Category Archives: Weekly Photo Challenge

Weekly Photo Challenge: STEM

Here’s the week 7 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt for the NWP iAnthology! (Here are weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 if you want to look back.)

Probably because I have been busily writing a grant this week for state funding for our writing project site, all the current educational buzz words are bouncing around my brain. One that has been getting lots of play lately is the acronym, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

So that has me thinking, what does STEM look like in my photographs? Today I happened to attend a technology event at the new public library in downtown San Diego called Innovation Day. The goal was to bring technology leaders of all sorts (from superintendents to ed tech and IT folks to classroom teachers) together to examine some products from vendors and to hear some short presentations about the use of a variety of technological tools. Walking around the beautiful new library building was a treat in itself, featuring breathtaking views of the city and the bay and some unique architectural features. This fits the “E” in STEM for me (could probably include some “M” too!)

The beach seems to fit every photo category for me. This pairing of seashells shows symmetry and the fibonacci sequence. We don’t always think about math when we look at seashells…but they are perfect examples of those mathematical concepts I just mentioned. Do you know which is which?

And then there are the intricacies of science. The biology of grasses that grow on the sea cliffs, the slow and constant wearing of erosion on the geologic features, the physics of waves…

So this week’s photo challenge is to represent STEM in photos. Where do you find science, technology, engineering and math? How does looking through your camera lens through the lens of STEM impact what you see and what you share? Share a photo (or several) that pictures STEM in some way. Post either the photo alone or along with writing inspired by the photo. I also invite you to use others’ photos as inspiration for your own writing and photography. I often use another photographer’s image as “mentor text” for my own photography, trying to capture some element in my own way.

I like to share my images and writing on social media…and I invite you to share yours widely too. (You might consider Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+) Use the hashtag #STEM and include @nwpianthology to make it easy for us to find and enjoy. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @kd0602. I’d love to follow you if you share your handle.

You can also share your photos and writing by linking to this blog post or sharing in the comment section below. I am excited to see how you represent STEM through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflection

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Here’s the week 6 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt for the NWP iAnthology! (Here are weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 if you want to look back.)

Reflection is one of those words that is layered with meaning for me. It can be as literal as peering into a mirror or as abstract as considering the way that wind, light, and life transform an image.

In photography, sometimes reflection is obvious…sunlight on water is one of those I notice often, yet never tire of like this photo of the sun setting reflected in the lagoon.

Sometimes I only notice the reflections when I go back and look closely at a photograph after I get home. In this shot of the fisherman my goal was to capture the sense of aloneness that comes with the overcast sunless sky. But there is something significant about his reflection appearing wavering in the mirror-like water at the edge of the sea.

Similarly, this photo of the giraffe at the Oakland zoo almost suggests another life in the reflection where the fences are not visible, and you can see the trees and shrubs that are less obvious in the actual image.

I love this subtle reflection I found in a creek in the Muir Woods. If you look closely, the forest is reflected in the water creating almost a multimedia collage with the leaves and sticks floating in the water.

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And today I was intentionally looking for a reflection to photograph and wondered if I was going to have to resort to a photo of the sun reflecting on water. As I walked up to the Writing Project office I noticed the reflection of the courtyard in the windows of the building. (It turns out that it is a bit of a “selfie” as well, you’ll notice I am there in the reflection as well.)

So this week’s photo challenge is to represent your image of reflection. Do you find reflection in water, in mirrors, on shiny surfaces? Are your reflections lonely, filled with life, colorful? Share a photo that creates an image of reflection for you. Post either the photo alone or along with writing inspired by the photo. I also invite you to use others’ photos as inspiration for your own writing and photography. I often use another photographer’s image as “mentor text” for my own photography, trying to capture some element in my own way.

I like to share my images and writing on social media…and I invite you to share yours widely too. (You might consider Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+) Use the hashtag #reflection and include @nwpianthology to make it easy for us to find and enjoy. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @kd0602. I’d love to follow you if you share your handle.

You can also share your photos and writing by linking to this blog post or sharing in the comment section below. I am excited to see how you represent reflection through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

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Here’s the week 4 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt for the NWP iAnthology! (Here are weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4 if you want to look back.)

Every year Pantone, a company that describes itself as the authority on color, selects a color of the year. This year’s color is radiant orchid (it’s a pinkish purple), last year’s was emerald. The color they select shows up in fashion, interior design, and other places that color matters.

I notice that I am drawn to certain colors in my photography. In the warm fall, I couldn’t resist the oranges and yellows of the sunset over the ocean. I took many, many photos trying to capture the intensity of color as the sun sunk into the sea.

And I love trying to capture the colors in flower petals. Using my macro lens, I got a close look at this orchid…and the beauty of the purples and the contrasting oranges.

So this week’s photo challenge is to explore color. What colors are calling to you? Do you have a color of the year like the Pantone company? Share a photo that represents your exploration of color. Post either the photo alone or along with writing inspired by the photo. I also invite you to use others’ photos as inspiration for your own writing and photography. I often use another photographer’s image as “mentor text” for my own photography, trying to capture some element in my own way.

I like to share my images and writing on social media…and I invite you to share yours widely too. (You might consider Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+) Use the hashtag #intersection and include @nwpianthology to make it easy for us to find and enjoy. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @kd0602. I’d love to follow you if you share your handle.

You can also share your photos and writing by linking to this blog post or sharing in the comment section below. I am excited to see how you express color through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Intersections

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Here’s the week 4 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt for the NWP iAnthology! (Here are weeks 1, 2, and 3 if you want to look back.)

