Category Archives: Weekly Photo Challenge

Weekly Photo Challenge: Two

Looking through photos I’ve taken lately, I’ve noticed twos. Not really pairs, like shoes or gloves, but instead two of something finding their way to a prominent position in the photo like these two bike riders pedaling along the beach.

And as I stood along the edge of the lily pond at our local botanical garden a few days ago, I noticed a turtle swimming toward me. And as I continued to watch, there were two. They swam along snapping up small fish, slipping around and under the lily pads.

The water lily blossoms also appeared in twos for me, a riot of color atop the brilliant green of the lily pads.

Out in the school garden students were invited to reflect on their experiences in the garden during the school year (it’s our garden teacher’s last week). It was such fun to watch them settle in, perched on stumps, leaning on the fence under the sunflowers, garden boxes serving as writing desks…and I caught these two surrounded by the colorful, fragrant sweet peas as they took time to reflect and write.

Somehow my photo of the flax also focused on two blossoms. I love the color of these red blooms!

And even as the petals fall off the sunflowers, they remain interesting and somehow beautiful as they go to seed. I noticed that this one has two petals still hanging on.

So where are twos popping up for you? Are you noticing traditional pairs and couples or unusual combinations? Are they people, animals, plants, man-made items?

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 #two for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

So, start looking for two and share what you find through your lens with the rest of us!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Lines

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Not too long ago my son and I were looking at power lines…those big metal structures made up of lots of crossing lines that also hold up more lines. And then some weeks later, I found myself noticing more power lines in a different place. I’m drawn to the lines and angles…and to the question, why are there more power lines in poorer communities?

And thinking about those lines got me looking for other lines…like these that make up the water tower in a small coastal town in northern CA.

Or these on the lifeguard tower along the pier in San Clemente. (Notice the line of the pier railing and then the railings and the scaffolding of the tower above)

Some lines are more organic, like the lines along the cliff that delineate the different rock compositions. Up close you can see the a line of conglomerate pebbles about halfway up the cliffs.

The surfboards lined up against this building are each a line individually and then come together to make a line of boards against the wall.

Nature seems to like lines too. Like the line of this milkweed stalk behind the caterpillar. (I’m loving these seed pods that burst open and expose fuzzy seeds that take off in the breeze…almost like dandelion puffs!)

And the rotational symmetry of this plant, with lines emerging from the center, spreading in all directions.

So starting looking for lines in your photos. The straight lines of buildings or the more organic lines found in nature. Are the lines made of something else? A row of trees? Scraps of fabric? Your child’s toys?

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 #lines for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

So, find the lines in your life and share them with the rest of us! I know I can’t wait to see lines through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

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Sometimes it seems like I go through phases with my photography, taking lots of shots of similar things. It wasn’t too long ago when I was obsessed with taking photos of seagulls…in flight, in crowds, eating, posing–you get the idea.

Lately, my eye seems to be drawn to color. I noticed the brilliant red of this community sign just the other day.

And the nearby artist supply store was awash in color from ceiling to floor.

Flowers are blooming around here too. I couldn’t resist the way the light made the orange of these flowers glow.

The sharp spines and the vibrance of the red flowers make an interesting composition.

I love the surprising patches of wildflowers that grow in unusual spots, cuddled up to rocks, brightening the landscape.

And the unexpected red roof on the lighthouse, highlighting the classic white building below it.

Where are you finding color? What colors do you find yourself drawn to time after time? Are they colors in nature or the ones that people use to decorate or draw attention to their spaces?

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 #color for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

So, start looking for color…and share your images with the rest of us. What colors will we see through your lens?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sparkling

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Today I found a quote that resonated…filling my mind and heart with images of warmth and light.

Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light. Theodore Roethke

And I started thinking about my week off from work…which was filled with light and sparkling images. A long winding drive through a forest of redwoods showered us with shards of light filtered through those tall majestic trees.

And who knew that wild raspberries grow on the tops of the sea cliffs that overlook the fiercely beautiful waves of the Northern California coastline? They seemed to wink as I stopped to take their photo!

How have I missed quaint sea towns like Mendocino, a jewel of weathered historic buildings, sparkling blue water, and tall water towers.

Even in the shade, an inner glow seemed to sparkle through this luminous purple flower.

And when we arrived at our destination, Glass Beach…near Fort Bragg, we were greeted by smooth, tumbled beach glass that covered the sand. This place that once served as a dumping ground is now seen as a treasure. I watched children clamber up rocks, pretending to be pirates high above the sparkling glass.

