Weekly Photo Challenge: Down to the Ground

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This week’s challenge intersects with #digiwrimo, popping up with leadership from #clmooc-ers, encouraging some collaborative digital play. Last year we created a collaborative photo album called Our Eyes on the Sky, which turned out to be a world tour through skies. To switch it up this year, the theme is Down to the Ground and we’re hoping to create another around the world tour!

With the ground theme in mind, I have also had my eyes to the ground. The tide has been low this week–right after school, so I have had walking opportunities before heading home. With the tide way out, nature’s textures become evident, rippling the sand as the water pools around it.

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Walking at low tide means that rocks and shells are revealed…and my favorite, tiny pieces of tumbled glass. I have found many treasures this week by keeping my eyes to the ground. Here’s my haul from Wednesday.

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Even though dogs are not allowed on the beach, at this time of year it’s not unusual to see a dog or two. (I guess the rules are less stringent in the off season) I noticed these paw prints as I walked the other day.

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I love the light as the sun is setting, and yesterday was no exception. I caught this golden glow with a solitary seagull silhouetted as the sun sunk into the sea. I love the sense of stillness and solitude that comes with walks on the beach–especially in the off season in the early evening. It is really the perfect antidote to everyday stresses.

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Today as I walked, I noticed the seagulls gathered, basking in the warmth of the setting sun. As people walked near, they began to fly–high enough to feel safe, but not high at all. They simply skimmed the ground, flying less than a foot from the surface of the sand. I always love when I can catch the wings in a perfect flying formation (and the shadow is a bonus!).

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And believe it or not, I don’t spend my life at the beach. I spend most of every day in my classroom surrounded by children. In preparation for a field trip next week, we headed to our school library to practice taking inspiration from our surroundings…and the words we found on book spines. I found this student sprawled on the ground, focused on writing, inspired by her surroundings! I can’t wait to head off to the Children’s Museum to see how play and art will inspire our students’ writing!

My grandsons (can you believe they are 9 months old already?) will arrive at my house right after Christmas…I can’t wait! In preparation (and because the car can’t hold all the equipment the twins will need), baby things are arriving. Phil and Jack (our cats) moved right into this huge box that held a couple of pack and plays.

So, this is your week to get down the ground and explore those things that are low and close to the earth (or the floor). You are welcome to share in the usual ways…and feel free to add your image to our collaborative photo album (you can find the link above).

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

So look down…and all around. What will you find when your eyes are down to the ground?

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Gratitude

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Taking time to appreciate all the blessings in my life should be a daily practice…and in many ways it is. But Thanksgiving is also a time to push that pause button and take time to express gratitude in more visible and public ways.

I am grateful for so many people…and at this time of year, particularly for my NWP colleagues who stimulate my thinking and push me out of my comfort zone. This year I was lucky enough to wake up in Atlanta, GA and experience the sun rising (3 hours earlier than at home) from the window of my hotel room. I’m still thinking about so much that was generated by sessions, conversations, and interactions at the National Writing Project Annual Meeting.

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I am grateful that I live in a place where protest is a way to express your point of view, your displeasure, and a way to call others to action. I love this art piece on display at the Civil and Human Rights Museum in Atlanta made entirely of string, bringing attention to the Dakota Access Pipeline.

And later that same day, I also watched a moving mass of people chanting and marching to express their “love trumps hate” message.

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I’m grateful for friends who are willing to spontaneously board a ferris wheel walking back from dinner, feeding my photography habit with beautiful views of the city punctuated with snippets of conversation that bring us closer together as we rotate high in the sky.

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I’m grateful for the luxury of coffee and wandering my own city…just because we can. I know that walking brings me peace and creates space for thinking and I’m grateful for my husband who willingly walks miles and miles with me, sometimes in complete silence.

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I’m grateful for access to beautiful beaches to wander and wonder at nature’s masterpieces. I love catching nuances in light, creating unexpected effects like this photo of three seagulls.

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And the opportunity to get up close and personal with a great white egret as it fishes in the pools at low tide.

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I’m grateful for local businesses and eateries that bring the quaintness and culture to our community. We’ll probably have to head out again on #shopsmallsaturday–not that anything could keep us away from places like Juanitas Taco Shop in Leucadia!

I’m grateful for my expanding family–even when I don’t get to spend Thanksgiving with them! I desperately missed my three baby grandsons on their first Thanksgiving (and their moms and dads too). But I am grateful for the perfect hike in the Torrey Pines State Reserve…and later dinner with my husband, parents, sister, and nephew (even though we have yet to find a restaurant that serves anything close to the yumminess of my husband’s cooking). I felt like finding this heart-shaped cactus fruit was a talisman of the love and bounty I experience. I hope sharing it brings those same feelings to you too.

