Tag Archives: sandpipers

A Contradiction? SOL22 Day 26

One of the things I love about walking on the beach is that it is forever different and always fascinating. Today was gray with a pretty thick marine layers covering the coast. I love low tides when the reef is exposed, the beach is wide, and if I’m lucky there will be more shore birds and other sea creatures visible.

Today it was the tiny sandpipers that caught my eye. They gather in groups, perhaps safety in numbers, and move in unison. I crept close today (they spook easily) and waited and watched with my camera at the ready. Their coloring helps them camouflage with the reef, making it hard to get great photos.

So many birds stand on one leg…and this one is a perfect example. I’m guessing it’s a way to rest. I know when I am standing a lot (like every day teaching), I find myself standing one one leg or resting one foot on the other.

As I was thinking about these birds that run and fly in perfect synch–their little feet almost like perpetual motion machines–I was also wondering about their collective noun. What is a group of sandpipers called? With a question like this, I did the usual and turned to Google. There I learned there are a number of names for a group of sandpipers including a contradiction, a fling, a hill, and even a time-step! Where do these names come from…and why? A contradiction?

If I were to choose from these nouns, I would definitely go with time-step. I love to watch their little legs move in a blur of constant motion and in perfect step with each other–definitely a time-step!

And…I was lucky enough to catch this guy mid leap! Notice the little drip of water from the tiny bird foot raised above the ground.

It’s fun to leave the beach wondering and thinking. No two days are alike and every day gets me thinking. Where do you go to think and wonder? (And maybe even walk and photograph)

SOLC Day 19: Searching for a Second Wind

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Is it really only day 4 of the school closures? Today the lift felt heavy. It’s not actually my teaching day, but that doesn’t alleviate feelings of responsibility: to my students, their parents, and my colleagues. And then to top things off, our Google Classroom has decided to stop loading the stream. Students starting commenting that their lessons had disappeared and soon after a parent emailed confirming that they could no longer see anything past March 17th.

My immediate response was panic. How could our lessons go missing? We had put so much work into creating them. And while I, too, could not get my stream to load, I could see the lessons/activities in the classwork section, Phew! Our district Ed Tech Coordinator is working to resolve the issue, soon I hope.

So instead of student responses today, I found myself in hours of video conferences. All were worthwhile, but they add up to lots of time sitting in front of a computer. And that is exhausting. I am really glad that I selfishly took some time when it wasn’t raining late this morning for my daily beach walk.

I rushed down the beach, feeling the cool breeze in my face as I noticed the mounding white clouds in the distance. The tide wasn’t low yet…I couldn’t wait til then, there were video calls scheduled during that time. (And as it turns out, it was raining then too!) I came across a group of sandpipers dancing in the surf. They raced in toward me with each wave and headed toward the water as the water receded. I danced with them, my camera low, trying to catch them in motion.

Taking time for myself is essential during these stressful times. I need that walk on the beach more than ever: the time to let my mind wander, to breathe deeply, to appreciate the beauty of nature, and to move my body. I found a bit of a second wind. I know I’ll need another walk tomorrow to refill that wind supply!

Dancing with Sandpipers

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A while back there was a photo challenge on the Daily Post called three, which I misinterpreted to mean a photo about something with three in it. Instead, their focus was to tell a story in three photos. Ever since then, I’ve been meaning to tell a story in a series of photos.

Yesterday while walking on the beach, I noticed a group of sandpipers on the shore. I love these birds with their long thin beaks and gangly teenager legs. Most of the time I see them in twos or threes, but seldom in a large group. I walked toward them with my phone, wanting to edge closer to them to capture a photo. As I walked toward them, they walked away. If I curved around the other side, they moved together at another angle. I felt like I was herding these birds as they countered each of my moves with one of their own.

And then, all at once, they lifted off, wings in unison and landed in the surf a short distance away.

And instead of a story told by these photos, a poem emerged. I’m not so sure it’s right yet. I want to capture the elegance and the musicality of these birds on the beach. I’d love your feedback. What works for you? Where do you wish for something more, or something else?

Dancing with Sandpipers

They move to the rhythms of the waves

and the tides

to music felt rather than heard.

In perfect unison

they pirouette on long thin teenage legs

dipping skinny beaks into the spongy sand

in search of tasty tidbits.

I move in close

and they echo, like dancing with a mirror

until the choreography takes them to the sky

leaving me behind

to solo

alone with my lens.

An Unusual Point of View

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Yesterday I wrote a post about playing with frames where I was looking for different ways to photograph the ordinary in my life. This evening I headed off to the beach (again) to cool off and enjoy the sunset. And with my iPhone camera in hand I was again looking for new ways to explore the beach photographically.

When I sat down to write this post, I wondered about my topic. Would I write about my school day? Would I participate in Five Minute Friday and write about red? I took a quick look at my blog reader and saw today’s Friday Weekly Photo Challenge on The Daily Post…and discovered that this week’s challenge is just what I have been working at! The challenge is titled, “An Unusual Point of View” and talks about trying new ways to take photos of ordinary (or popular) views.

Back to the beach. The tide was ultra low when we arrived and the seabirds were feasting in the wet sand. I love sandpipers and their gently curved beaks that poke deep in the wet sand pulling up tiny shellfish and crabs. I was stalking this pair as they searched the shore and shot this photo, capturing the reflection of the cliffs in the wet sand. Can you spot my pair of sandpipers?

As the sun moved lower on the horizon, I took a few shots and then felt that they were too much like the sunset photos I took last week. How could I frame them differently? I noticed that through my sunglasses the view looks different than it does when I look without them. I decided to use my sunglasses as both a frame and filter for a picture of the setting sun.

And then as the sun sat down into the water, I tried using the people in the water as features of my photos. I tried some fishermen, some surfers…and then captured this pair which I am titling, Into the Sunset.

I love stretching and trying out new strategies. The experimentation adds a new dimension to my view of the world and has me alert to novel opportunities for photos. I look forward to seeing what others produce with their unusual points of view. What does an unusual point of view do to your craft?