Tag Archives: photography
Final Weekly Photo Challenge: All-Time Favorites
FINAL? What? Wow. WordPress has been prompting and challenging us for 7 years. Now, I suppose it’s time to launch. Well, I will have to come up with my own motivation for posting now. Please keep watching this space!
I have very much appreciated the WordPress team and their creative prodding. It’s been stimulating to play at word association and image association at the same time. I joined in the game on October 1, 2012 and have been participating ever since. The first WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge I posted was called “Mine”. I wrote:
“What do we really possess? What possesses us? What is “me” all about? For years I called this place “my prairie”. I do not own the land; I think it belongs to the village park district. I cannot even claim to own land in the neighborhood any more, as I moved out of state almost 2 years ago. But I associate some of my deepest “me” moments with this place. I walked into this prairie, with a feeling of reverence and retreat as if I were entering my personal sanctuary, on a regular basis while I was living nearby. I was in the midst of raising 4 children, nursing a dying husband, and striving to grow mature in those 20 years. My sense of identity, my sense of spirit and of sanctity and of God were all shaped by the time I spent here. I felt the place “talk” to me, as changes in weather, floral and fauna taught me to observe and ponder the significance of transience and transcendence. I cannot say that anything here is “mine”, really, but much of me will always belong with this place.”
Which was my All-Time Favorite challenge? Scrolling through my archives, I found this one that I think is relevant and showcases some of my favorite images. The theme was “Temporary”. Which reminds me that even endings are temporary. As Thich Nhat Hahn points out, there really are no endings and beginnings, just continuations.
Blogging friends, may you all enjoy your continuations, and thank you for sharing!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Twisted
A lot of things in life are twisted, naturally and unnaturally – like Jafar’s beard. (How many times did my kids watch that Disney Aladdin video? Too many, because that’s the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the word!)
In case you missed out on twisting last summer, here’s your chance to look at some twisty stuff both natural and man-made.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Liquid
Liquid is a shapeshifter; it is diverse and can symbolize a million different things. It permeates all of life and flows in our own bodies. Here are just a few examples of how I imagine LIQUID.
Landscape is more than flat land covered by floodwater, the seeping of peat bogs, a river of liquid pewter viewed from a sentry tower. It’s an influence on what a person values, what she is willing to sacrifice or argue for. – Susan Vreeland
“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.” – Lao Tzu
Wine comes in at the mouth And love comes in at the eye; That’s all we shall know for truth Before we grow old and die. I lift the glass to my mouth, I look at you, and I sigh. – W.B. Yeats
Weekly Photo Challenge: Lines
Lines, lines, everywhere there’s lines…fillin’ in the scenery and blowin’ my mind. (With apologies to the Five Man Electric Band)
Weekly Photo Challenge: Favorite Place
You might as well ask me, “Which is your favorite child?”
How can I choose between woodland lakes…
…and desert canyons…
…or even my own front yard?
I will just say that this place called Earth is my favorite and my home, and I will defend her to my dying day. I will take her as a whole and not state a preference for certain parts. She is a mosaic of interdependent cells, a Being of utter complexity and uniqueness.
Coastal redwoods – taller but not as big around as sequoia gigantea
The Green River flows through Dinosaur National Monument
Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado
Weekly Photo Challenge: I’d Rather Be…honest
How do I finish this sentence? “I’d rather be….” It presents a bit of a conflict.
If I can think of other things I’d rather be doing, then I’m not engaging with the present moment and the thing that I’m doing right now. I’d like to be a person that practices the discipline of positive presence, but honestly, I do a lot of wishful thinking.
That said…here’s what I would enjoy doing, any time!
#1 – Hanging out with my adult children. They are all tremendously stimulating individuals, and I’m very attached to them…and they all live at least 70 miles away from me. So occasions to be together are always a treat. Occasions when all five of us are together are extra special!
#2 – Camping. “Can I play outside? Please?”
#3 – Making music, dancing to music, listening to music
So my complete fantasy would be singing around a campfire with all my kids. Hasn’t happened yet, but maybe some day….
Yeah, that would be a real Kumbaya moment. Peace out!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Out of This World
The Earth is a vastly fascinating place! You may think of rocks and trees and animals as familiar things, but they are often as unknown and otherworldly as specimens from Mars.
Here’s an example of a cave formation in Wind Cave National Park known as “boxwork”. Could be the surface of a distant planet, don’t you think?
Could these be aerial photos of alien landscapes? Or the skins and bodies of alien life forms?
Does this structure look like something you’ve seen before?
This one could be a satellite image of life on a distant moon. 
The startling discovery of unfamiliar living things is possible in your own back yard. Go take a look!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Wisconsin Tour Guide
“Share with us an image, or two, or three, (or more!) of where you live.”
If you look up over this post title, you will see two links to separate pages labelled “Wisconsin Historical” and “Wisconsin Outdoors”. You will find quite a few more than three photos there!
I moved to Wisconsin 7 years ago from Illinois, and have absolutely fallen in love with my new home state. I used to summer at Girl Scout camp as a child in northern Wisconsin, but I’ve come to feel like I’ve always belonged outside, here, even after living for 15 years in California. When I first moved north, I worked for 3 summers at Old World Wisconsin, a 575-acre living history museum that recreates 19th century farm and town settlement. Last year, I moved onto a property that is owned by the land trust that employs me. I have thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by 56 acres of Wisconsin woodland, wetland, and restored prairie.
Wisconsin is a ridiculously photogenic state. It can take your breath away, fill you with pride, and surprise you at every outing. When we’re out hiking, my partner Steve very often just flings wide his arms and remarks (to nobody in particular), “Ladies and gentlemen — Wisconsin!”
Yes, it deserves your attention and applause. Here’s why:
Mineral Point
Photo credit: Carol Toepke
Old World Wisconsin
Weekly Photo Challenge: Variations on a Theme
In my mind, there can only be one theme for today. Today is my daughter Susan’s birthday. I’ve been photographing her for 33 years now. She is one of my very favorite subjects, not simply because she has a beautiful smile and is ridiculously photogenic, but also because she is an extraordinarily caring person. You can see how her warmth touches the other subjects in these photos.
Engrossed in escape
