Tag Archives: photography

Butterflies

Taking photos has taken me out of doors much more often and kept me alert for interesting things to photograph. I find myself taking new routes to and from work and pulling off the road when something interesting or unusual catches my eye.

This exercise in paying attention has the side effect of feeling playful and fun and has me noticing small details that might have escaped my gaze otherwise.

Yesterday’s walk on the beach was a bit different than usual. We had started off for a hike, but a detour changed our plans and sent us down the road to where my husband lived in college. We found a parking place (never easy in beach communities) and headed to the beach. We met very near this place many years ago when we were both undergrads…and walked this stretch of beach on the evening we met.

As we walked we noticed the changes on the beach and in the buildings along the shore. Temporary lifeguard towers have been replaced by permanent buildings and some modern designer homes have replaced beach cottages.

The sun was shining, but it was cool and breezy as we walked. There were still the die-hard sun worshippers tanning in their bathing suits along with dog walkers, joggers, and other beach strollers like us. Kids played in the water and dug holes in the sand. Sandpipers feasted and seagulls squawked as the bombardiers–the pelicans–cruised the skies above.

And then we saw it. Nestled between some rocks on the sand was a butterfly-shaped shell. And I had to stop, get low, and capture that unusual sight. Perfectly shaped by the sea’s tumbling waves, the shell was smoothed with its original curvature creating the illusion of wings in flight.

Butterflies are amazing creatures, light and airy, delicate and beautiful. It’s hard to believe that they begin as caterpillars crawling on leaves and end up winging their way through the air. Butterflies always feel like good luck to me, representing life and bringing life as they pollinate plants they visit on their travels.

This butterfly, carved by nature from a shell, seems to celebrate the long-term, complex, and happy relationship my husband and I have shared since we met that evening when we were in college. It represents our growth, our ongoing evolution as a couple, and the freedom we feel together. And maybe it also reminds us to be playful, to continue to explore and to learn, and to enjoy the moments.

The butterfly is resting on a shelf now…reminding us…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Furry Friends

1 Reply

Here’s the week 11 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt for the NWP iAnthology! (Here are weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 if you want to look back or go back and participate.)

Children and animals always make great photography subjects. They are somewhat compliant…and they almost always look great in a photo! I’ve noticed, though, that as I’ve taken more photos and learned more techniques to improve my photography craft that my pictures of animals (particularly my cats Phil and Jack) have improved and I’ve captured more interesting pictures.

Lately I’ve shot a few photos of my furry friends as they seek the light. Here’s one of Phil. I love the expression in his eyes and the way the light crosses his face.

And just a few days ago I caught both Phil and jack cuddled into the small square of sun on the floor.

This one of Jack is a distance shot…something I don’t do much of in my photography. I have a tendency to move in close when I take a photograph.

And sometimes I like to play with editing apps to create something different than the usual realistic shot. I worked hard to get a shot of Jack meowing (he yells loudly for his food). I didn’t get the great open mouth, but I like the fun colors here. This filter is in the tadaa app and is called lucy.

So this week’s photo challenge is to share photos of your furry friends. Those furry friends might be those family members who live at your house, wildlife from the yard or the zoo or the farm, or some random animal you see when you are out and about. You get to decide what constitutes furry and friend! 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 #furryfriend 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 am excited to meet your furry friends through your lens!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring

2 Replies

Here’s the week 10 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt for the NWP iAnthology! (Here are weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 if you want to look back.)

It seems like spring is a tumultuous time of the year, the seasons shifting erratically–not quite sure whether to let go the grip of winter or to emerge into the growth of spring. Even in sunny San Diego, I’m not sure whether to head out in flip flops and a sweatshirt or to pull on my boots and cozy jacket…and sometimes I need both on the same day! But whether it has arrived or not, it seems that we yearn for spring as March progresses. St. Patrick’s day is right around the corner with its show of green and by the end of next week spring will be official.

I find myself wanting to capture images of spring lately. I couldn’t resist buying some daffodils at Trader Joes and then using my macro lens to look closely at the emerging bud.

