Tag Archives: light

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouettes

Let Them Fly!

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Wispy propellers twist and turn

they float, sail, drift, glide, soar

freefalling

sinking into available spaces

and if conditions permit

bloom

with yellow brilliance

until the ticking clock

transforms blooms into

balls of puff

waiting for wind

for wishes

for the breath of children

let them fly!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Light

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One of the things I love best about the summer is the light. Days are longer and filled with warmth and flooded with light. I find myself noticing how light shines from different angles, how different objects catch light, and how some light seems harsh while other light feels soft somehow.

I’ve been messing around with selfies (and subjecting my husband to them too!), trying to capture different angles and places and light too. I love the sky in this one and the way the light catches my hair and shoulder.

During a late afternoon glance around the back yard I noticed the way the light and shadow played with this succulent.

And I was drawn to the burr on this weed and the way the light served to highlight the prickly spines. I had to get my macro lens to capture it’s miniature beauty.

Yesterday was Hack Your Notebook Day, which meant we were playing around with lights and writing and notebooks…and I captured Henry testing the limits of his parallel circuit, lighting up one, two, three, four…

Today I was craving the outdoors and sunshine and solitude…so I took a lunchtime photo walk out on the UCSD campus.. There are so many interesting art installations (part of the Stuart Collection) on campus…I found myself heading off toward the rock bear and noticing the light bouncing off the boulders that are the bear.

And if you look closely into the light and shadow of this shrub you might just see the little bunny rabbit that froze when it saw me…allowing me to snap a photo (although I couldn’t get close enough for a great shot of the rabbit).

So this week’s challenge is to find the light in your photos. Indoor light, outdoor light, dim light, bright light, direct light, diffuse light…take advantage of all the light that summer has to offer!

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

Chase the light with your lens…can’t wait to see what lights up your life!

Morning Light

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When you live in a place with moderate temperatures all year long, the end of winter and the beginning of spring often pass unnoticed. Plants grow and flowers bloom all year long…outdoors! So this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge at the Daily Post was a hard one. I feel like I have already posted photos of beautiful blooms and outdoor fun…so what does spring really mean to me?

We had a few days of unseasonably hot weather last week…it felt more like September than the end of April/beginning of May. But this week we’re back to more usual, cooler temps (in the 60’s).

I came across this quote from photographer Henri Cartier Bresson last night and realized that I, too, use my camera as a sketchbook, capturing moments and feelings as I come across them.

“For me, the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity.” ― Henri Cartier-Bresson

I’ve been paying attention to changes in light and color, especially when it comes to my photography, trying to capture those instances of soft glow and light that seem to kiss the subject. And I have instances in my camera roll that capture these noticings.

This morning my eye was drawn to the clouds on my way to work…and I had to pull over to snap a few shots of the ocean and the clouds above.

And while the original was nice, I love the way the filter adds even more dimension to the clouds.

Even before I left the house this morning I had my camera (phone) out as I noticed Phil laying on our new rug (no furniture in that space yet) in the morning light. This is unedited and unfiltered.

On Saturday morning my husband was up early baking. I could smell his handiwork as I woke up, knowing that he enjoys the early morning quiet for his cooking creativity. When I made my way down to the kitchen, I saw the blueberry pie cooling in the morning light and couldn’t resist taking a photo.

Later that morning, when I was walking on the beach I noticed the reflection of this fishing pole on the sand. And I managed to not only capture the reflection of the pole in the wet sand and also the soft light on the beach on a sunny Saturday morning in May.

Now that spring is here, the days are longer and I’m noticing differences in the quality of light, especially in the morning and early evening. So maybe spring is about light for me. At least right now it is.

Considering Perspective

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“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

With play as my word this year, I’m trying to approach my life and work by playing more and looking through a more playful lens. But sometimes it’s hard and those feelings of being overwhelmed and overworked creep up.

I’m lucky though. I work with kids in the classroom every day. And they remind me that when we are having fun, even while going about our work of learning, time flies by without us even noticing. This week has been like that.

And it’s not that we have done anything so very different than usual…but I think it’s just about the way we’ve been looking at our work. One example is playing with our math. Today a small group of third graders were challenged by a tricky math problem. They knew they needed to multiply 62 and 27, but they didn’t know how to multiply those numbers. Some tried adding 62 twenty seven times…but it’s so easy to make mistakes doing that. They consulted each other to see if someone had a workable strategy. And there was some good thinking going on. Another student tried breaking the numbers down to multiply easier combinations–more good thinking–but didn’t quite have all the pieces in place. Yeah–I had to work at it too…and think through where they were going wrong.

The point is that even though we were trying to figure out the correct answer, we were learning through our efforts and through our errors. As we talked through our strategies we could see where things weren’t working and wondered why a promising approach wasn’t quite right. But it was fun and we weren’t ready to give up…even when we ran out of time.

Perspective is everything. When I remember to be playful, my students play more too. When I look for the light, the darkness doesn’t seem so daunting. I love this image of Jack, my cat, finding the light. Cats are like that…they seek out the sliver of sun and squeeze themselves into that space to soak up the warmth.

I’m working to keep my perspective positive and playful this week. In spite of too many meetings, writing report cards, trying to adjust to Daylight Savings Time, and so many people being sick (what is the deal with the horrid cough that everyone seems to have?), I’m looking for the metaphorical garden. And better yet…I’m finding it. It’s all about perspective.

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!

One of Two

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We have two cats. Black and white “tuxedo” domestic short-hairs. Brothers and litter-mates. They’ve been together since birth…and in our house since they were 16 weeks old–almost 16 years ago.

I take lots of pictures of Phil and Jack. They are pretty patient photography subjects who let me experiment and intrude on their space…and they are pretty photogenic and look cute most of the time.

