Tag Archives: photo essay

Ups and Downs

Do You Selfie?

This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge on the Daily Post is the selfie–that ubiquitous self-portrait, usually taken on a mobile device. They highlight the National #Selfie Portrait Gallery, an exhibit of the art of the self-portrait or selfie.

I’m not much of a selfie taker. I don’t love to post photos of myself on social media and there are just so many other interesting things to take photos of that it doesn’t occur to me to turn the lens on myself.

But when I saw the challenge, I realized that I do have a small collection of selfies. This one, taken in the Natural History Museum in Denver, is one of my favorites. I couldn’t resist the multiple mirrors…and then I used some editing apps to transform the image into an artistic interpretation of me.

I had fun playing with the colored light at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, creating a refracted light selfie.

A mirrored wall at the Getty Museum created an opportunity to catch a selfie of myself…with my son, and a little of the marble surfaces of the buildings and walkways.

And since so many of my photo are of landscapes and the natural beauty of the place where I live, I do snap of few shadow selfies. (Is that a selfie sub-genre?) This one was taken on an exercise walk…you can see my sweatshirt tied around my waist.

And then the classic shadow couple selfie…my hubby and I out on one of my picture taking expeditions. I was loving the long and lean shadow here.

On social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) I see some people who document their actions through selfies. They snap pictures of themselves at landmarks, with friends, eating and drinking… It seems to be a way to create a scrapbook of sorts of the moments they want to remember. And as you can see, I do a few of my own. Most of my selfies come from moments where the picture of myself (or my shadow) emerges as a way to play with photography–to try something a bit different and maybe even to prove I am physically present in some way. I do capture the occasionally accidental selfie–standing in my own light and causing a shadow, shooting a reflective surface and surprising myself with a picture of myself instead of the image I was after.

Do you selfie? Do you have a signature style or a classic pose? Do you favor using your front facing camera on your phone, shooting into reflective surfaces or capturing shadows? Do you post on social media or just share privately with friends? What do your selfies say about you?

The Rule of Thirds

An Architectural Learning Walk

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Sometimes I’m surprised at what interests me. With my camera in my hand, I find myself drawn to shapes and angles, light and shadows, things that shine and things that crumble, the cute and the hideous… Contradictions make for interesting photographs.

I mentioned earlier this week that I had gone exploring in the Los Angeles area on Monday with my son. We headed into the hills in search of the Ennis House, a residence designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. This house is made of “textile blocks”–intricate patterns pressed into the concrete. The concrete has deteriorated over time (it was built in 1924), putting the building in danger. Since being purchased a few years ago by billionaire Ron Burkle, it is now being restored to its original state.

This is a huge place and has a history of being used by the film industry as a setting for movies, Blade Runner is one example. I can only imagine what the view must be from the interior of the house from its perch on the side of the hill above downtown Los Angeles.

In our climb up to the house, we noticed other interesting architecture in the neighborhood. After parking and walking around, we examined the interesting collection of eclectic design built into the hillside.

This one that juts out at an angle also sports an interesting screen along the bottom.

The one right next door seemed to built on stilts, lifting the living quarters up high enough to catch the view below.

If you asked me last week if I was interested in architecture, I might have said no. But after my day exploring through photography, I found myself looking up information about the Ennis House and interested in finding out more about other architectural styles.

This happens in my classroom too. Once students engage in learning about something…especially in an active, student-centered way, their interest is piqued and they can’t wait to learn more. They seem to notice the new information everywhere and make connections well beyond the classroom walls.

What new interests have you found recently? What inspires your learning?

Window Views

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I’ve heard that saying that eyes are the windows to the soul…a way to look beyond the surface of a person into their thoughts and emotions, which got me thinking about windows.

From the outside, you can look through a window to see what is inside. But sometimes, when the light is right, what you see when you look through the window from the outside is a reflection of the sky and trees…like this.

It’s almost more of a mirror than a window. You don’t see through it, you see the world reflected back at you.

And other times when you look through a window you can see through one window and then back out another window…and catch a glimpse of what is on the other side.

It’s almost like looking beyond the present…into the future or maybe into the past.

But what about the shape of windows? How does that impact our view? These windows are long and thin, reducing the amount of light that enters and restricting the view. Was that an intentional goal of the windows in this applied physics and math building? Or is there some physics and math at work that impacts just how these windows work?

Looking through my photos also makes me realize just how much of my life is seen through the frame of a car window. How does this window affect my view? (This one is from the passenger seat…not the driver’s!) I was fascinated by the VW bus, the rusty roof, the retro license plate…

And we also look out through windows. Sometimes the view is pretty open, allowing a wide angle of view.

And other times there are barriers, restricting our vision and limiting what can be seen.

