In the northern hemisphere, summer officially begins a little later this month. And, with summer arrives my annual Photography Scavenger Hunt. The idea is simple. I post a list of 21 items for you to find and photograph before the autumn equinox on Tuesday, September 22, 2015. The list is intended to be challenging, but not impossible. Hopefully it encourages you to go on a few outings; always it requires you to be observant. You can read more about how items make the list by clicking on this link.
For those of you with blogs, post your photographs and share your adventures in finding the items. For those without blogs, keep track of your finds in some other way (a flicker account, a shutter fly album, etc.) if you want to be able to share them with the group. (It makes it easier to share if you "label" or "tag" your scavenger hunt posts, as you do them). Once a month, I'll host a link-up so people can visit your finds, but feel free to post about the Hunt whenever you like. If you post on instagram, use the hastag #rindas2015photohunt. I think there will also be a facebook page.
There's only two rules to remember: no fair submitting photographs taken before the start of the Hunt and have fun.
Newcomers welcome - the more, the merrier! No special photography skills are required - I love seeing everything from snap shots to fine art photography in response to the list. You don't have to do anything special to sign up, but if you're a blogger who I don't normally visit, leave me a link to your blog in the comments and I'll add you to my feedly reader. I like to gather and highlight posts now and then throughout the summer to share here.
For pictures I take on my iphone, I'll be posting to instagram using #rindas2014photohunt.
So, without any further ado, here's this year's lists:
1. A bouquet of flowers
2. An ornate door knocker
3. A person walking a dog (or other animal)
4. People playing a board game or card game
5. Architectural columns
6. A metal bridge
7. A turtle
8. Someone "plugged in" to social media
9. A tent
10. A college or university
11. A cellular tower or television satellite dish
12. A public restroom, bathroom, or toilet
13. A merry-go-round or carousel
14. A traffic signal
15. A flag pole with at least three flags on it
16. A panoramic view, taken while standing someplace high in the air
17. At least two people wearing matching outfits or uniforms
18. An overloaded truck, car, bicycle or other vehicle
19. A ticket booth
20. A natural body of water
21. A photograph of you with a sign reading "2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt". Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.
If you find something on the list too difficult, you may substitute one of the following items for any one item on the list, except for Item #21:
Alternative A: People eating outside
Alternative B: Someone holding an umbrella
Alternative C: A rocking chair
Let me know if you have any questions.
In the still life photography class I'm taking, this week's assignment was no assignment. It was the second breathing break built into the class, in order to give students a chance to reflect on the lessons and catch up. For this week's assignment, I'm sharing two "found" still lifes, both taken at the Filoli Gardens.
These are very different, but I think they both capture the idea of being still and catching your breath. I'm linking them up with Helena's Photo Pairs this week. And asking, do you have a preference between these two?
On Monday morning, June 1, the list will be posted for this year's summertime photography scavenger hunt! I'm so excited! I hope you will like the list and have fun participating in this year's hunt. You can read details at this post.
During my National Scrapbook Day scrapfest, I made this layout of the first day we brought Luna home. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the photographs, but I started by looking through my bin of page elements. I came across a bag of pink "love" themed elements and thought, "Why not?" She was a little baby, and we certainly fell in love with her. Plus, I wasn't sure I would ever find another use for these elements. So I created this layout which I like just fine. I like even more that it's done and that I used up those page elements!
I've actually found that coming up with a theme helps make my scrapping more meaningful. And easier because it helps me find a color story, papers and elements. In looking at my 2014 photos, I had a handful of a trip to the University of Redlands sitting with other photos from the trip to So. California Clara and I took during the summer and a few from our visit to Carroll College in Montana in the fall. Because I usually scrap chronologically, it took me a while to pair these photos together and write about them as the trips we took to look at colleges and to write about what she's looking for in a University experience. It allowed me to go to my "school" embellishments and find some stickers that supported the theme (globes and school phrases). I ended up very happy with the outcome.
I've made great progress on my 2014 photographs this month. And I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I've got less than 10 layouts left to do! Besides the creative process, one of the things I like most about scrapbooking is the feeling of accomplishment from finishing a project. I should definitely put the 2014 scrapbook to bed before the end of the summer. And then it will be on to 2013, 2015 or Henry's sports album.
About a half hour from my home is a beautiful estate called Filoli. It is surrounded by gorgeous gardens.
Yesterday I had the great good fortune to meet my friend Alison of Life in the Slow Lane who was visiting from Spain. We have met twice before (once in Spain and once here in California), and we always enjoy our time together.
We wandered through the gardens, sharing laughter and stories , before having lunch at the cafe. I learned that one of Alison's favorite flower is this one:
It's an aquilegia, commonly known as columbine or granny's bonnet. Besides visiting with Alison, it was also wonderful to spend time with my camera. I have many more photographs to share over the next few weeks. But, today, I just wanted to say "Thanks Alison for coming to visit and giving me a great reason to go visit Filoli!"
We've got a three day weekend here in the States (what the rest of the world seems to call a "Bank Holiday"). It's Memorial Day, and we're celebrating and remembering those who served in war. Thinking about my dad today and waving hi to Sian from High in the Sky with a check in on my (ongoing) weekend.
What kind of a weekend was it?
It was graduation weekend at the Law School where I teach. The highlight might have been the special ceremony for Latino law students that took place the night before.
That's me, with one of my favorite students and a group of mariachis (and one of my colleagues, Bill Hing, singing with them) featuring another of our graduates.
It was also a CCS Track and Field Championship Weekend watching my girl and her team mates.
It was also a volunteering at Guide Dogs; visiting with friends and eating at an unusual "Islamic Mandarin" restaurant; watching baseball on TV; catching up on paper work; chatting with the boy on the phone; planning for Peru; and writing a draft of an article for the symposium I'm attending this upcoming weekend kind of weekend.
A very busy weekend indeed!
I had some spare time today, and I decided to do some work in my art journal. This is a page thinking about my daughter's plan to study abroad this summer in Peru. I started with a heavily textured orange and blue background. I drew South America free-hand and then covered the rest of the page with white paint before adding ephemera and journaling.
And here's a page I did in my travel art journal a few weeks ago when I went to visit my son in Oregon. It features a group of flags on a flag pole, each representing something on my mind at that time.
Even though I set an intention to focus on photography this month, it's nice to continue with other artistic pursuits like art journaling and photography as well.
![LEAP [into lightroom]](http://learn.kimklassen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Kim-Klassen_20151223_6459.jpg)
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