens. In the emerging exhibit I saw native plants and animals…meticulously crafted (apparently by a company in Minnesota that hadn’t see many of the plants they were building) to look realistic. And in addition to seeing…there will be opportunities to smell, hear, and feel the environment as well.

On Sunday, we headed off to the Torrey Pines State Reserve to walk and enjoy the natural beauty of this magnificent place. A few miles from home, this place is home to many native plants and animals, including the rare Torrey Pine tree. And it is ruggedly natural, with sandstone cliffs and breathtaking views of the ocean, lagoon, canyons…and even the freeway!

This is my community…our school grounds host Torrey Pine trees, the ocean is the ever-present western border, hawks and other raptors cruise the skies, and native species like black sage and lemonade berry are frequently viewed as weeds. I see them everyday…and yet often don’t see them at all. Even the fires are a part of this ecosystem…and the exhibit features fire within it. So many of our native plants depend on fire for regeneration, and rather than being destroyed by fire are reborn through fire.

As I hiked through Torrey Pines, I found myself looking for new ways to see this beautiful natural landscape. Here’s a peek at some of what I saw.

Wind eroded cliffs, rich with iron oxide which gives it the reddish cast

Sun through the Torrey Pines

The ocean through the yucca

Prickly pear cactus in bloom

Bees pollinating cactus blossoms

Is this buckwheat or ceanothus (up close through my macro lens)? It’s everywhere in the lagoon and at Torrey Pines Reserve.

As you might imagine, I took many more photos…and I’m sure you will catch a glimpse of a few more over the next days and weeks. I love spending time out in my community, learning to see my everyday landscapes in new ways. And in addition to what I see through my lens, when I am out taking photos I am also smelling, hearing, and feeling what these places have to offer. I hope that the Coast to Cactus exhibit that will open in 2015 at the NAT will have a similar impact on others who visit it. You don’t have to go to Torrey Pines to find this beauty…it is all over San Diego, you just need to look with new eyes.