Tag Archives: photography

Weekly Photo Challenge: #litterati

Weekly Photo Challenge: Manmade

I love spending time outside, appreciating the breathtaking beauty of nature. The brilliant blues of the waves crashing on the shore, bees buzzing near vibrant blossoms, colorful sunsets and more… Yet, sometimes I find myself in places where nature’s beauty takes a backseat and I find myself noticing interesting manmade creations.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. It wasn’t nighttime, so I didn’t get to star gaze and experience the telescope…but the building is spectacular!

The beautiful sunny day created a perfect backdrop for the architecture of this building. And from another angle, you can see the dome that houses the telescope.

Indoors, there are many informative exhibits–open to the public, free of charge, everyday! From the Foucault’s pendulum to the design of the windows, this is an extraordinary place.

While I didn’t get to go in where the current telescope operates, this “retired” version was on display. I am struck by its intricacies and beauty!

And looking out from the park, you can see the LA skyline from one side and then spy the iconic Hollywood sign in the other direction.

And sometimes interesting isn’t necessarily beautiful. A trip to LA is almost always accompanied by traffic–and this trip was no different. But since I wasn’t the driver this time around, I could take some photos out the window. I was interested in watching the train that traversed the freeway…although the moving car didn’t allow me the best angle!

So take a look around for photos that feature the manmade. Where do you find manmade beauty or objects of interest? Is it in the architecture? In the technology or transportation available? Something right in front of your eyes that you hadn’t paid attention to?

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

Take a look at the manmade this week…what do you notice? I can’t wait to experience manmade (or womanmade) through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Curves

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Life is filled with curves–just when you think you see what is coming straight ahead, the path curves and brings something unexpected.

It’s been hot, hot, hot here this week…and yes, we do complain about anything higher than 80 in these parts. Mostly we don’t have a/c…so last night after a sweltering few days in the classroom and sleepless nights at home, we headed to the beach to attempt to cool off. And while it wasn’t really cool, it was refreshing to have those coolish waves lap at our calves and treat our eyes to the beauty of the sun settling into the curve of the waves.

Earlier in the day my students were exploring water. They used pipettes to place water drops on a penny…and in the process discovered that water drops stick to each other and create little mountains or egg yolk shapes (in their words). You can see the curve of the surface tension in this shot.

Last weekend’s adventures led me to some beaches I don’t usually visit. And with high surf warnings, waves crashed in dramatic ways, shooting curves of salty water into the air…almost creating their own water version of a fireworks show!

Meanwhile, this dancer stood nearby as a photographer worked to create beautiful photos of her in her skirt of curved leaves.

A kite caught in a palm tree turned into curved ribbons of celebration–a festive sight to behold.

And back closer to home, I found a half dollar on the beach…or half a sand dollar! The curve that is visible suggests the curve that is missing, probably tossed and broken in the surf.

And I am drawn to the brilliant colors and elegant curves the prevalent bird of paradise. Using my zoom lens, I was able to focus on the bloom and yet, you can still see the ocean blurred in the background.

So where are the curves in your life this week? Did they sneak up and surprise you? Delight you? Create chaos or celebration? You might find your curves in the natural beauty of your surroundings or they might be metaphorical curves expressed in an image.

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

Take a look for your curves this week. I look forward to seeing them through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Beginnings and Endings

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It turns out that the last days of August mark beginnings and endings for some of us. This week was our first week of school with students, the beginning of the new school year…with sweltering heat (it seems to come only during our first weeks of school) and no air conditioning. And our students were excited to be back…even taking the time to pick a beautiful rose of two from their home garden to set the back to school mood.

And in spite of the heat, our learners dove right in, whether it was a first day team challenge to build the highest tower possible using only large index cards,

or collecting data in small groups to display in graphs to help us get to know each other better (and what student doesn’t love a clipboard?)