The glass beckoned, urging fingers to search for unique shapes and colors, letting the bits and pieces trickle through our open hands.

At the end of the day, through the window of our hotel room, we were treated to the sparkling sun dipping down into the Pacific as the fishing boats came in from a day on the ocean.

So this week be on the lookout for images that sparkle in your life. Is there an inner light, the sun shining through, or maybe a sparkle less literal that only you can see?

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 #sparkling for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

What is sparkling in your life this week? I can’t wait to see what sparkles through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Light and Shadow

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I notice light…the way it washes over images, bringing vibrance to colors and highlighting details. And I notice shadow, spaces between light and color that create texture and definition. I love the interplay of the two…and the challenge of capturing what my eyes see through my camera lens.

I came home today to my tulip plant opening in the light of the late afternoon shining through the window. The yellow blossom seems to bring the spirit of spring right into the house.

Last week when I was back east, I was mesmerized by the shadow of bare tree limbs. Spring wasn’t much in evidence, but the beauty of nature in all its shadow was. I love the way that looking up into the tree branches creates images of lace.

And when I looked up inside the the train station in Baltimore, I noticed light playing with the intricate stained glass ceiling. My photo doesn’t begin to capture the beauty of the glass and the light!

Earlier this week at the San Dieguito Heritage Museum my students and i entered this Native American kiicha made of willow branches and wetland reeds. Looking up I noticed the way the light played with the shadows inside.

And after school today I treated myself to a short walk on the beach–this is the beginning of my spring break–a much needed week off to gather energy and inspiration for the rest of the school year. It was warm today…and spring breakers were out in full force. I noticed the kites flying above the lifeguard tower and the way the sun created silhouettes in the distance.

So, whether you are on spring break or yours is long over, take some time this week to notice light and shadow. What time of day does the light catch your eye? What do the shadows reveal?

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 #lightandshadow for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

So go into the light and explore the shadows in your life. I can’t wait to experience light and shadow through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Monumental

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Yesterday Abby and I spent our day on Capitol Hill talking with congressional reps, exploring the history of our county, and thinking about the multiple meanings of words (more details of that here). So as I thought about a weekly photo prompt, the word monumental came to mind.

There are the obvious images of monumental, like watching the sun rise behind the Capitol building. (It’s being renovated, giving it an almost Minecraft-like cubism.

There’s some less obvious uses of monumental too–at least in my mind. Like the monumental effort it took to capture this image of the squirrel sitting on this piece of branch, facing out, eating breakfast. I wanted to get close, but not so close that I would cause him to dash. So I did a bit of editing to bring him more into focus so you could get a glimpse too.

And what teacher wouldn’t love a monument made of books? I was a bit flabbergasted by the enormity of the stack–tower–monument of books written about Abraham Lincoln on display at Ford’s Theater.

I was also thinking about my visit to the desert near my home last weekend…and the monumental majesty of the mountains that frame our local desert spaces. I love the blooming ocotillo in the foreground, bringing a touch of color to the endless palette of browns against the brilliant blue sky.

And then there is the monumental beauty in the ordinary…like these yellow flowers that somehow find enough water to survive…and thrive and bloom in this dry, hot environment.

Back to my day on the hill yesterday…I had a monumental amount of fun with Abby. We worked hard, talked a lot, and Abby’s playfulness is contagious! After me filming her dancing on the steps of the Supreme Court (she was tempted to ask the armed security guard to dance with her!), she asked to take a photo of me…and encouraged me to move, react, not just stand still. I’m no Abby…but I appreciate the invitation to push out of my comfort zone of standing back, out of the limelight, to take in the sun on the hallowed steps of this historic place.

So…what seems monumental to you? Is it a place? An event? An experience? An emotion?

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 #monumental for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

So explore the multiple meanings of the word monumental and represent it in your way through a photo (or two or three). I can’t wait to see monumental defined through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Study

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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!

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!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Action!

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Summer has come early here in southern California…with temps in the 90s on the coast today! This is not our normal weather…but it has people flocking to the beaches to play. People are shedding their clothes and there’s lots of action on the shoreline.

The water is not warm yet, even though you wouldn’t know it by looking at people playing in the surf. The sign on the lifeguard tower said 64…and my feet agreed as I walked along the shore. These boys show the contrast between the air and water in they way they are dressed…one in a wetsuit, the other in trunks…as they pull the kayak up on the shore.