So are our eyes really like windows? Do they sometimes reflect, sometimes allow the viewer to see beyond, sometimes carefully frame or give a view influenced by your seat? What affects the way we see out? When are the curtains drawn wide open and when are the blinds restricting the view?

How do your windows influence your view of the world?

Documenting Growth

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The garden metaphor is pretty common in education–you know, planting seeds and watching them germinate, grow, and eventually bloom. And as a teacher who keeps her students for three years, I really do get to plant some of those seeds, watch them germinate, grow…and bloom–sometimes a year or two after they are planted.

One of the families in our class gave each of us a mason jar planted with a narcissus paperwhite bulb for Christmas with a note on the lid telling us to be sure to take the top off and water. And since taking that top off three weeks ago, I’ve been watching that bulb. It began by stretching roots down, filling the jar with stringy white texture. And then green shoots began to emerge, quickly growing tall above the rim of the jar.

Earlier this week those tall shoots got taller than they had the strength to hold onto and bent over, startling me as I looked up and found the shoots looking down at me. My handy husband found some old chopsticks and propped the shoots back upright.

Close examination over the last week revealed buds, and I checked daily to see if they were ready to open. And today when I got home from my morning San Diego Area Writing Project Leadership Group meeting, I found that the blossom had opened. And of course I had to get my camera out and take some photos to document the growth and capture the beauty.

I’m loving this still life, an unedited photo taken with my iPhone. If you look closely you can see the blossom at the top and the one to the left that is getting ready to bloom. (You can even see the chopstick props if you really look closely!)

Of course I also wanted to lean in and capture the detail with my macro lens. The detail of the blossom is revealed by the magnification of the lens. This is another unedited photo.

And sometimes it’s nice to get a different view. In this shot I used the regular iPhone lens and then brought the image into Camera+ to crop and enhance. I like the effect and how it emphasizes how the shoot changes as it gets close to the blossom.

I’ve enjoyed documenting the growth of this bulb through my photography. It also has me thinking about how we document our students’ growth…and how they keep track of their own growth. We keep samples of students’ work and have them reflect on their own learning, encouraging them to notice, stretch, and build on what they have learned.

My photographs document my growth as a photographer. I can see how my composition has improved and as I examine my photos I make plans to try new techniques. I seek out mentors on other blogs and on other internet sites.

We plan to start our students blogging next week. We began blogging last year…figuring out how this might work with young students as we worked through each step of the way. We’ve let the blogs idle as we established our classroom community and let our first graders develop some fluency and confidence with writing.

As we get ready to restart our blogging, I want to think about student blogs as documentation of learning…as portfolios of growth over time. And I want to capture snapshots of their growth like I have with the paperwhites, documenting their progress and their process over time. Maybe the blogs will be like my camera lens…

Exploring, Lagoon Style

The Joy of the Unexpected

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As a photographer I am attracted to things I find beautiful…interesting shapes, saturated colors, cute furry animals, sweet children. But today was different.

Using my macro lens, I was taking photos of a paperwhite bulb that is beginning to emerge, capturing the brilliant green shoots emerging from the jar.

But I wasn’t done exploring with my lens. I noticed the orchid in the kitchen window still hanging onto the dried blossoms. I should probably pull off these dead remnants, but instead I aimed my macro lens and captured a beautiful image of the dried and withered petals.

I headed outside into the unusually warm December morning, still looking for opportunities to get close. I noticed this dried blossom on the hedge and leaned in.

Then I noticed the old wires on the part of the sprinkler system that has been disabled. There’s a certain elegant beauty to the turquoise plastic revealing the coppery wire within.

I headed around the corner toward the hibiscus plant. It has tiny shoots of green emerging along with dried remains of previous flowers.

And I have a love/hate relationship with spider webs. They can be elegantly beautiful like delicate lace, especially when they capture drops of dew or rain. And they can be a messy nuisance. But when you look closely, you can see past the mess and notice the intricacies of design and the way the sunlight plays with the thin strands.

I found myself looking for things I would otherwise think of as ugly as I photographed with my macro lens this morning…and I found unexpected beauty and experienced the joy of discovery in my re-seeing.

All of these unedited photos are yet another reminder that there is plenty of beauty to find in our world if we take the time to look past the obvious and consider perspectives beyond what is conventionally accepted.

Where do you find beauty? Do you find joy in the unexpected?

Airport Reflections

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My blog has been dark these last few days as I’ve taken time to ready my home and my head for holiday celebrations. With school in session through the 20th and home renovations that same week, little things like cleaning and decorating…and bigger things like Christmas shopping got pushed off to after the break began.

As I headed off to the airport yesterday (the day after Christmas) to pick up my oldest son, I found myself thinking about the ups and down of the airport. Anticipation, dread, excitement, drudgery…they are all part of the airport experience, depending on the reason for being there.