I did the same with the shamrock plant, focusing in on the small white flowers that decorate the beautiful three-leafed plant.

But I was reminded that it isn’t all buds and blossoms when I walked on the beach and came across this lobster trap tossed up against the rocks in the storm last week. Strong waves wrestled with the anchored traps…as well as the kelp plants holding tight to rocks on the ocean floor, ripping them from their moorings and rearranging the beach.

So this week’s photo challenge is to share photos that conjure spring. It can capture the emerging life or the harshness of winter’s end…or something I haven’t even thought of yet! 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 #spring 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 am excited to see how you represent spring through your lens!

Considering Perspective

4 Replies

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

With play as my word this year, I’m trying to approach my life and work by playing more and looking through a more playful lens. But sometimes it’s hard and those feelings of being overwhelmed and overworked creep up.

I’m lucky though. I work with kids in the classroom every day. And they remind me that when we are having fun, even while going about our work of learning, time flies by without us even noticing. This week has been like that.

And it’s not that we have done anything so very different than usual…but I think it’s just about the way we’ve been looking at our work. One example is playing with our math. Today a small group of third graders were challenged by a tricky math problem. They knew they needed to multiply 62 and 27, but they didn’t know how to multiply those numbers. Some tried adding 62 twenty seven times…but it’s so easy to make mistakes doing that. They consulted each other to see if someone had a workable strategy. And there was some good thinking going on. Another student tried breaking the numbers down to multiply easier combinations–more good thinking–but didn’t quite have all the pieces in place. Yeah–I had to work at it too…and think through where they were going wrong.

The point is that even though we were trying to figure out the correct answer, we were learning through our efforts and through our errors. As we talked through our strategies we could see where things weren’t working and wondered why a promising approach wasn’t quite right. But it was fun and we weren’t ready to give up…even when we ran out of time.

Perspective is everything. When I remember to be playful, my students play more too. When I look for the light, the darkness doesn’t seem so daunting. I love this image of Jack, my cat, finding the light. Cats are like that…they seek out the sliver of sun and squeeze themselves into that space to soak up the warmth.

I’m working to keep my perspective positive and playful this week. In spite of too many meetings, writing report cards, trying to adjust to Daylight Savings Time, and so many people being sick (what is the deal with the horrid cough that everyone seems to have?), I’m looking for the metaphorical garden. And better yet…I’m finding it. It’s all about perspective.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Round

3 Replies

Here’s the week 9 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt for the NWP iAnthology! (Here are weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 if you want to look back.)

I just realized that today is Thursday…and I haven’t yet thought about a weekly prompt. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend the DML 2014 conference (Digital Media and Learning) conference in Boston today through Saturday, but it means being off my usual schedule and out of my time zone! It seems like last week’s prompt might have felt like too much of a stretch…which tells me that maybe I needed to offer some more varied examples to create more pathways for you all to find your way and your own interpretation.

So this week I am heading in a different direction and inviting you to find images of round. It might be as deceptively simple as a single raindrop on a dandelion plant.

Or maybe the circle of a hula hoop or the sphere of a basketball on the cart that students use for recess play.

Or maybe even the flat, rounded paddles of the prickly pear cactus.

So this week’s photo challenge is to share a photo that is round is some way. It might just have a hint of roundness or it could be completely spherical…or anything in between. Share a photo (or several) that pictures round in some way. 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 #round 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 am excited to see how you represent round through your lens!

Reflections on Photography and Rain

5 Replies

“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
― Ansel Adams

I saw this Ansel Adams quote on Instagram (thanks @lyndango) today and had an immediate and visceral connection to it. I wasn’t always a photographer, in fact, I am only now beginning to identify myself with that description after taking and posting daily photos for more than a year and a half. It is that daily practice that has transformed my photographs. Before I took photos of people I loved and things I wanted to remember, but I didn’t put a lot of thought into the composition and I didn’t pore over my photos the way I do now, thinking about the messages they carry and convey to others.

