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Weekly Photo Challenge: Organic

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!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Shine

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This week I’m borrowing the prompt from the folks over at the Daily Post since so many of my photos this week fit their theme: shine.

I had such a busy weekend last weekend–happily playing with my twin 7 month old grandsons. We purposely took a late flight back to maximize the precious time we have with them, getting home near midnight on Sunday. That meant that the alarm on Monday morning came sooner than I would have liked. Surprisingly, I had plenty of energy at work and set out for a beach walk afterward.

The tide was low after work this week, creating perfect conditions for long walks. Monday was cloudy–we’d had misty conditions during the school day. Not enough to keep the kids in, but enough to wet the ground and make us feel a bit soggy outdoors. When I arrived at the beach, I could see the shine of the sun in the distance, reflecting on the water, almost like there was a portal above.

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Further down the beach, I came across an algae covered reef, exposed by the very low tide. I started thinking about the way the algae creates the fall colors that others usually see in the foliage of trees–this really is fall on the beach–browns and oranges along with the blues of the sky reflecting in the shine of the water.

As the week warmed up, the sun made itself more prominent. You can see its shine peeking through as I leaned in to capture this shot of the tree roots. I was thinking about how they remind me of feet and toes in the sand.

I noticed that the sun and light kept changing this week. The days are getting shorter, affecting the trajectory of the sun, making the shine feel more diffuse and muted. This shot reminds of the light of those “endless summer” surfing posters. Maybe when you can walk on the beach barefoot and in a sleeveless top in the fall, it is endless summer (if you look closely at the surfer, you’ll see he’s in trunks rather than a wetsuit)!

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I love it when light shines in a way that creates a mirror-like reflection. You can see this seabird has a colorful reflection in the wet sand.

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Things felt a bit less shiny when I spied this seagull with the plastic baggie. The amount of plastic that ends up in and near the beach is staggering, even when people make an effort to reduce their use and pick up trash. The beach I walk is pretty clean…and even though I got close enough to take the photo, this bird was not letting me get a hold of his treasure!

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Yesterday’s walk was near sunset–that magical time when the light shines softly, creating a wonderful glow. I noticed this surfer sitting on her board watching her friend head into the water. I like the way the sun shines on her face, while everything else has a soft glow.

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By the time I got back to where I began my walk, the sun was just about down, replacing the bright shine with an orange glow. And I was lucky enough to catch a green flash in the moment the sun set into the ocean…confirmed by the cheers that went up by the other sunset watchers!

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So, where are things shining in your life this week? What shine catches your eye? Although my examples of shine are from outdoors, I can imagine plenty of shine indoors as well.

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

Thanks Nancy Thanki and the folks at Daily Post for the inspiration this week…and feel free to share your shine with them too! I’m looking forward to seeing all the shine that catches your eye this week.

Weekly Photo Challenge: #whyiwrite

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Next week, on October 20^th, we have the opportunity to celebrate the beauty and power of writing through the National Day on Writing–an initiative supported by NCTE and the National Writing Project. For me, writing and photography have much in common. They are ways to compose my understanding of the world.

Sometimes it is all about paying attention to the world around me, leaning in, and looking my surroundings in the eye. It might result in the magic of an image of a seagull looking closely…at me! I find myself wondering about how it feels to float on an air current, about the social life of seagulls, about where seagulls sleep and nest. And that gets me thinking about my life and dreams and how to keep them aloft.

Both writing and photography help me appreciate my world and experiences more deeply. Documenting the beauty around me keeps me paying attention to the subtle changes in seasons, moods, colors, weather, and more. They force me out of my usual routines as I pull off the freeway on my way home to spend a few minutes gazing at the vibrant oranges of the setting sun. I slow down and breathe…and am grateful for the life I have.

I write with words and pictures to play. Just like the perfect word can transform an idea in an essay, a filter or app can transform an image in a photo. My latest favorite app has been Prisma, it applies some formula from art (like the Scream by Munsch) that recolors your photograph in interesting ways. I used it the other day on this photo of a lifeguard tower…and I love the results!

My camera and pen help me see the ordinary in new ways. Even though I see this tree in my front yard several times a day every day, through the lens of my camera I notice the blue of the sky, the lone blossom (blooming in the wrong season), the moon or the sun peeking through… The opportunity to re-vision the ordinary changes my perspective and opens up new possibilities.

Documenting learning is another reason why I write and photograph. I love to capture my students at work, and it’s especially helpful to have that documentation to help me recall the details for blog posts or articles. This week my students were designing structures out of marshmallows and toothpicks to withstand an earthquake. After testing their design on a Jello earthquake, they tried additional iterations based on the feedback from the test.

Composing gets me to pay attention to framing, light, structure…all of those choices I make as I write and photograph. I find myself looking for the way light plays with color…and I love the way the late afternoon sun shines on my dining room table. I find myself buying flowers for the table just to watch the sun play with them in the afternoon.