Traffic was light and parking was easy as I arrived at the airport. I parked in my favorite 60 minute parking zone and knew I had a bit of time for some photographs before Andy’s plane landed. I thought I might see crowds of people ascending and descending the escalator either arriving in our sunny city or departing for parts unknown.

But instead, as you can see, it was pretty empty. As I got to the top of the escalator, I realized I could see the cityscape in the distance…as well as the sea of cars parked in the parking lot. (The illusion of emptiness was just that, an illusion!)

Crossing the bridge from the parking lot to the terminal I noticed the line of shuttles below. Who will get into these cars? Are they visiting family? Vacationing? Working? Were they for visitors to the Poinsettia Bowl?

When I arrived in the terminal, I immediately went back outside (into the 75+ degree weather) to take photos of the people. You can see that there were lines of people checking their bags…and there were also lines inside of people checking in for their flights.

And then I noticed this big crowd of people dressed in red. I first saw them near the baggage claim…and then they headed outside together. There were lots of them and they all wore red t-shirts that said something like, “Brown Family Christmas 2013.” There were little children in red shirts, teenagers, adults, and some grandparent looking folks too. Once outside a big fancy tour bus pulled up and they all began to load their bags and themselves onto it. And I wondered…did they all come from the same place to spend Christmas in San Diego? Did they come on different planes from different places? Do they do this every year? Who makes the arrangements and the t-shirts? I was reminded of a colleague I met this summer whose family collects dues to put on a family reunion each year…something that has never occurred to me!

And then I got my gift…my son arrived! Now that my children are grown I don’t get to spend every special occasion with them. I share them with their wives and in laws and jobs and friends. And instead of feeling like I am missing out, I feel grateful for the time I get to spend with them. And in that moment yesterday, the airport was one of my favorite places!

And even though Andy is here, the airport will continue to be present over this next week as my daughter-in-law arrives tomorrow and my other son and his wife board a plane to fly back this direction the following day. And then, all too soon, they will go back to their homes and their lives and their work.

I’ll be boarding a plane in not too many days too as I head off to meet with colleagues about some interesting ideas for our work. Many people focus on either the excitement of the airport as they travel off on exotic vacations…or the hassle as they get stranded, stand in long lines, or searched in the security process.

But the reality is, in so many ways the airport connects us. It shrinks the miles between us and brings us together…as families, as colleagues, as friends.

Airplanes bring my kids home to me…and who can complain about that?

Following the Tracks of Lights

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It’s December and the frenzy of the holidays is in full swing. With only a week until school breaks for the winter there are projects to complete, plans to create…not to mention the shopping, decorating, event attending and more that comes with the season.

Our neighborhood is one that hangs their Christmas lights on Thanksgiving weekend, with each house just a bit more sparkly than the one next door. With the short days and early dark I notice the lights coming on as I head home on the evening. We’ve been talking about taking time to go out and walk our neighborhood after dinner one night so we can look closely at the lights rather than simply drive by them on the way home.

So, in spite of being tired on a Friday evening after a busy, work-filled week, we headed out tonight to follow the tracks left by the lights.

Bundled up in heavy (Southern CA heavy) jackets and with camera in hand, we set off. We decided to go in the direction that we don’t see on our way home each day, up and around the corner. In addition to the lights on the houses, we also noticed the tracks left by the stars in the sky. As I photographed electric lights, my husband searched the sky for tracks of constellations (and consulted his constellation app for more information about what he was seeing).

The traditional white icicle lights are definitely the most common decoration in the neighborhood. But there is no shortage of the traditional trappings of Christmas. We found Santa…with a couple of arctic bears.

And a variety of versions of reindeer, including the red-nosed Rudolph. I’m partial to this more natural version set in among the trees (even if they are palm trees).

And it wouldn’t be Christmas without a trail marked by candy canes!

A couple of houses sported these inflatable characters. During the day they appear to be melted as they sit deflated until they are plugged in at dusk.

We saw twinkling lights, flashing lights, lights that were all red, lights in trees, on bushes, wrapped around pillars and poles. Lights arranged in the shapes of trees and wreaths. Sometimes the simplest were the most beautiful.

I often wonder about the electric bill of the people with the most lights. Do they plan for the increased usage as part of their annual budget? I have to admit, my house is one of the unadorned with only the porch lights to penetrate the dark. And yet I enjoy the display of lights my neighbors set out, adding light to the long nights of December.

Following the tracks of lights was a perfect ending to a busy week. Walking in the crisp cool evening was energizing and it was fun to notice the details of the displays and even get some new perspectives on decorations I had only previously seen from a particular angle.

I might just add this activity as a December tradition…and maybe even branch out a bit further to take a look at how others create tracks with lights. This was definitely a learning walk…my first focused on lights!