Category Archives: Weekly Photo Challenge

Weekly Photo Challenge: Collection

Like a line of ants, the trucks follow the leader up the length of the state of California along Interstate 5. An elaborate dance, faster trucks dart out knowing they will slow the flow of traffic then edge back in a bit further ahead in line. Vacationers and other travelers join the line too. Sometimes they patiently blend into the caravan of trucks, other times they show their frustration as they weave in and out of the line accelerating only to slow again and again.

Road trips are an exercise in balancing focus and boredom. Endless hours in the car–especially when motion sickness limits acceptable activity–means coming up with creative ways to entertain yourself, and hopefully the driver too. My husband’s old iPod meant an endless stream of oldies to sing along with and my camera reminded me to pay attention to the details of the environment.

The tomato trucks got my attention, double trailers filled with red fruit (or is it a vegetable?) in heaps visible from afar. I started by taking a photo of one (through the car window as we drove) and sending it to my dad. He’s always talked about driving tomato trucks in his retirement… Then I started seeing tomato truck after tomato truck, of all varieties and colors and I started snapping photos. I tried different angles and distances as we approached and passed these trucks, sometimes taking the photo from a distance and other times waiting until we came right up on the truck. Timing was tricky, sometimes it was hard to get a crisp focus.

Like a learning walk, this was a kind of learning drive–an opportunity to pay attention to the trucks that drive up and down our state. I noticed that tomato trucks going north were full, those going south were empty. Trucks carrying produce (tomatoes, nuts, garlic) were most prevalent in the mid section of the state. I never see them in my part of the state.

Then I started playing with the Prisma app, turning photos of trucks into a series of truck art. I started with the tomato truck.

And then moved onto other trucks like the log truck.

And the garlic truck (we had to pass several before I figured out that those were garlics in the truck!).

And even the hay truck.

So, to my surprise, I now have a collection of truck photos and a greater appreciation of the truckers who move goods, particularly food, up and down our state.

As I think about this collection of trucks, I realize that I often create collections of photos. I have quite a collection of seagulls. I’ve collected sandcastles, sunsets, trees, flowers, surfers, and more. So this week’s challenge is to share one of your collections–or create one!

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

As always, you can define what collection means to you. It might be a couple of photos of the tree in your front yard, the birds on the fences in your neighborhood, your favorite flowers growing in the garden, the meals you ate in the last week… What collection will you showcase this week? I can’t wait to see your collections!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Infinity

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Some weeks my photos zoom in close, capturing details and vivid colors. This week, however, my lens took the long view–seeming to reach for infinity. Even walking those familiar steps up and down the beach, when I look out I see the infinite horizon, the ocean stretching and reaching as far as the eye can see.

The intricacies of blues and greens that reach up to touch the blues of the sky add to that feeling of infinity. Where does the ocean end and the sky begin?

And I do spend some time looking up, noticing the changing shapes of the clouds, the subtleties of the blues and grays, and the birds soaring above my head.

Today it was a kite that got my attention, spiderman floating in the sky above the beach.

Of course, there is also the seemingly endless supply of people on the beach now that we are in the heart of the summer. (And this was taken late in the day, well past the peak of beach attendance!)

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Infinity isn’t only present on the beach. I noticed the infinite quality of the light as it poured through the leaves of the pepper tree, and the infinite quantity of these tiny leaves that seem to go on forever.

So take a look around, what does infinite look like through your lens? Will you find it in the endless line of traffic or time that seems to go on forever? Will nature show you infinity or can you find it in your kitchen? As always, it’s up to you to interpret infinity for yourself.

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

Take the long view this week as you look around at the infinite possibilities around you. How will you document what infinity means to you? I can’t wait to find out!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Staycation

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Sometimes I long for exotic vacations, opportunities to explore places I have never been. I imagine wandering through iconic museums, looking up at skylines made familiar through movies and artwork, and a peek at a way of life different from my own. And then I remember that I live in a pretty special place–one that is exotic for others!

Today I had a rare day off and set off with my mother, my sister and my niece to enjoy a wonderful staycation day. We headed off to Coronado–best known for the Hotel Del Coronado (a historic, high-priced beachside hotel), a naval station (North Island), and miles of exquisite beaches. Locals call it an island and mostly access it by driving across the iconic Coronado Bay Bridge, a curving stretch with breathtaking views of the bay and the San Diego skyline, but it is actually a peninsula.

