Tag Archives: iphoneography

Improving my Craft

Photo-Inquiry…Art, Science, and Writing

I’ve been taking pictures every day for more than a year now. Some days it’s a struggle, other days it’s pretty easy. But one of my favorite things about being a photographer (albeit, amateur) is that it makes me pay attention…and ask lots of questions.

Yesterday I was up in our local mountains enjoying all that fall brings…colors and pumpkins and apples…on a warm fall day. As I was photographing some beautiful leaves turning orange and red and yellow, I noticed this beautiful pine tree.

Looking closely, I was fascinated by the texture of the bark on the tree. And an even closer look revealed all these tiny holes…with many filled with acorns or other nuts.

That observation set off a million questions…how does this happen, what animal does it? Does it hurt the tree? Is it squirrels? And then I noticed this nearby fence post.

So it’s not only about trees…it’s about wood. I noticed the nearby utility pole also had holes and nuts.

With all these questions running through my head, we continued our adventure and I continued to look for interesting subjects for my photography. A while later, at the edge of a little pumpkin patch I looked up and saw a beautiful blue bird with red markings high up on a utility pole. I thought it might be some kind of jay, but my husband was quick to point out that it was tapping the pole…a woodpecker!

We watched closely, listening to the persistent tapping as it pecked into the top of the pole. I attempted several photographs…but one thing the iphone camera is not good at is long distance photos! Here’s an attempt.

If you look closely you can see a tiny silhouette at the top the pole. As I watched I started to make connections to the pine tree and fence post I had photographed earlier. These holes with the acorns in them were the work of an acorn woodpecker! A little internet search today led me to this information:

The group will guard their territory, and will often have a single tree in which they store their acorns; known as a granary. A single granary may contain tens of thousands of acorns. The acorns themselves are placed individually into a hole drilled into the tree. Acorn Woodpeckers also feed on insects (including aerial flycatching), sap, and fruits.

I love that photography always ends up teaching me interesting things about nature and about the world. It makes me pay attention, notice details, and ask questions. It makes me curious…and makes me wonder…a perfect tool for inquiry! And as I write this on the National Day on Writing, I get to share my photography and learning with you! #write2connect in action!

How do you write to connect? What do you learn from the activities you love?

Ordinary: A Photoessay

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When I get busy I don’t take the time to pursue my personal interests, instead I get bogged down with the intricacies of my work and the demands of my schedule. When I finally get a chance to catch my breath, I also find myself needing to tend to demands of ordinary life…you know, housework and errands and such. And my exercise routine also falls to the wayside (even though I know that exercise is essential to energy, health, and well-being). So today I decided to do two things that have been neglected…take a walk and take some photos.

And continuing my theme over the last few days of ordinary…this was an ordinary walk. I threw on my tennies and took a walk around the neighborhood. And while I was walking I was also taking a close look at my surroundings…alert for interesting images.

Lots of people in my area have hibiscus bushes with beautiful red or yellow flowers. As I walked by one house today I noticed this blossom with snails nestled up in the center of the blossom! While I’m sure it isn’t good for the flower, I love the idea of the snails becoming the center of the flower.

I often hear about how people in other locales have four seasons…and we, in southern CA, don’t. (Somehow our temperate weather gets construed as sameness) As a native to the area I feel like the seasons are quite distinct…and fall is definitely in the air! There’s a difference in light, in the way the air feels (even warm feels different in the fall), and in the foliage. We do have plenty of evergreen trees…but there are deciduous trees like this too.

Sometimes when I walk, I find myself “in my head,” not really paying attention to my surroundings. But today I was alert and tuned in to the dragonflies flitting by, the abandoned Santa toy wedged in the ground cover, the granny smith apple in the gutter, and this tiny lizard that skittered in front of me. He was cooperative enough to stop and let me take a photo…unlike the dragonfly!

I’ve been noticing the variety of palms in my area. I commented just yesterday about the fact that the banana leaf palms are pretty uncommon…and then I saw one on my walk today. And as I headed back to my house I noticed this palm with all these little berries at the center.

I love the way the ordinary…a neighborhood walk…becomes something more when you take the time to pay attention and notice details. And I feel refreshed and relaxed…ready to tackle another busy work week. I’m sure I will need to remind myself to take time to notice, to tune into the ordinary, and enjoy the moments in the moment!

Good Morning

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When I saw the Weekly Photo Challenge on the Daily Post this week I realized that even though I am a morning person, I don’t take many photos in the morning. So the prompt, Good Morning, has made me think about that.

Saturday, because I was at a conference at UC Davis, I stopped by our favorite bagel shop right next to the Starbucks for a quick and carry breakfast. And while I was waiting for my order I noticed the beauty of the donuts in the case near the cash register. That shiny chocolate was tempting…I resisted the donut, but did take a photo!

I also took a photo of the sun through the fall trees…and then played with it in one of my photo editing apps.

Earlier in the week I spent some time with my son and daughter-in-law and stayed in this funky little hotel. I took this photo as I headed to check out in the morning.

I like the hint of light over the top of the hills in the distance. And then at my son’s apartment I noticed the tools in his shower. Why don’t I have a pad of waterproof paper and a pencil hanging in my shower for those soothing water-induced inspirations in the morning?

I found this one this morning on my way to work as the sun rose through the Torrey pines.

What says good morning to you?

Crows

In Search of Silky

Make it Write: October’s Photo-a-Day Experimentation

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Maintaining an extended photo-a-day practice (mine has gone on for over a year now!) means figuring out how to keep it interesting and creative. I depend on my friends to help me think through new ideas and consider whether my ideas are feasible or not.