I am coming to understand this Ansel Adams quote as I reflect on what I choose to photograph and how I choose to compose my photographs. Even the editing process draws on my experiences and interests.

On a rainy Saturday morning, in the midst of the San Diego Area Writing Project Spring Conference, I was drawn to the windows to try to capture the rain and its energy through my lens. It’s hard to see rain through my camera lens…but the rain splattered window helped me out.

And I love the juxtaposition of the name of this building, The Sun God Lounge, with the rainy morning.

And across the room I noticed the interesting lines of the window panes. As I walked closer, I could see the distinctive architecture of the Geisel Library through the lines of the panes. Even though I have been in this building many times before, I had never noticed this view of the library.

I like the iconic eucalyptus trees between the window and the library building…trees that are prevalent on the UCSD campus.

And yesterday we experienced the rare stormy day at school. My students were fascinated by the bending of the palms… “Look,” they said as they pointed! “The trees are bending.” I like the way this photo not only captures the wind and windiness, but also the school-ness of the context with the four square courts in the foreground.

I definitely bring the pictures I have seen, the books I have read, the music I have heard, and the people I love to my photography…and my photography brings them back to me, helping me to better understand who I am in the world.

How does photography impact your understanding of the world? Or do you have another form of art/creativity that serves a similar purpose?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture

4 Replies

Here’s the week 8 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt for the NWP iAnthology! (Here are weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 if you want to look back.)

If we’re lucky, there are places in our communities where cultural experiences take place. That word culture has lots of different meanings depending on your frame of reference. But commonly, culture has to do with access to music, art, and other learning opportunities.

In San Diego we are lucky to have Balboa Park, a beautiful urban park right in the downtown area. It has many museums, our world famous zoo, a botanical garden and lily pond, international houses, a theatre, an organ pavilion, gardens, a world class restaurant, lots and lots of walking and hiking trails and so much more. It was the site of the Panama-California Exposition in 1915, and is about to celebrate its centennial anniversary.

This iconic fountain is a favorite place for people to meet, to relax, to cool off, to people watch, and to enjoy the outdoors. Even on a rainy day like today (hooray for rain!), you can sense the beauty and specialness of this place. And for me Balboa Park is a cultural experience–whether I am exploring the museums or simply people watching, this is a place where culture is alive and well.

So this week’s photo challenge is to share a photo that represents culture to you. What image stirs up a cultural experience or helps you explore your own culture? Share a photo (or several) that pictures culture in some way. 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 #culture 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 am excited to see how you represent culture through your lens!

Exploring Green: March Photo-a-Day Challenge

Weekly Photo Challenge: STEM

5 Replies

Here’s the week 7 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt for the NWP iAnthology! (Here are weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 if you want to look back.)

Probably because I have been busily writing a grant this week for state funding for our writing project site, all the current educational buzz words are bouncing around my brain. One that has been getting lots of play lately is the acronym, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

So that has me thinking, what does STEM look like in my photographs? Today I happened to attend a technology event at the new public library in downtown San Diego called Innovation Day. The goal was to bring technology leaders of all sorts (from superintendents to ed tech and IT folks to classroom teachers) together to examine some products from vendors and to hear some short presentations about the use of a variety of technological tools. Walking around the beautiful new library building was a treat in itself, featuring breathtaking views of the city and the bay and some unique architectural features. This fits the “E” in STEM for me (could probably include some “M” too!)

The beach seems to fit every photo category for me. This pairing of seashells shows symmetry and the fibonacci sequence. We don’t always think about math when we look at seashells…but they are perfect examples of those mathematical concepts I just mentioned. Do you know which is which?

And then there are the intricacies of science. The biology of grasses that grow on the sea cliffs, the slow and constant wearing of erosion on the geologic features, the physics of waves…

So this week’s photo challenge is to represent STEM in photos. Where do you find science, technology, engineering and math? How does looking through your camera lens through the lens of STEM impact what you see and what you share? Share a photo (or several) that pictures STEM in some way. 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 #STEM 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 am excited to see how you represent STEM through your lens!