Tag Archives: nwp anthology

Weekly Photo Challenge: Play

When things get busy…like during this time of the year…I forget to do really important things, like play! But playing is the very thing I need when I am feeling over-the-top with all the demands of work and responsibility and the holidays (I always forget how much cleaning and organizing comes with decorating).

Maybe that’s why we scheduled a field trip in the first week of December (what were we thinking?) to the Children’s Museum. We planned our trip around the idea that play and experience would inspire writing for our students. I brought my camera with me…and I both played with my camera and with my students. I loved the way that play was physical…like climbing these ropes suspended like a web.

3261cb8f-364b-4be4-a5e1-ed82f0b6317f

On hands and knees I crawled around dark corners in tight spaces until it opened up into a room with hundreds and hundreds of spoons suspended from the ceiling, creating a visual and aural experience. The low light meant the photo images were about play too, as reflected light bounced off the gently swaying metal as my camera attempted to freeze time.

Writing became part of the play as well. “Taking 5” meant time to be inspired and play with words. Our students also found interesting places to perch themselves for this writing, playing with the physical act of writing too. (I played around with Prisma to disguise my student, but still let you see the writing perch he found!)

And when the walls are filled with quotes and images, my mind wants to play with those too. I found myself fascinated with the ways the light was coming in the windows, illuminating bits and pieces. I love that Ask Great Questions is highlighted here…knowing that curiosity is the key to learning.

361ed06e-d38f-4cce-9a55-6664474871b6

I was still playing later in the week when I noticed the heavy fluff of the dew-laden dandelions in the front yard. I can only imagine what the neighbors were thinking when they saw me kneeling in the wet grass as I headed out for work trying to capture that heaviness. I decided to pull this iPhone image in close and make it black and white to emphasize the beauty of the simplicity.

I feel like the moon has been playing chase and tag with me all week. I’ve been noticing the waxing moon in the late afternoon all week. After I got my phone repaired this week (I had one of those defective 6s batteries!), I noticed the moon working hard to be a decoration on the local mall Christmas tree and I played with angles using my newly repaired phone to capture the moment.

And in spite of that heaviness of exhaustion, after school yesterday I made a spur of the moment decision to find the street entrance of a beach I have only previously seen from the sand level. I was not disappointed–in fact, I felt energized. The tide was getting high and as I walked over mounds of rocks I looked back at the cliffs and noticed the moon following me in a playful game of follow the leader–with me leading this time!

7cf64070-4e6b-4dcd-9ccc-48367135b046

So, let’s focus on play this week. How will you capture play in your photos…or play with your images? How will you push pass the demands of each day and discover moments for playfulness in your busy routine?

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

Get out and play around! Be sure to share your play with the rest of us!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Collection

2 Replies

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!