I love the ways different aspects of my life intersect, crisscrossing and overlapping in unexpected ways. The word intersection can have a literal meaning, as I visualize the crossing of roads or the beams of a bridge.

Or it can have a more conceptual meaning as ideas “bump into” each other and create new opportunities for understanding and learning. They can be surprising meetings…like this image of the past intersecting with the present in my photo of the mammoth with the modern skyscraper in the background.

So this week’s photo challenge is to explore the idea of intersection. Share a photo that represents intersection in some way for you. Post either the photo alone or along with writing inspired by the photo. I also invite you to use others’ photos as inspiration for your own writing and photography. I often use another photographer’s image as “mentor text” for my own photography, trying to capture some element in my own way.

You can also share your photos and writing by linking to this blog post or sharing in the comment section below. I am excited to see how you interpret intersection in your photos!

I look forward to seeing all the intersections in your life!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Playing with Light

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Here’s the week 3 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt for the NWP iAnthology! (Here are weeks 1 and 2 if you want to look back.)

As I continue to learn the art and craft of photography, I both wrestle with and delight in light. Lighting is essential to a great photograph and although there are “rules” about working with light, sometimes breaking those rules creates the most interesting effect.

I often hear that photographs are best shot with the sun behind the camera, with the light coming in over your shoulder as the photographer. But sometimes I just can’t resist shooting into the light like I did this morning in my attempt to capture the sunrise flaming through the fog as I peered through my car window.

And sometimes I’m able to capture the just-right lighting, almost by accident. This still life of a narcissus paperwhite plant on my dining room table is delicately lit by the chandelier above. I love the way the light is refracted by the chandelier glass onto the walls. This photo, taken with my iPhone, is completely unedited.

So this week’s photo challenge is to play with light. Share a photo that features light in some way. Post either the photo alone or along with writing inspired by the photo. I also invite you to use others’ photos as inspiration for your own writing and photography. I often use another photographer’s image as “mentor text” for my own photography, trying to capture some element in my own way.

I like to share my images and writing on social media…and I invite you to share your widely too. (You might consider Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+) Use the hashtag #light and include @nwpianthology to make it easy for us to find and enjoy. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @kd0602. I’d love to follow you if you share your handle.

You can also share your photos and writing by linking to this blog post or sharing in the comment section below. I am excited to see how you use light in your photos!

So, have fun and play with light!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Frames

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Here’s the week 2 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt for the NWP iAnthology. You can look back at week one here.

I take and post a picture every day, and have for over a year and half now. Sometimes I find myself taking the same photo over and over again. Somehow I stand in the same place and use the same angle…and the photos begin to look the same.

So to keep myself from falling into this familiarity rut, I try different photography techniques. One I have done some experimenting with is using the natural frames I find in the environment when I am shooting pictures.

Here’s a couple of my examples. One of my favorites is this view of the ocean through the pier. I took several other shots, but I love the way this one is like a door opening, framing the sea.

Here is a playful one I took during my morning playground duty using the playground equipment as the frame.

And here’s one of a window–that includes the window frame as a frame itself.

Share a photo of a frame you have found…post either the photo alone or do some writing inspired by the photo. And feel free to be inspired by the photos of others…and either write based on another’s photo or shoot another photograph of a frame based on the inspiration of someone else’s photo.

If you also share on other social media (Twitter, Facebook, google+, Instagram), use the hashtag #frames and include @nwpianthology to make it easy for us to find and enjoy! You can find me @kd0602. Be sure to share your media handles too!

And if you are reading this on my blog, feel free to share your photo/response by either linking your photo or your blog to the comment section below. I am excited to see the frames you have explored through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: My Place

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Some colleagues over at the National Writing Project iAnthology asked me if I would be willing to post weekly photo challenge prompts for their site. Personally, I enjoy weekly photo challenges and find that they also tend to prompt writing for me as well. I often participate in the weekly photo challenge at the Daily Post…I love that I have an entire week to figure out how to respond to the prompt, visually and/or in writing…and I love seeing the different ways that each prompt is interpreted.

So along with posting this challenge over at the iAnthology, I thought I would also post it here on my blog so others could participate. Here’s my first weekly photo challenge prompt:

Photography gives me the opportunity to explore the places I see everyday and come to know them in new ways. Sometimes I zoom in and discover the beauty of something I had walked by hundreds of times before or just pause and appreciate something I had otherwise taken for granted. Once in while, a change in the weather or other conditions paints my place and when I take the time to look through the lens, I see what on the surface seems to be an annoyance as an opportunity to reflect, learn, and appreciate another layer of my place.

Here’s a photo I recently took on a stormy day (a relatively rare occurrence) in my place. Rain makes the roads crazy (even just a light drizzle) and people grumpy, but taking photographs has encouraged me to seek out the beauty and wonder that stormy days have to offer.

Share a photo of your place…either the photo alone or do some writing inspired by the photo. And feel free to be inspired by the photos of others…and either write based on another’s photo or shoot another photograph of your place based on the inspiration of someone else’s photo.

If you also share on other social media (Twitter, Facebook, google+, Instagram), use the hashtag #myplace and include @nwpianthology to make it easy for us to find and enjoy! You can find me @kd0602. Be sure to share your media handles too!

And if you are reading this on my blog, feel free to share your photo/response by either linking your photo or your blog to the comment section below. I am excited to see “your place” through your lens!