Category Archives: Weekly Photo Challenge

Weekly Photo Challenge: Skyward

Weekly Photo Challenge: Thankful

It seems a bit cliche, but as I compose this week’s challenge on Thanksgiving evening I do find myself thinking about the richness and bounty in my life and feeling like this might just be the right week to take the time to express some of the things I am thankful for.

I’m so thankful for my family and friends, the people who surround me in my personal and professional life. While you might find hints of them here on my blog, mostly they aren’t mentioned by name and seldom seen in photos out of respect for their privacy. But they make everything else in my life possible.

I’m thankful for sunsets and the opportunity to travel and gather with smart professionals from all over the county. I’ve seen this iconic landmark many times now, but it always captivates me with its stature and simple elegance. (If you look closely you can see the Lincoln Memorial in the background!)

I’m thankful for long walks on the beach that allow me to decompress and appreciate the place I call home. It’s different each time I go there… I’m constantly intrigued and amazed as I take in the sights, sounds, and smells of this watery wonderland.

I’m thankful for work that puts me into relationships with interesting people and helps me understand my own work and my own city in new and different ways. It’s too easy to take my city for granted and miss the rich history and intricacies like these beautiful buildings…

or dismiss these mallard ducks as ordinary.

I’m thankful for the freedoms that allow me to walk where I want, without fear of injury or reprisal. And I wish for the same freedoms for those–even in our country–who don’t enjoy that same privilege. The sunlight on these poinsettias remind me of the freedoms that are easy to take for granted…leisure to enjoy a day at a theme park, to spend time with my family, to have a few days off work…

And I’m thankful for my pets…my cats…who are loving, entertaining, irritating and such available photo subjects. As I was cleaning this morning, Jack couldn’t resist jumping up on this stool to check out the new view. And I couldn’t resist a couple of shots of him.

So what are you thankful for? What makes your life more full, energizes you, or just simply brings a smile to your lips?

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

Whether you celebrated Thanksgiving or not, I hope you find some time this week to snap a shot or two of something that represents thankful to you. I can’t wait to see thankful through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Out and About

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It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-dayness of life and not head out with my camera in search of interesting photos, so I like to try to allow myself at least a few minutes every day to consider what I see when I am out and about…even if out and about is about getting to and from work…in an interesting way.

And then, it seems, I am also more ready for those shots when I come across something a little more out of the ordinary. After spending the early part of the week in deep conversation with parents and students during parent-student-teacher conferences, I headed off to Washington D.C. for the National Writing Project Annual Meeting. The conference is at the same time every year, but always in a different location.

When we arrived at our hotel in National Harbor, Maryland (just across the Potomac from DC), we discovered that our hotel room had a spectacular view of the river…as the sun was setting after a long day of travel. And it’s cold here! Seeing the gorgeous sky, a ferris wheel, and water…my friend and colleague Janis and I looked at each other, pulled on our coats and rushed outside to see if we could get closer, without any rooftop obstructions to take a few pictures before the colors in the sky dissipated.

And in spite of freezing fingertips and eyes tearing in the wind…we discovered a little sandy beach sculpture garden…with body parts protruding!

And I did snap shot after shot of the sun setting behind the ferris wheel. Here’s one of my favorites!

But more typically, I grab my out and about moments in my familiar setting. I took this one the other day after school. As I drove away from the parking lot and headed home I simply pulled off to the side of the road and tried my best to capture the colors in the sky…I think I have newly discovered that the advantage of standard time and shorter daylight hours is that I see more sunsets!

And out and about on the weekend, I spent time walking at the lagoon. It’s dry and winter is approaching, so the plants are mostly shades of brown. If you look closely you might see the freeway that runs across the lagoon to the west in this shot framed by the eucalyptus tree.

And sometimes shots that seem ordinary can become something more by a bit of app magic. I played around with some filters with this one and my view of the lagoon took on a much more dramatic tone.

What do you see when you are out and about? What do you pass every day on your way to and from work, while you watch your child’s soccer (or football or dance…) practice, as you walk the dog or head out for a jog?