The word photography means writing with light…and I do love to write with light! When I head out with my camera I search for images that provoke my thinking, that please my eye, that inspire me to write and share. I also study my own images in order to improve them, to understand better the angles and light and framing that “work” and those that aren’t quite what I hoped for. I do go back to familiar places again and again with camera in hand, to revise and re-envision, to gain understanding and make meaning of the world I inhabit.

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So, why do you write…with light, with pencil, on the computer, with paint or yarn or fabric (or in any other media)?

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

Explore your own reasons for writing (with light) and share them with us this week as we join in with others celebrating the National Day on Writing. I can’t wait to see #whyiwrite through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Texture

Weekly Photo Challenge: Signs

Weekly Photo Challenge: Finding Fall

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Today is the first day of fall…according to the calendar. Seasons aren’t prima donnas in these parts. They don’t demand a lot of attention. In fact, seasons are subtle, making their entry is small, sometimes overlooked ways.

A predicted heatwave over the weekend never materialized on the coast. When we headed to the beach for walk late Sunday afternoon, instead of heat we were greeted with damp, gray mist. It was warm, but not your picture perfect beach weather. That didn’t bother the seabirds though. They were out enjoying the low tide and the emptiness of the beach now that the tourists have mostly left town (for now). I couldn’t resist this little fellow with its foot in action and its crisp reflection visible on the sand.

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I like the mood the fogginess brings to the beach. It brings the world in a bit closer and adds that fall-like mystery. I wasn’t feeling like I do in the summer, escaping from the heat and relishing the sun on my shoulders. Instead, I was noticing the cool and reveling in the emptiness of the wide open space in front of me.

Surprisingly, Tuesday brought rain! (Remember, average rainfall for us is about 10 inches annually…and we’ve been in a severe drought for several years now.) The sky was beautiful in the morning, with the dark blue skies and thick layers of clouds. It was definitely a sign that we would have a rare weather episode!

It did end up raining a good part of Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. We were loving sandals and skirts and sleeveless tops in the warm, balmy rain. Our students showed up in rain boots and jackets–I guess you deal with being too warm when you have so few opportunities to sport your rain wear!

A trip into the backyard yesterday afternoon had me thinking about fall! I noticed the unusual pools of water filled with the seed pods that fall from the tree.

And the brilliant red of the Japanese maple shouting at me to pay attention to the impending change of season.

I’ve never noticed these seed pods before but I love the gold, tan, and black–neutrals that remind me of fall.

And I’m noticing the light changing as the days get shorter. The lowering sun was making this dandelion glow. I decided to mess around with it in prisma to see what effects I might get. I like the way this one captures the glow and the textures of the plant.

So, what will you notice when you set out to find fall? Maybe you’ll find the traditional colorful leaves dressing the trees in brilliant colors or maybe like those of us in these parts, you’ll have to pay closer attention and look for more subtle seasonal changes. Or maybe you’ll find fall indoors, or through the food you eat, or in some other way!

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

Grab your camera and head out in search of fall. Don’t feel confined to iconic images of fall foliage–embrace what you find! What does fall look like when you look for subtle, often overlooked evidence? I’m looking forward to seeing what you capture when finding fall through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fighting the Blahs

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Some weeks my photography feels uninspired. I simply don’t have the opportunities to get out and find the inspiration that bring photos to life for me. But I’m determined to keep up my practice of taking daily photos…so out of the blahs, here’s a few shots that keep me going.

Scouting out some local hiking places meant an excursion into a nearby place we hadn’t previously explored. I love our native plants for many reasons–their drought tolerance, their earthy smells, and their resilience. But they aren’t always beautiful in that ornate, photo-ready way. I do love the old oaks in our area, especially when the sun shines through them.

A closer look at one of the smaller coast live oaks revealed acorns! I love this one that reminds me of Halloween candy corn!

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If you pay close attention, you will also notice the insect life around. Swallowtail butterflies are pretty common in the area…and this guy even sat still long enough for this portrait.

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And I couldn’t resist this web built into the corner of the fencing along a portion of the trail. I love the way that it is tucked into the corner, creating a lacy effect. I didn’t see a spider…and this looks like it may have abandoned.

It was disturbing to see these dead palm trees in the distance. We learned that they have been intentionally poisoned as part of an effort to restore this preserve area to its native state. The palms are an invasive species and removing them will bring back native plants…and the ecosystem that native birds and other animals need to support them.

And a trip to the local mall offers an antidote to the blahs. There’s a lot of construction going on as the mall is updated to better accommodate the growth in the area. The cranes particularly caught my eye…along with the way the sunlight was streaming down towards them.

So…how might you use photography to fight the blahs…or adjust your eye to fight the photography blahs? You might have to force yourself to start snapping and trust that something interesting will come up. I try hard to remind myself to take at least one photo every day–even when I don’t feel inspired! (Hence the construction photo!)

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

Head out with your camera and take some shots…you’re bound to find something interesting and that will help with fighting the blahs. And in the process, you might learn something about the place you live, the people around you, or even about yourself and the way you look at photos! Fight your blahs this week…and share a few shots with us!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Look Closely

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Sometimes the most amazing sights are right under your nose…and you walk right past them regularly without even noticing. Lucky for me, having a camera at my fingertips helps me pay more attention to my surroundings.