And while this new beginning was underway, we were also feeling the full blast of the end of summer. Who can resist the allure of the layers of color from beneath a pier, while dipping your feet in the cool salty water?

And it seems that the fishermen are also squeezing in the last of the summer fishing season…off the piers, in the surf…during the heat of the day or in the cooler evening hours.

And last night, to celebrate the ending of the first week of school and to escape the heat of indoors, we headed to the beach at sunset…which also happened to coincide with the moonrise…and a full moon!

It’s been quite a week of beginnings and endings for me. What is beginning and ending in your life this week? You can represent it literally…by capturing a moment, or use a metaphoric approach and use an image that reflects your feelings of beginnings and/or endings.

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

How will you capture beginnings and endings this week? I’m looking forward to seeing beginnings and endings through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Underfoot

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As I walk along the shoreline, I can feel the grains of sand under my feet. Along some stretches the sand feels smooth, almost like quicksand where my heels sink in the sponginess of the saturated surface. The sandpipers see this place as their seaside restaurant, poking their long beaks deep into the sand for a meal.

Some places are firm…firm enough for bike riding when the tide is low, with surfboards secured in sidecars to make them easy to transport.

Sometimes that sand underfoot can be scooped up to create magnificent castles, complete with moats and and a seashell flag on top.

Other times what’s under your feet is floating on the surface of the water.

When the tide is high, there’s not much place for feet at all…and even the lifeguards have to be careful that they can get their vehicles through as the tide rises.

And where are the feet that belong to these shoes? Probably out cooling off in the Pacific Ocean…the perfect summer solution for underfoot!

So what is underfoot in your life this week? Capture the surface your feet find themselves walking on this week, or maybe these things–physically or metaphorically–that seem to be tripping you up.

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

My feet seem drawn to the sand…where are you finding your feet? I look forward to seeing how you interpret underfoot through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Endless

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There is an endless quality to summer, especially those hot days in August. Endless sunshine, endless heat, endless time…well, not that. Time still seems to run too fast and I already see the end of that rare unstructured time.

But I have some other images of endless…this one from our local beach where I detoured on my way home yesterday after being stuck in what seemed like endless traffic. I love the sun going down behind the lifeguard and his vehicle, with silhouettes of the beachgoers in the background. This seems like a classic image of endless summer.

And there is the endless mirror-like smoothness of the water that when the light is just right, reflects both color and figures like in this photo of the cliffs reflected along the shore along with the sandpiper.

Who can resist the endless sweet and saltiness of Garrett’s popcorn? After trying it while I was in downtown Chicago, I had to seek it out at the O’Hare airport and get “one for the road.” Endless yummy!

There is this quirky little park not far from where I live that once belonged to an old time movie star named Leo Carillo. The park features some historic structures, wide open spaces…and peacocks! Peacocks are endlessly fascinating to me…tall and graceful…and loud! There are tons of them there, all descendants of the peacocks that Leo Carillo loved and nurtured.

I was so surprised when I noticed the peacock in the trees. And as much as I wanted the amazing photo of the peacock in the tree, I love the way this photo captures the range of colors I saw–including the colorful plumage of the peacock.

Bees are in endless motion, seemingly never at rest. I found these guys doing their pollination work on a colorful bird of paradise.

And of course, there is the endless curiosity of cats. Phil and Jack, even in their golden years, never let anything new go unexplored. Here they are camped out on the new printer that arrived to replace the one than gave up the ghost last week (right when we needed it most, of course). This new one even prints from my phone! Endless innovation!

So what seems endless in your life right now? Endless outdoor play? Endless picnics and fresh squeezed lemonade? Endless preparation for the new school year?

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

The dog days of summer are upon us…look around for evidence of endless. Endless might be literal or figurative…or maybe a wish for more illusions of endless. Take some shots and share them! I’m looking forward to seeing endless through your lens!