We walked and walked, feet in the cool water while the sun (even pretty early in the morning) warmed our shoulders. We noticed some posts in the distance and found the fence that separates the public beach from the Naval Air Station.

We also found that this far end of the beach was designated as a dog beach and the dogs were loving the water today. They chased and retrieved balls and chased and played with each other. There were dogs of all shapes and sizes, and like people, they seemed relaxed and happy as they played along the shore. They were obviously enjoying their own staycation!

After lunch at El Indio, a favorite San Diego Mexican restaurant, we decided to head to Old Town. I can’t remember the last time I explored this part of our city. It was HOT today, so the cool greens of the beautiful botanical art sculptures were soothing to the eye. I love the way the plants were a growing changing part of the art piece. (This is a full body, taller than me piece…but I was drawn to the face and the juxtaposition of light and shadow.)

Earlier in the week, as a part of our Summer Institute, we took folks out around the UCSD campus for a writing marathon. This University of California campus is a jewel, filled with natural beauty and with interesting art installations called the Stuart Collection. As we visited different parts of the campus, we took time to study the art, consider it in relation to our own thinking after nearly four weeks together, and wrote. We started with this piece by Michael Asher. As often as I have been on this campus (weekly for years) and have walked past this piece, I never knew it was an art installation. This ordinary looking water fountain is made of polished granite to look (and function) exactly like the metal ones we are used to seeing. I find myself still thinking about its placement, its ordinariness, and wondering how it ended up in the UCSD collection–and I know I will never look at it in the same way as I did in the past.

And then we headed off to another piece in the Stuart Collection–the whimsical, enormous engineering feat that is Bear by Tim Hawkinson. Made of local boulders, this bear stands more than 23 feet tall in a courtyard formed by three engineering buildings. This piece is a favorite of our young writers, an enormous reminder of childhood.

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So consider a staycation in your place. What sights and sounds will capture your imagination? What might others see as exotic? Or how might you see your local place in new ways?

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

Share your place with us this week, taking us on a #staycation journey with you. What hidden treasures will you uncover when you vacation (even for a few minutes) right at home?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sound

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I tend to be drawn to silence, those quiet spaces where my mind can wander while my feet move. But it’s summer in San Diego, crowds gather and space becomes a premium. The sounds of the waves are dwarfed by the screams of delight as kids rush into the cool, salty waves, families laughing and talking over chips and sandwiches, and the loudspeaker of the lifeguards reminding swimmers to stay in the zones deemed safe from the dangerous rip currents.

But early in the morning, the quiet remains. The beach is mostly empty, wide open for exploration and introspection. Damp morning air kisses my cheeks as my feet delight in the almost warm summer surf. (I did say almost–probably not warmer than 68 degrees!)

I notice others who revel in the sounds of the morning beach too. A seagull tucks his head as I appreciate the mirror-like effect of the wet sand.

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I wonder about the sounds the surfers hear as they ride the waves. Are their ears filled with the whoosh and roar of waves and water? Or is there an exquisite quiet that happens when the waves wash away sounds from the shore?

And what is the sound of dilemma? Rock or surf or smile? You pick which direction to head!

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I can hear the sounds of conversation in these windows, fun artistic silhouettes I found in these warehouse buildings.

So…take a look around for sounds. Sounds of silence, of delight, of pain, of loneliness, of summer–you decide.

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

Listen with your eyes this week–what sounds do you hear and how will you represent them in your photographs? Be sure to share…I can’t wait to hear your sounds with my eyes!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Appreciating the Ordinary

Weekly Photo Challenge: Spiky

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My week has been a whirlwind…a lovely long weekend in the Pacific Northwest followed by the beginning of the SDAWP Summer Institute. And in spite of the hectic nature of my re-entry into work life, interesting images swirl in my brain.

With a few hours in the morning before our flight back home, we decided to visit the Chihuly Glass Museum in Seattle City Center. I’d heard good things about it, but the experience far exceeded my expectations. The glass sculptures were exquisite! This large spiky piece fits perfectly into the outline of the atrium structure behind it.

And the gardens were a perfect complement to the glass, plants and flowers matched in color and shape to the sculptures they accompanied. I fell in love with these unfamiliar flowers, their spiky petals seemed to attract the bees, creating a buzzing, moving tableau.

And not knowing the name of these flowers, they remind me of artichokes…perhaps a part of the spiky thistle family…that was also a part of my dinner tonight!