It also helps to have a classroom full of kids pointing out interesting things, like this insect sitting on the yellow cucumber in the garden.

I love the way the composition takes advantage of color and texture…and still draws the eye to the winged insect in the center of the image.

And there’s that planter box right outside my classroom door, which has become a science lab for learning about monarch butterflies. The milkweed attracts butterflies, who lay eggs on the leaves that hatch into interesting black and green and yellow caterpillars…and this week we have found three resulting chrysalises. (Unfortunately one disappeared–likely nabbed by an over interested child, probably from another class.) Two were still there when I left school this afternoon. Here’s the one I snapped yesterday.

I love the intricate gold detail on the brilliant green casing. I hope a butterfly emerges!

This student performance by second graders at our school this morning had me looking closely at the light and the clouds in the distance (you can see that wall of marine layer just beginning to burn off in the distance). As they sang about the constitution (School House Rock version), they waved tiny American flags in honor of Constitution Day and Patriot Day celebrated in September.

Friday morning breakfast with colleagues has become a long-standing tradition at a local restaurant. Parking is always at a premium, and today I ended up around the corner near this electrical box that I have seen before but never photographed. So today was the day I looked closely and snapped a shot of this whimsical piece of found art.

You already know that the beach is a source of inspiration for me, but sometimes I miss the ordinary beauty of something as simple as a sand castle. This one caught my eye the other day.

And sometimes we venture beyond the closest beach and explore other nearby places. Out on the pier in Oceanside (to the north), I looked closely and noticed so much action out in the ocean including these sailboats seemingly racing on a beautiful holiday Saturday afternoon.

Walking through coastal Oceanside also offered us the opportunity to see some street art up close. Many walls were painted with murals…there were eyes, retro western scenes, and my favorite, this triptych of birds in flight in an alleyway.

So, look closely. What do you see? You might have to look down from up high, get low and look under, or have a child point out something you might otherwise overlook.

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

Open your eyes and your mind as you look closely, you might be surprised at what you’ll see! Take some shots and share them…we’d love to see what you find!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Best of Summer

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With Labor Day right around the summer, it’s time to step back, reflect, and curate some of those summer gems!

Some of my favorite images from the summer come from our trip to the Pacific Northwest, outside of Seattle. There’s this wonderful town called Sequim that boasts a lighthouse accessible only at low tide. And even though we didn’t time our visit to allow for the (long) walk the lighthouse and back, my zoom lens let me capture this view from a distance. I’m in love the with monochromatic effect featuring all the shades of blue.

And this is the same area where we glimpsed several bald eagles. These magnificent birds were not easy to photograph, but I fell in love with this one perched on a piling recognizable by its distinctive white head.

Back at home I continued my practice of taking regular walks on the beach. This hasn’t been a particularly warm summer–in fact there were many days when the marine layer kept the sky gray all day. I noticed this seagull on one of my walks with its head tucked in. Since the day was already so gray, I played around with black and white making the seagull and the shadow even more the focal point of the photo.

Living in a place that others travel to creates opportunities for “happening” upon special events like the Switchfoot Bro-Am surfing contest and concert at our local beach. We enjoyed exploring the exhibits on the beach, listening to the opening band of young teens, and watching the surfers paddle out to compete. We were even lucky enough to watch a local favorite, Rob Machado, in action!

I love it when I’m fortunate enough to capture the quirkiness of beach life in an interesting photo. I noticed these wetsuits laying up along the seawall as I walked not long ago. When I saw them I couldn’t help thinking of snakes, leaving their empty skin behind when they shed. I like that you can see the flatness of the wetsuits against the depth of the stairs. I took this picture as I walked one direction, and when I walked back passing this place again, they were gone. Sometimes it’s all about timing!

And no set of “best of” photos would be complete without a food shot. My favorite of the summer is this shot of Geoff’s homemade beignets and cafe au lait…a wonderful treat of a breakfast on a lazy summer weekend! The overhead shot captures the contrast of light and dark–perfectly fried southern “doughnuts” awash in powdered sugar, yum!

I ended my summer with some work in Tucson, AZ and managed to squeeze in a few photos before and after the long days of work. The University of Arizona campus is an interesting one and the building I was in had many interesting architectural features. I captured this unedited image of the endless corridor with brick walls.

And who can resist the natural beauty of our National Parks? We discovered that Tucson is home to Saguaro National Park, a place where the majestic Saguaro cactus grows abundantly. I loved seeing these tall cacti up close, I’ve read many books and taught many children about these unique and special plants. The monsoonal rain clouds and setting sun create the perfect backdrop for Saguaro silhouettes.

So, here’s an invitation to take a walk down memory lane and relive a bit of your summer. Take some time to curate your summer photos and pick one or two (or more) to share as your gallery of “Best of Summer” photos.

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 #bestofsummer16 for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

And if you haven’t yet taken those summer photos yet–no problem! Head out with your camera and get snapping…don’t forget to share your best of with the rest of us!