So Abby suggested making this month about writing since it is the month of the National Day on Writing. And I was thinking about what that would look like. I know I don’t want to have to take pictures of hands and pencils all month! But I love the idea of exploring all the ways we “write” our world. What inspires our writing? What impedes our writing? Where do we find people writing? Where do we find writing in the spaces we inhabit? Where is writing absent? What is the writing on the wall? (How will I incorporate macro photography with this prompt? Hmmm….)

So all month in our photos I invite you to consider writing in the broadest sense. Where will this open-ended experiment take you? Will you find it restrictive or inspiring? And as always, take some time each week to reflect on your photos, write a blog post or comment sharing those thoughts, select a favorite photo, or create a collage and share it on this post.

And here’s a photo to get you started:

This is Jack, one of my two cats. He’s wanting my undivided attention and definitely interfering with my writing as he snoozes on my computer! (He even managed to type a few letters with his body in the process of being in the way!)

Can’t wait to see all the ways that writing can be interpreted in a photo…

Be sure to post your photo each day to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or Flickr using the hashtag #sdawpphotovoices. (You can post anywhere—if you want others to be able to follow your photos, Instagram and Twitter are best!) For more information about posting click here. At the end of each week you’re also invited to curate your pictures from the week and select one to highlight. You might post it on your blog along with some musings about why you selected it. If you don’t have a blog of your own, you have a couple of choices—you can create a blog (be sure to share it with us by including your blog address in the comments here—or better yet, tweet it using the hashtag #sdawpphotovoices) or you can post to the SDAWP Voices blog.

As the month goes on, come back to this post to link up your curated photos! Click on the link up button below and add your favorites. Or post a comment with an image on this post!

Noticing Texture: September’s Photo-a-Day Invitation (thinkingthroughmylens.wordpress.com)

A Jury Duty Learning Walk

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I did my civic duty this morning–I showed up for at the county courthouse at 8am for jury duty. And after a full fifteen minute pep talk from a judge trying to convince us all about the importance of our presence and the value of the jury system…and even quoting (from memory, as he pointed out) from the Declaration of Independence (not the preamble–the “stuff” in the middle), the mood in the room still seemed that of obligation, anxious waiting, and whiling away time.

The next fifteen minutes were spent on a video that reiterated the importance and value of serving as a juror and explained a bit about how the courtroom operates. (Don’t take it personally if the lawyer excuses you, it’s all part of how the law works!) And then we spent the next ten minutes or so filling in the back of our summons assuring that we were legally qualified to be jurors, signing our names and including a contact phone number. As we passed the paperwork in, the approximately 300 potential jurors were entitled to our first ten minute break (we’d been there less than an hour).

As you can see, the jury lounge is not a particularly comfortable or visually stimulating place. There are a few tables around the edges of the room for those who want to work on their laptops (although not nearly enough electrical outlets) and some free, although spotty, internet access. People read, chatted, knitted, played with their devices, slept, and some did work (I can raise my hand for that one!). After about another hour we were granted another break–the difference between a break and not being on a break is that you can wander out of the jury room although the coffee cart in the hallway wasn’t much different than the vending machines inside.

After three hours in the jury lounge, we were summoned for an announcement. There would be no need of jurors today and all 300 + of us were excused. Be sure to clock out on your timesheet and leave your badge holder and pencil for others to use.

Whew! I was relieved to be dismissed. Not because I don’t want to serve on a jury, but because the uncertainty of the when and how long make my life complicated. As a teacher, it’s hard to be at the courthouse wondering if I will be asked to return tomorrow–and then needing to arrange for a sub, make plans for someone else to carry out and miss all the intangible evidence of learning that can only be understood by being there. So I’m happy to have finished my duty for at least a year. But I do worry about how this system works…and who is actually willing and available to serve on juries.

After being dismissed I took a little time to walk through the buildings and take a closer look at this public place. To be honest, the place is bleak. Long hallways with institutional white walls. No decoration, harsh lighting, guards at the doors, and lots of worried looking people waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

As I left the building I took a few minutes to appreciate the beautiful fall day. Warm with a little breeze…and some silky, billowy clouds in the sky. As I looked back at the courthouse I noticed that the clouds were reflected in the high windows above the entrance. This bit of beauty remains imprinted on today’s experience.

Taking time for a learning walk always changes my experience…for the better. Slowing down, looking closely, and taking time to reflect creates opportunities for learning and new perspectives. I hope you make time for a learning walk soon.

The Action of Stillness: Still Life

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Today’s daily prompt at The Daily Post is stillness. In our classroom we’ve begun to work on sketching techniques that help artists capture roundness. All this in preparation for sketching a still life of the fall bounty from the school garden. Last week we sketched pumpkins. Today…tomatoes!

So here is the action of a child working to capture the stillness and roundness of a tomato just picked from the school garden.

How do you capture stillness?

Lines and Patterns

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This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge at the Daily Post focuses on lines and patterns…something I have been exploring through my own #sdawpphotovoices photo-a-day challenges. In August we captured design elements such as curves, angles, symmetry, repetition, and patterns in our daily photographs.

Lines and patterns seem to be everywhere! Here’s a picture I took today on my way to a meeting at UCSD.

I like the way you can see the statue of the triton at the bottom through the lines and angles of the stairs. A few weeks ago I took this picture of a bike rack…and the shadow it casts that continues the pattern. It almost creates an image of giant paperclips!

I love to take pictures at the beach. I noticed the way the lifeguards had organized their equipment on this rack…I love the lines and patterns…and colors with the ocean in the background.

Lines and patterns are everywhere! What lines and patterns have you captured lately?

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