Sunday, April 28, 2013

Zig Zag


If you want to take a photo with sunlight and strong shadows, this has been a challenging spring so far. It seems like we have sun for only a couple days a week, so you better be ready when the clouds finally part. This is the shadow of a handrail on the granite staircase outside of the building where I work.  -Cort



Pinking shears...cutting zig zag patterns in cloth material (and grass apparently) since roughly 1931.  -Dina

Next week's theme: Broken
 

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Brave


The land of the free and the home of the brave. -Dina 



The Liberty Memorial and National WWI Museum is a beautiful and touching tribute to the brave soldiers who fought in that horrific war. It should be a must-see destination on your next visit to Kansas City. -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Zigzag

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Loneliness


When I first moved to Kansas City, I lived in an apartment complex across the street from a big park, that included a huge empty field with this one tree at the top of the hill. I always thought of it as a lonely tree, and it's the first thing that came to mind when I decided upon this theme. When I lived there, I took many photos of this tree, usually with a beautiful sky behind it. But this is the first time I've returned to this park since I moved away from there about 7 years ago, and the dark gray sky only adds to the feeling of loneliness. -Cort



Driving by a neighborhood park this week, I realized that a playground on a cold, rainy April day is a very lonely place. It should be filled with the sounds of children laughing and having a good time. On this day there was only silence and in this case, the sound of silence was the sound of loneliness. -Dina

Next Week's Theme: Brave

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Blue


My sister and I collect vintage pyrex bowls. And it all started with the smallest bowl in this picture. My mom had this blue Americana set when we were growing up. I can remember her using the biggest dark blue bowl to make bread or serve spaghetti out of. And I recently came across pictures from Thanksgiving and Christmas and you can see the bowls on our table. However, the only bowl left out of my Mom's set is the first bowl in the picture, the small light blue one. I have since purchased the other two to make my own set, but knowing that I have a bowl that was one my Mom used in her everyday baking and cooking makes it very special and one of my favorites. And in looking for the bowls to complete the set, my sister and I discovered the fun world of vintage pyrex.   -Dina



When I was in the midst of my last photography project - a photo every day for a year - I learned very quickly that I needed to look beyond sunsets, cute babies, and flower blooms. Those things can make for interesting photographs when they come along, but they don't come every day, and you need to closely examine the more mundane things in your everyday life for compelling images. I love interesting textures, and this is a hard water stain on the inside wall of a drained fountain. It's something that most people overlook, and thus don't really appreciate it's unique beauty unless I help bring it to their attention through photography.   -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Loneliness