I love the spring in the step of this little guy. He just exudes energy!

There are lots and lots of games to play on the beach…frisbees and footballs and smashball are usual. I’ve been noticing this game lately…where you bounce the ball off the mini trampoline, with the goal of keeping the ball moving within the group. These boys were playing an extreme version, throwing themselves to the ground to assure the ball stayed in play!

And there’s lots of fun to be had just playing in the waves, jumping and screaming with each surge of water.

And when the tide is low, the bikes come out.

And people aren’t the only ones in action! These birds, pelicans I think, must have found something good to eat as they gather, hovering and plunging into the waves.

And if you look closely you can see both the action of the seagull in flight and the waves rolling and crashing here.

I love this one where the seagull is still and the waves are caught in action, I love the colors that are so hard to catch in a photo!

So, for this week, be on the lookout for action. What’s going on in your little piece of the world? Are people playing? Working? What about plants and animals…are they in action? Or like me, you might even notice the action of water…or weather.

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 #action for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

So take a look around, where is the action in your life this week? I can’t wait to see what action you find through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Overlooked

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Some weeks I feel inspired and find lots to take photos of…I spend time outdoors, exploring the beauty of the natural world. And some weeks, like this one, I feel a bit overwhelmed with the responsibilities in my life and it seems like a stretch to find anything at all interesting to photograph.

But this week, in spite of only feeling like I have had mere minutes to devote to photography, I have been trying to take photos of things I might have otherwise overlooked. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m crazy as they watch me crawling around my front yard taking photos of dandelions!

I also noticed the way the light was playing with this crazy thorny tree near my driveway. The leaves have recently sprouted, bringing a bit of spring green with it.

With our kitchen remodel done and my hubby back to cooking, we are getting more interesting (and yummy) meals again. This week he experimented with a “South of the Border” pizza.

That’s enchilada sauce, red bell peppers, cilantro and avocado. Delicious! And today he was baking these vegan raspberry thumbprint cookies in his shiny new oven.

We had a much-needed rainy weekend that continued into Monday morning…and my morning playground duty (conveniently timed between rainy squalls) had me looking skyward, hoping students would have a little time for outdoor play before being cooped up inside most of the day. It was hard to overlook the rare dark clouds framing the playground.

Today I was at the university, thinking about how much time I spend driving around and around the parking lot looking for that elusive parking spot. I decided I should capture that struggle in a photo…which also had me noticing the light and shadows…and the many white cars!

I’ve been noticing the jacarandas in bloom this week as I turn from the major thoroughfare into my neighborhood. The pinkish purplish blossoms are stunning against the lengthening daylight as I head toward home from work. Today I took my big camera with me to work and reminded myself to stop, park my car, and take some photos on my way home. Here’s what I saw.

So, for this week, take a look around at what you may ordinarily overlook as you go about your busy life. What’s right under your nose? Out in your yard? Along the road on your way home from work?

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 #overlooked for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

So take a look around, what can you photograph that you may have overlooked in other circumstances? I can’t wait to see overlooked through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Rule of Thirds

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One of the things I love about photography is playing around with composition…either while I am shooting or in the editing process. The Daily Post this week focused their challenge on the rule of thirds…so I think I will piggyback this challenge with theirs.

You’ve probably seen more seagull photos from me than you ever wanted lately. And I’ve been playing around with different angles and compositional elements. Here’s an unedited one of a seagull standing on the rocks in the surf.

And this one is also unedited…on a gray day I captured this seagull in flight, in the upper lefthand third of the frame.

And it’s not always seagulls that capture my attention. This pelican pair flew overhead, cruising the shoreline…they are almost in the bottom third of the frame.

And this egret was wading in the koi pond at Balboa Park…I especially love the colors and the way its mouth is open in this shot.

This was a favorite from the other day, taken with my iPhone…walking across the Target parking lot my eye was drawn to the gathering storm clouds in the sky…and the birds perched in this bare tree.

And just to prove that all my photos don’t include birds, here is a shot of a monarch caterpillar munching its way toward creating a chrysalis. This shrub was full of caterpillars…and people were delighting in pointing out the crawlers. We also saw a bright green chrysalis and a few butterflies too.

So, for this week, let’s play along with the Daily Post challenge and work on shots that follow the rule of thirds. (For more information about the rule of thirds, look here) You can frame your shots as you take them or play around with the composition in the editing process.

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 #ruleofthirds for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

So play around with composition this week and see how the rule of thirds impacts your photos.