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

Squeeze in some time for a few photos while you are out and about this week. I can’t wait to see what out and about looks like through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: On a Whim

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I am loving that photography has given me permission to follow my whims…to make spur of the moment decisions that lead me to interesting pictures. As I left the university this afternoon I noticed hang gliders over the cliffs. Even though I had an appointment, I decided to take a few minutes for a detour to the nearby glider port. The sun was descending and the gliders were soaring above the cliffs…posing in the setting sun. This particular shot is unedited and unfiltered.

I also noticed this other kind of glider…almost like wings. This guy soared bird-like into the light.

Sometimes letting the lawn get a bit overgrown in a good thing…at least for the weed-loving photographer in me. My eye was drawn to this particular dandelion puff…and on a whim I started snapping shots of it, trying to capture its perfect spherical shape.

A new grocery store opened near my house. It’s huge…and apparently creating vibrant vegetable displays is part of their grand opening business plan. I found myself snapping photos of the veggies, drawn by the colorful colors and shapes. Will they continue to create these colorful pepper arrangements?

And last weekend was perfect for low-tide walking. On Saturday it was so low that I was seeing parts of the reef that are not usually not visible. On a whim I was taking pictures of the exposed reefs. Later I noticed the ways the ripples in the water played with the contours of the reef, creating interesting textures.

And who can resist a sunset shot with a lifeguard tower in the foreground?

As much as I love the beach at low tide, sometimes I find myself there at high tide…and what a difference it makes! The wide beach of Saturday afternoon was replaced by a very narrow beach on Sunday morning. But that doesn’t keep people from enjoying the water, sun and sand…and it doesn’t keep me from taking a shot on a whim!

What do you take pictures of on a whim? Do you go out of your way to photograph something that seems interesting? Do you stop on your way to work, on your way home to take a photo or two or three? Maybe this is your week to follow some of those whims…and see what you find!

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

Where will your whims take you? What will you find when you give yourself permission to veer from your usual paths or timetables? I can’t wait to see what you find on a whim through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Time Change

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I’m not a fan of the time change in the fall. I mean, I love getting the bonus hour…for sleep, walking, exploration, photography…but I hate getting home when it is dark, especially when it isn’t even 5pm! But in this first week of the time change, I have found some interesting images BECAUSE of the time change.

I’ve been trying to squeeze more time for physical exercise into my life…and this week I’ve been carrying my gym shoes so I can take the time for a walk at the end of the day. Earlier this week I had a late meeting near UCSD, so when I finished my regular work day I put my gym shoes on and took a nice long walk around the campus. As the sun dipped lower and lower into the sky, I loved watching the way it caressed the buildings and played hide and seek through the trees.

In this image, the low sun found its way through the tall buildings, lighting up the midsection of the eucalyptus trees in front of them.

In this shot, the harsh setting sun created a flare of light as I shot directly into it. Using an app to convert it to black and white created a neat effect with the light.

The Geisel Library at UCSD is such an architecturally interesting building that I couldn’t resist framing some shots. You can see the sun setting behind the building in this shot focused toward the west. Again, I changed it to black and white, creating lines of light framing the building.

And as I walked I noticed the moon rising. I chased it through the trees, tracking it down when it hid behind buildings. And as I circled back toward the library, I found the moon sitting on its shoulder with the colorful afterglow of sunset in the background. This image is almost otherworldly!

Yesterday I was at school late, after all, it is report card season. And it’s hard to stay focused on work as the classroom gets darker and darker as the sun sets. About a half hour after the sunset, my teaching partner and I headed out…and looked out toward the end of the hall and saw the most incredible colors in the sky. Brilliant oranges sat on the deep turquoise sea, and even as I took the time to snap a few images I knew that my camera would not do justice to the intensity of the colors.

And here is one more, looking across the field at the baseball backstop with the ocean just beyond.