Urban Mountains

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I’ve spent some time over the last year exploring mountains…and testing my body and my endurance. I’ve walked for miles, enjoyed wildflowers, listened to birds, noticed clouds, smelled pine trees and the musky aroma of sage. I experienced California’s drought, seeing hundreds of dead trees and dangerously low water levels and reveled in the beauty that nature has to offer.

As I walked through downtown Chicago over the weekend, I found myself thinking about how the skyscrapers are like urban mountains standing tall and proud, shading one side while the sun shines on the other, reflecting the sky and creating canyons and valleys between them.

I’ve logged lots of miles in the last few days and I love the way that walking brings me up close with the city. Old sits next to new, the homeless rubbing shoulders with the wealthy, sweet smells of Garrett’s carmel popcorn on one block, sour smells of trash and filth on the next.

And I was seduced into joining the throngs of other tourists (from all over the world) to experience the view of Chicago from 103 stories above. What was formerly Sears Tower is now known as Willis Tower, the tallest building in the US (and there are some who insist in the world). 110 stories tall with radio towers making it taller, this building is a feat of engineering that was built in the 1970’s. And in spite of having been in Chicago a number of times before this, I had never gone up…or even walked by this building before!

I was determined to not only brave the long lines and go up…but while up there I decided to battle my intense fear of heights and walk out on the plexiglass sky bridge, looking straight down at the ground so far below my feet!

Yeah, it was scary…hand sweating, vertigo-inducing, catch your breath scary. I’ve been up high before…the Space Needle in Seattle, the Empire State Building in NYC, but the sky deck took away the comfort of window ledges and railings, leaving me with clear plexiglass as safety from falling. But I went out there not once, but three times. Each easier than the one before, although I can still feel my hands dampen as I write this.

I was even able to snap a few playful selfies with my husband, who enjoyed every minute of this sky high experience.

Once down, we circled the building to find those plexiglass outcroppings from the outside. The height is even more impressive looking up–the sky deck is barely visible from the ground! (Look closely–maybe even click on the photo to bring up a larger version to see them!)

You don’t have to be in the wilderness to enjoy the outdoors. There is lots to see and experience right outside the door. And I fell in love with the interactive art in the park spaces in downtown Chicago. The bean in Millennium Park encouraged people to come close, stand back, group up…and of course, take plenty of photos, while also reflecting the beauty of the urban mountains.

And on a hot summer day it was fun to watch people interacting with these tall brick fountain structures that also include projections of faces, facing each other.

I’m glad we spent time exploring the urban mountains of Chicago, walking miles and seeing the city up close. It might not be a National Park, but it was fun exploring the great urban outdoors!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Golden

Public Privilege

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I spend a lot of time on the beach, walking and thinking and taking pictures. In this public space, even in a crowd, I feel a sense of solitude. Wrapped in the sounds of the sea, the wind on my face and the sun on my shoulders I pay attention the rhythms of the earth. I notice the ways the landscape changes, the habits of the seabirds, the movement of the sun and the moon, and the way the tides ebb and flow. No two days are ever the same…and yet this place is always the same.

I also notice the people who come in many shapes and sizes. I notice that they are more the same than different, looking like the people who live in my neighborhood and attend the school where I work. Of course there are visitors, vacationing along the shore…and the ever present #beachpeople who constantly interest, inform, and surprise me with all the things they do at the beach.

In this place, people shower in public,

play in public,

hangout in public,

and learn in public.

And with my camera in my hand, most people pay little attention to me even while I pay a lot of attention to them.

After all, this is a public place. Everyone is welcome. Or are they?

Sometimes I wonder about the gulls, often looked upon as pests. I’ve heard them called “rats,” a nod to their role as scavengers…and maybe to their highly adaptable behavior.

But who else is not welcome here? I notice patrols on the beach, mostly lifeguards but sometimes sheriffs in their vehicles cruise the beach. Are they keeping beachgoers safe or looking for troublemakers? Do those mean the same thing?

And where does public end and private begin? At the no trespassing sign?