But I digress… On the same grounds as the glass museum was the iconic Seattle Space Needle, an interesting spiky structure. I didn’t head up to the top this time, but took a number of pictures from below. This particular picture was taken from afar while riding the ferry from Bainbridge Island into the city.

We also found these whimsical interactive oversized spiky flowers…called Sonic Bloom…near the glass museum. When you walk near them they interact with your presence, creating sounds as you move. But even in silence, they are fun, bright and definitely brought a smile to my face.

So take a look around for the spiky this week.

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

Look up, down and all around in search of spiky. Where will you find protrusions to share? I look forward to seeing what you find!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Leading Lines

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Lines can mean linear–straight lines from here to there and in my life I can be resistant to those neat and tidy pathways. But in photography, sometimes the lines can create interest in an image. I started to look at photos taken this week and noticed a number that highlight the photography technique of leading lines.

Here’s a pretty traditional leading line I noticed in downtown Seattle where the arch and the sidewalk lead your eye down the street…but what I was seeing in the distance was this:

and I’m not so sure that it qualifies as a photo with a leading line. (It is a fun neon sign! Can you imagine a hotel room for 75 cents?!)

As we were looking for the light rail, I caught sight of the train coming along the tracks below. The lines converge and diverge, with the train following a clear line.

I started to notice some lines in nature too. In Seattle these purple flowers are in bloom everywhere. They are made up of tiny blooms and dangle from the branches of bushes (or are they trees?). I’d love to know the name of these beauties.

I chased down this swallowtail as it flitted from bloom to bloom while I walked around the hotel grounds where our resource development retreat was held. Sometimes you just need to get outside to clear your head and take a mental break! It seems that the butterfly creates its own line in the photo.

I liked the way the window created some interesting lines in this image from the restaurant window where we enjoyed some clam chowder and musical entertainment…you can catch a glimpse of the Pike Place Market outside the window.

And the sign itself–which does not include a vertical line, uses horizontal lines to draw your eye across the words.

And today, as we drove from Seattle toward Tacoma and beyond, we crossed this lovely big bridge. Through the passenger window of the car, I was able to capture this view. I love the clouds in the distance…with just a tiny hint of blue toward the top. After leaving a heat wave in southern CA, this weather is almost winter-like with temps in the low 60’s and occasional rainfall.

So, try your hand at leading lines in your photos this week. What lines will you find? Will you capture a traditional vertical line or will you find some other variation?

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

So follow some lines and see where they take you! I can’t wait to see what you find.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Spaces

Weekly Photo Challenge: Shine

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Sometimes you meet someone who simply has a spirit that shines. This week we had the opportunity to have Shannon MacMillan, the soccer player, speak to our class about the importance of following your dreams. This talented and humble woman shared her story of hard work and dedication, of following her passions, and of the importance of a mentor to urge you forward. We’re lucky, Shannon lives in the community where I teach and has a son that attends our school…so she was happy to share some time with us. And we’re also lucky to have a successful and talented player remind us that being part of a team means helping each other, that being kind is more important that being good at your sport, and that passions don’t always have to be about sports. She brought her Olympic and World Cup medals and let all of our students hold them and run their fingers over them. She explained she had originally placed her gold medal in a safe deposit box–where it was safe, but not doing anything. Thanks Shannon–your spirit, your message, and your medal all shine!

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We got to watch the spirit of our third graders shine as we scaled the walls of a local climbing gym. We invite our outgoing class of third graders each year to go rock climbing and to dinner as a rite of passage in our class. It’s fun to watch them gain confidence (like they have over the course of three years with us) as they navigate the walls and learn from each other. There’s something symbolic about finding the footholds, navigating new pathways, and cheering each other on. And it’s lots of fun!

And I find myself searching for the shine of the sun on these gloomy June days. After the last day of school on Friday as I headed home I noticed the sun breaking through, bathing the afternoon in its warm glow. This seemed like the perfect beginning to summer…

Although I still have work ahead this summer–work I love…my heart was shining as I boarded a plane this morning to visit my grandsons. And just to make things interesting, I decided to take BART rather than rent a car. It was fun to navigate the system…and frustrating to have to wait for the trains when my arms were aching to cuddle those little boys. The journey was worth it…and I am happily writing this as those little guys sleep nearby.

So…what is shining in your life this week? What makes your heart sing, heals your soul, or brightens your day?

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

Capture some shine in a photo (or two or three…) and share your shine with the rest of us! What will shine look like through your lens?