How has the time change impacted you? What are you seeing and capturing in your photos that are because of the time change? My pictures happen to take place as the sun went down, but I can imagine that the morning light is also different, changing what you 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 #timechange for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

How did you take advantage of your extra hour? What are you noticing now that our days are shorter and our nights longer? I look forward to seeing the time change through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Curiosity

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When I am out with my camera, I notice things in the world that I somehow overlook as I go about my daily business…and I find myself asking questions and wondering about so many things. I think my neighbors must think I am crazy when they see me out in the middle of my lawn as I head out to work, crouched low with my phone in hand, trying to photograph the strange little gray mushroom that somehow cropped up overnight. Where did it come from? Why is it gone before I get home in the afternoon?

The macro lens constantly piques my curiosity. It’s amazing when you are able to bring what’s ordinarily too small to notice to full scale. I love the layers of stacked petals on this mum. I can see why Georgia O’Keeffe painted so many big pictures of flowers!

I didn’t have my macro handy for this shot…and I doubt the butterfly would have stood still enough for me to get close anyway. I was curious when I saw this monarch in Raleigh…just like I do at home in San Diego. What is the ideal habitat for monarchs? Is it about temperature? Available food sources? Are they native to both places?

I’m also curious about learning and how to best support it. We like to have our students sketch, especially when looking closely at something real. This is a sketch of an aspen leaf (not commonly found in our area). I like the way this student paid careful attention to detail, both in the contour shape and in the placement of the veins that run through it.

And what is it about bubbles that draw our attention and make us smile? We use bubbles in the classroom as a way to celebrate birthdays…the birthday child gets to pop bubbles we blow as the kids sing. It always brings a sense of joy and a big smile–to the birthday child and to the rest of us too! Is it the translucent hint of color or the temporary nature of these fragile balls that delight us?

What has piqued your curiosity lately? Has something stopped you in your tracks, to crouch low, drop your guard, and focus that lens? What are you still thinking about long after the photo has been snapped?

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

So now I am curious about what makes your curious! What are you noticing? What has gone from ordinary to extraordinary as you paid more attention? I can’t wait to see curiosity through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder

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As I headed out my front door this morning a dew covered dandelion puff caught my eye. I was filled with wonder as I noticed the heaviness of the strands of fluff and I couldn’t wait to put my work things in my car so I could head back over to take a photo. Seeing the dew all over my car and windows, I decided to start my car, squeegee the windows and then set up my macro lens to capture that image. At that moment, as I sat in the driver’s seat and pushed the button to start my ignition, my car let out a short groan and then nothing. I tried to pull the key out to try again…but it wouldn’t release and when I tried the ignition button again…nothing.

Lucky for me, my husband was working from home this morning so I was able to head back in to see if he could help. And while he was checking out my car, I got the opportunity to attach my macro lens and snap a few shots. I love the way you can see the dandelion fluff encased in a dew drop in this shot.

(As I write this, my car is in the shop. My husband was able to take me to work and hopefully we’ll be picking my car up later today.)

Yesterday, I reveled in the wonder of my students as they took a close look at some fall leaves my teaching partner brought back from her trip to Colorado. My students had the opportunity to observe, sketch and photograph the leaves…and these will also serve as information and inspiration for some poetry and art. I found myself taking photos of students taking photos of leaves (and you can see some sketches in progress in the background).

On Monday, we celebrated the National Day on Writing (for details you can see this post) by writing collaborative poetry with the older multiage class at our other school. My students continually amaze and delight me as they embrace the wonder of words…and of collaboration. It was such fun to watch kids, from six to eleven years old, figure out how to bring their ideas together in a collaborative poem.

I spent the weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina at the Association for Science and Technology Centers conference. Unlike a usual educational conference, this conference is mostly attended by museum professionals. My colleague from the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and I presented as part of our participation in a partnership between writing projects and science centers. Since we have been exploring ways to transform field trip experiences for students, we included a mini field trip “exhibit” as part of our presentation. It was such fun to catch the wonder and delight on the face of adults as they explored with a science “toy.”

I also had the opportunity to explore the North Caroline Museum of Natural Sciences (I wrote more about it here). This museum is quite unusual and includes many unique features. I got to watch these veterinarians work with this snake, including using a “trach” tube. We got to listen to the snake’s respirations and ask the vets questions about the procedure. You’ll notice that they are also projected onto the screen on the right hand side of the photo. I can only imagine the wonder children will experience as they watch these animal doctors at work!

