Enjoy taking photos?  Love to share them with others?  Welcome to this week’s photo challenge! (I post a new challenge every week…check in each week and join the fun!)

Small things are often underestimated in our biggest, strongest, fastest focused world.  Too often, small gets overlooked or trivialized as merely cute.  And yet, when you look closely, small can reveal so much more.

I was out with my macro lens in my backyard yesterday and noticed these tiny weed buds neighboring up to a potted plant.  I love the gentle curve of its stem, like a dancer in motion rising from its leafy brethren below.

And then there’s the energy and inquisitiveness that comes through this small hand…the hand of a child who just discovered this bean growing in the school garden.  She was excited to taste this morsel, exploring the bounty students planted and nurtured.

And how often do we dismiss or turn in disgust from these small, slimy creatures?  I came across this slug on my sidewalk as I ventured out to take a peek at the moon the other night.  I nearly missed the small brown creature…or worse, nearly stepped on it!

And sometimes something small is revealed by something larger.  This hearty, healthy dandelion emerged from a small crack between the sidewalk and wall.  Weeds don’t need much space to grow–they grow where they can, making use of small, often unused spaces.

So this week’s photo challenge is to look for and capture small. Interpret small in ways that work in your context.  Small might mean smaller than your palm, or small in relation to something larger than life.  Use a macro lens, lean in closely, or maybe even pose your small next to something large.  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 yours widely too. (You might consider Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+) Use the hashtag #small 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’m looking forward to seeing small through your lens!