Photo101: The Perfect Swarm

Today’s theme, “swarm,” was challenging because, once again, I knew my day wouldn’t hold many opportunities to search for a good representational image. Our list of errands included a trip to Costco so I figured, if nothing else, I could get some shots of the swarm of people usually there. Unfortunately, since it’s a weekday, the crowds were light and the usual swarm was merely a smattering.

As we were leaving I saw this group of shopping carts lined up in almost perfect order and figured that I had my shot.

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Photo101: Moment

Today’s assignment was to post a picture that captures a “moment” of life. It was suggested that showing movement can help capture the fleeting moment.

This picture was taken a few weeks ago while we were in Hawaii. One moment, this woman was standing on a rocky outcropping, looking down into a cylinder formed of craggy lava with the ocean some 25 – 30 feet below. The next moment she jumped. I barely had time to frame and shoot the picture before she disappeared. Fortunately, she made it into the water safely and soon climbed out to jump again.

Cliff Diver

Photo101: Architecture

I was a little worried about today’s assignment, “Architecture.” I knew that most of my day would be running around with my husband to various home improvement stores (don’t be jealous) and the chance of capturing a compelling image at a Lowes or Home Depot was pretty slim.

Then, at the end of the day, I spied this high-voltage transmission tower and thought it could work. The assignment suggested looking at our image in both color and B/W. The color version was just OK, but when I changed the image to B/W, I think it became much more interesting.

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Photo101: Pop of Color

I found myself looking around all day for “pops of color” that I could take a picture of – and saw plenty! I love this particular challenge and look forward to applying the technique in the future.

I found this very calm crab sitting on a rock... it took me moment to realize that he wasn't alive!
I found this very calm crab sitting on a rock… it took me moment to realize that he wasn’t alive!
It was so nice that someone just happened to park their bright-red scooter against a gray wall!
It was so nice that someone just happened to park their bright-red scooter against a gray wall!

Photo101: The Natural World

We have been awed by the natural world here on Hawaii; from the tranquil beauty of the ocean to the fiery advances of the lava flow. Everywhere we look, we are amazed.

The water in this lagoon was so crystal clear that when the green sea turtle slowly swam by it was almost as if we were looking through glass.

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Photo101: Landmark

I’ve reached back into my archives for today’s theme word. These photos, of San Diego’s new main library, were taken earlier this year. The unique architecture of the building encourages exploration and provides lovely vistas of the city and the bay.

I was intrigued by the architect’s inspired use of a wide variety of materials in this landmark structure.

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