And in the more traditional part of the museum I happened to look up with a bit of surprise and wonder as I noticed these pterodactyls above my head. You can also see the lights of the city through this windowed dome where the pterodactyls flew.

And sometimes it is the simple things that fill me with wonder. Raleigh is known for its oak trees. While they were not experiencing full blown colorful fall leaves, there were leaves and acorns falling here and there. I love the simplicity of this leaf on the brick walkway.

What fills you with wonder? Is it the simplicity and beauty of nature or watching students at work? Did you catch a scientific wonder (like today’s partial solar eclipse) or revel in the intricacies of man-made structures?

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

Open your eyes and heart and pay attention to what fills you with wonder. Breathe in and take that photo, not so much to make art, but to capture the moment for further reflection. I can’t wait to see those wonder-full moments through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Motion

Weekly Photo Challenge: Surprise

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Sometimes as I am going about my life I see something that stops me in my tracks and makes me think. I’m having one of those kind of weeks. On Monday I had a meeting to do some planning with colleagues…that happened to take place in the San Diego Natural History Museum. I love meetings there–the grand old building oozes character, and when I walked in the conference room on Monday, I was surprised to see there was a tusk on the floor! I couldn’t resist a shot!

Over the weekend the weather continued to be unseasonably warm (into the 80s on the coast!), so the beach was the best option for a walk. As we walked along I was surprised when I spied this man on a ladder. You can see that he is right along the shoreline, perched on the top, with his big camera lens pointing at the surfers navigating the larger than usual waves. Did he carry the ladder from his car, does he live nearby? Does the ladder make a difference in his photography?

Further down the beach I was surprised by the pop of color from the orange umbrella. It felt like a fall leaf turning in the sea of greens and blues.

Earlier this week I took a photo of the palm tree that graces our school playground. And later in the day came across a new editing app for my phone. It was fun to play with the different effects and lenses. Here is the surprising result.

And this morning on playground duty my eye was drawn to the purple boa on the playground bench. Who wore their boa to school…and who left it on the bench? Will this person be surprised when it is missing?

So what has surprised you this week?

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

Be on the lookout for those things and situations that surprise you this week. I can’t wait to see surprises through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Under

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The weather is changing around here…finally. The unusually warm and humid weather of August and September has made way for cooler, crisper mornings and evenings. It’s still pretty hot, into the 90’s today, but it is much drier. I’m loving the feelings of fall in the air, but also fearing the risks of fire that this weather brings. Walking under the dry eucalyptus trees at UCSD I found myself thinking about how these trees can be like matchsticks, igniting easily and spreading flames with the help of Santa Ana winds.

I noticed yesterday that the monarch caterpillars are back in the planter box in front of our classroom. Milkweed is a magnet for the beautiful orange and black butterflies and if you look closely under the leaves tiny caterpillars emerge from the eggs the butterflies lay. These guys were tiny yesterday, and today they much bigger and fatter!

My students are always great subjects for photography, I love their facial expressions, the seriousness of their thinking faces, and even the interesting ways they sit. I couldn’t resist this shot of the feet tucked under and crossed as he listened in class.

My cats also make interesting photography subjects. When one of my students gave me this cat toy as a gift last week, Jack (one of my 16 year old cats) couldn’t resist playing with it…trapping the dangling object under his paw. He’s not that much fun to play with these days…he wants to just catch the toy and then hold it rather than tire himself by chasing it around!

Our lawn sprinklers seem to be nothing but trouble lately! Sometimes they leak, sometimes the overspray, watering the sidewalk, and it seems like my husband is aways digging under the grass to repair them.

And while our lawn is suffering from the drought conditions and watering restrictions, mushrooms seem to be thriving. There seems to be an entire village of mushrooms sprouting up not only on our lawn, but throughout the neighborhood. They go from tiny to huge in just a couple of days and I love the texture of the underside of these fungi.

So what do you see when you look under? Under a tree, a table, under the paw of your pet, under the edge of a cliff? What is on the underside of your world?

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

Take a look around and under this week…I can’t wait to see what you find when you look under through your lens!