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Gratitude…my heart is full. Even when things feel hard, a quick flip though my photos reminds me of so much I have to be grateful for. Why not take a few minutes and either flip through your photos or head out and take a few that express some of your gratitude during this season of reflection?

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

Take a break from holiday shopping (is it that time already?) or from your everyday routines and take some time to express your gratitude through photos. What are you grateful for?

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Time

Weekly Photo Challenge: Organic

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In a place where clear blue skies are the norm, clouds are a novelty. Puffy white clouds catch my eye, drawing it upward. There is something about the organic nature of these floating shapes that captures my imagination. I find myself taking photo after photo, like this one of the clouds reflected in the windows of the buildings at our local university.

Or this one that makes if feel as if you are walking on clouds.

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I know that clear skies create perfect sunsets, but there is something about clouds that give dimension and the unexpectedness of organic designs to the colors and reflections of the setting sun. Halloween is my husband’s birthday, and this year also included a perfect low tide for a sunset beach walk punctuated with organic streaks and shine.

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And when the sky isn’t enough, there are many organic treasures revealed by the sea. With low tides all week, the ocean revealed rocks covered in these organic skeletons. I’m not sure exactly what they are, but I love the textures.

And I always feel rich when I come across a sand dollar, especially one that is mostly whole. I love the simple design, almost like a delicate pencil sketch.

And then there is the human form, organically represented in these clay skulls arranged in alters celebrating ancestors in honor of Dia de los muertos found in our meeting room at UCSD last weekend.

My students are currently fascinated with rocks and minerals as we’ve dived deeply into the study of geology. Today’s “museum” featured a specimen from each student and created an organic opportunity for some interesting informational writing (I plan to feature some of that writing in a future post). Here’s one of nature’s organic beauties.

So look up, look around, maybe even catch a reflection of something organic. What’s catching your eye because of it’s organic quality?

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

Head out with your camera in search of organic…will you represent it through the natural world? Express an organic idea? Explore the intersection of organic and geometric? Take the prompt wherever it leads you and share your photos with us!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Familiar

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My feet retrace the steps I take day after day, so familiar that I notice the smallest of changes. The reef that is uncovered by the autumn tides that pull the sand from the shore, the rounded and smoothed beach rocks tossed in piles by the powerful force of storm-driven waves, the thinning crowds replaced by locals who claim this place as their own. Familiar creates opportunity to see my world in fresh, new ways–even though I’ve seen it before.

The beach never gets old for me. Some days the birds capture my attention as I revel in their playful dance with the sea. Others, it is the texture and colors of the cliffs that frame this ocean community. Lately, I’ve been fascinated with the sky and the interplay of light, clouds, water, and color.

And this focus on the familiar makes me more attentive in other aspects of the my life–away from the beach. As I walked from my house to my car the other morning, this dandelion grabbed me by the eyeballs. I had to stop, offload the things from arms, and focus my camera on the single seed hanging on the empty husk. I spent the day thinking about the idea of a single wish and the dream I might choose…

Right in front of my classroom door, the garden box that is home to milkweed sits. I wonder about the monarch caterpillars and what percentage actually make it from caterpillar to butterfly. I noticed the new chrysalis earlier this week, worrying about its exposed location. And it caught my eye again a couple of days ago with dew drops like diamonds sparkling on the already jewel-encrusted casing. Will this one survive and give birth to the beautiful monarch butterfly?

Fall whispers in this place. So when I came across these vivid leaves when up north visiting my twin grandsons, I just had to pick up a couple and take them back home with me. A blogger I follow, Joyfully Green, did a series of “leaf portraits,” inspirational photos of individual fall leaves, so I decided to use these souvenirs to try my hand at a leaf portrait or two.

So when I noticed leaves clinging to edge of the fountain at UCSD, I saw them as those subtle whispers of fall in San Diego. You’ll note that the colors are not as vivid as in the leaf portrait above, but they do suggest a change in seasons.

The library at the university is iconic, with a design reminiscent of an alien planet or maybe even a spaceship. I take its photo pretty regularly, usually trying my best to capture the entire building in the shot. You’ll notice in this view I inadvertently included the top of the Cat in the Hat’s hat from the Dr. Seuss sculpture nearby.

Nikki de St. Phalle’s Sun God sculpture is a familiar one on campus. This week I noticed the way the sun reflects off the top of it in the late afternoon sun. By playing around with the image in Prisma I was able to highlight the brilliance of the colors and show off the shine I saw as I walked by.

So, how do you respond to the familiar in your life? What helps you see it in new ways or notice the subtle changes in your familiar routines? Head out with your camera and re-see those spaces you frequent.

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

Retrace your steps and walk those familiar paths…and while you do, be on the lookout for the nuances in the everyday. Help us see the magic in your familiar–and help yourself rediscover that magic too!