close to home | Thinking Through My Lens

It’s summer vacation season…but I’m not on vacation, not yet anyway. But even when I’m close to home I’m lucky enough to have some interesting places to visit and photograph. I love living near the beach. Walking to breakfast the other morning I couldn’t resist this photo of the wetsuit rolled into the car window to dry. I love how quirky the beach community is and how cars double as drying racks for wetsuits, towels, bathing suits…

It was the same morning as the Switchfoot BroAm surf contest, taking place at my favorite local beach, and it’s always fun when you see a world class surfer and recognize him as a community member. Rob Machado is recognizable with his flowing dreds and red wetsuit, and even though retired from professional surfing, is still exciting to watch. Although I have a zoom lens for my camera, focusing and capturing action is still a skill I’m working on. It was fun to see this capture of Rob in action…I love the way both his hair and the crest of the wave spray around him!

And after a morning at the beach watching the surf contest, we decided to fully play out the idea of staycation and head off to the expensive fancy coffee place on the main street of downtown Encinitas. Perched at the front bar, we could sip our iced lattes and watch people stroll down the street while the sun and sea breezes came in through the wide open windows.

I’m still working, with the SDAWP Invitational Summer Institute in full swing. The snack table has become a tradition in writing projects across the nation. After all, writers need sustenance to get all that thinking on the page! (Thanks to Jen for the beautiful table display–food tastes better when it is displayed beautifully!)

In the early morning the university is quiet. I couldn’t help noticing the juxtaposition of this scene as I walked up the stairs…the slumpy chairs lined up in front of the bright orange wall announcing Ballroom. What message does this image send?

Some days we can’t resist exploring other beaches close to home. This week I found myself at three different beaches, all relatively close to home. South of me I explored La Jolla Shores in the late afternoon between the end of the Summer Institute and the evening meeting I had in San Diego. There is something about the pier that draws me to photograph again and again.

And to the north, in San Clemente, is a new outlet mall that we decided to explore last Sunday. It has an exquisite location…right off the freeway AND quite close to the beach. After shopping and lunch we headed to the nearby beach to walk and take pictures. Later, after washing the sand off our feet, I noticed this sign…shark sighting! (There were people in the water…and lifeguards watching the beach!)

So, what is close to home in your parts? What do you do to “get away” when you need or have to stay close to home? You might find your images in your home, in your neighborhood, or outside in nature. If you happen to be away from home, you might consider what reminds you of home…makes you miss home…or makes you feel at home.

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

If, like me, you find yourself close to home, take some time to explore the possibilities that being close to home offers you. Or if you’re away from home, what will you find that reminds you of home? Be sure to share your photos with the rest of us!

It’s hard to believe that the summer is coming to a close. And even though I work during the summer, this last week has been filled with those beginning of the school year meetings and classroom preparation. All of that has kept me close to home, squeezing a few photos in here and there, mostly using my trusty phone as camera.

As I checked out our classroom garden bed in front of the classroom, I noticed the native milkweed has started to take off and the tropical milkweed is still going strong. There weren’t any monarchs or caterpillars around, but I did noticed this tiny snail crawling on the plants. (I did play around with prisma a bit, trying to create more color contrast to make the snail “pop.”)

And then of all crazy things, my husband and I decided to go to a concert on a Tuesday night! We are lucky to have this wonderful concert venue in town that is smallish and is outdoors. I caught a glimpse of the sun going down in the distance as we headed to the amphitheater.

It is such a treat to sit outdoors in the comfortable late-summer evening, listening to good music…and even singing along. We saw Melissa Etheridge and Pat Benatar…two great shows in one! It was fun playing around with trying to capture the action, distance, and lighting (this is unedited).

Yesterday, to end my work week, I grabbed my camera (Sony a6000) and headed to the beach for a quick mental health break on my way home. The tide was high, so the beach was narrow, but there were still plenty of people enjoying the water and sand. These sneaky seagulls found an apple…probably someone’s unattended snack and managed to carry it to the water’s edge. They were having quite a party–snatching a bite, keeping an eye out for people and other seagulls, then heading back in for another bite. At one point one of the seagulls picked the whole apple up, spread its wings and moved it down the beach. It was quite a show!

I see this rock pretty regularly as I walk down the beach. D and T must be quite committed to showing their love to have spent the time to carve it so deeply in this sandstone. I do wish they would have considered a way to show their love that didn’t mar the natural beauty of the beach! You can see that my walk was shortened–there was no way to get around that corner ahead without getting wet!

But the short walk was a perfect way to shift from preparing the classroom to coming home to enjoy a weekend of relaxation before the kids arrive on Monday. And I couldn’t resist a shot of the ordinary–the railing along steep ramp up to the parking lot with the puffy white clouds in the blue sky.

So, what are you noticing close to home? What might you capture with that phone in your pocket? What do you see on that daily walk, at the corner park, or even from your car window (not when you are doing the driving!)?

You don’t have to venture far this week, what will you discover close to home? I can’t wait to see what you find through your lens!