I notice that I seem to go through phases of focusing my photos more on one of them than the other. For a while, Jack was subject…my sons even asked if something had happened to Phil. But in the last week or so, I notice that it is Phil that is featured in many of my photos.

Phil is definitely the one who loves to explore…and checks out every new situation in the house. This last week we’ve had a number of workmen here: painting, installing a new floor, hanging blinds. And when I go to take a photo, there’s Phil.

Phil has a mind of his own. Sometimes he will patiently pose for pictures…and at other times I catch something more like this.

I can always trust Phil to find interesting places to lay. One of his favorite places to nap is in a decorative basket on a shelf high in the entertainment center that holds our TV. Today we found him basking in the diffuse sunlight on a low countertop that will eventually feature some piece of art (we think).

I love the interesting shadow echoing the black and white of Phil’s coloring (I had to sneak up on him for this shot!).

But sometimes Phil will pose…and let me focus my shot. Later today Phil was sitting on a chair in some warm light. He looked up just right, allowing the sun to highlight his eyes. I love the way the light works in this photo.

And sometimes Phil will let us play. Last week he let us put this cute Christmas hat on him and take photos. He seemed to understand that we were having fun and was unusually patient with the whole experience…humoring us as the one cat who manages to look good no matter how silly his people are!

Phil has ended up being the one of our two cats who was photographed most this week. Not because he’s our favorite or because we singled him out, but because he made himself the natural focus of the pictures. I notice that my students do that sometimes too. I’ll find that one of my students will show up in photo after photo…and then another week it will be another student.

So this week, Phil is the one. Who is the one in your photos this week?

Shadow

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There is no doubt that my photography inspires my writing and my writing refines and refocuses my photography. (There is something about the reflective process of examining the photos and critiquing them for myself that pushes my “eye” in terms of photos I shoot.)

This evening I noticed on A Word in Your Ear that the A Word a Week Photograph Challenge was shadow. And that single word got me to flip back through some recent photos thinking about shadow and just what that word means to me.

This accidental shadow from the weekend caught my attention. I struggled in the bright sunlight to capture a photo of these pea fowl that really captured their beauty, their markings…and made them show up. They tend to blend in with the dirt.

I think the shadow of me taking the photo is crisper than the photo of the peacock. As I noticed my shadow I found myself shifting and turning as I figured out how to work the sun and shadow. I found that my best photos of the pea fowl were a bit later when the sun dipped behind the clouds.

Earlier that week I had been at the beach taking some photos. I love the way the shadow in this picture of Elli (a long-haired chihuahua) plays with her image of herself as a big dog. She seems to think she is the protector of her people–and fiercely protects them as though she were five times her size. (Like the shadow suggests!)

And I like playing with light sources…and the resulting shadows. This post was all about light and its impact…and how it often results in shadows or silhouettes. I love this silhouetted view of my husband looking to the light.

And one of my favorite photos of shadows comes from my visit to the Giant Redwoods a few weeks ago. These magnificent giants cast shadows that veil the forest floor, keeping the air cool and the sun at a distance. The shadows create a magical world where the sun sneaks in to make unexpected appearances…creating an otherworldly glow here and there.

Shadow…revealing, playful, contemplative, magical… But what about the shadow of tragedy, sadness, horror, poverty, crime? Not that I am looking for darkness, but I am sure there are many more shadows to explore.

Let There Be Light: A Light Study

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What started as a photo-a-day challenge for a month over a year ago has become a daily practice, a hobby, and maybe even a passion for me. I’ve noticed how my photographic eye has changed over time and how I am now thinking carefully not only about the subject of my photos, but also playing with framing, considering the rule of thirds, thinking about foreground and background, and studying light and its influence on the photo.

Today…Black Friday in the commercial, frenzied bargain hunting world…had us out early on this rare rainy day-after-Thanksgiving checking out bargains and enjoying time spent together. And after the errands and lunch, I desperately wanted to go to the beach on this stormy (at least by our standards) day.

As we drove along the coast toward home, I was on the lookout for an interesting place to stop with a clear view of the beach. We frequently go to the same beach, so today’s goal was to find another place–a new view–to explore.

We stopped at Ponto. And it was surprisingly crowded. The waves were big and the surfers plentiful. People were in bathing suits, full wetsuits, shorts and flip flops, and boots and jackets…it is Southern CA after all.

I already had my eye on the jetty in the distance. I knew I wanted to climb up on the rocks to get a great view of the sea. But on the way I was sidetracked by the collection of lifeguard towers and found myself trying many different angles to capture the light and the ocean in the background. I was struck by the dramatic differences in light and shadow. All of the photos were taken with my iPhone and are unedited and without any filters.

I know the rule about having the sun at your back for the best photos, but sometimes I find myself wanting to shoot into the sun. I love the way that shooting into the light creates silhouettes like in this picture of my husband looking out into the ocean.

And I also played with angling the light behind me to capture more light…and in this case, the movement of the water and waves as well.

When I pivoted 180 degrees in the other direction, the light my camera captured changed dramatically.

Understanding the light and being aware of the source of the light makes a dramatic difference in photography. By studying my photos I’ve learned some techniques that help me make more intentional choices rather than only happy (or unfortunate) accidents. It’s fun to play around and see how shifts in lighting change the photos.

Light can change the mood and tone of the photo, make it more pensive, more dramatic, or lighter and more playful. It changes colors, brightening or softening, creating depth and layers. Earlier today I was trying to capture raindrops with my iPhone, without much success…because light and reflection were working against me. I just couldn’t get enough contrast behind the drops to make them show through my lens. But you can be certain that I will keep trying…whenever the next rainy day comes along.

What have you learned from the light today?