Weekly Photo Challenge: Minimalist

The challenge this week is to show our minimalist photos.

Minimalist photography is characterized by a large portion of negative space, a fairly monochromatic color palette with good contrast, and an interesting subject that is able to stand on its own to capture the interest of the viewer.

I think this picture my father took of me in 1951 or 1952 would fit into this category.

Written for Weekly Photo Challenge: Minimalist

Two Assignments in One!

I had hoped I would be able to address the Photography 101 assignment and the Weekly Photo Challenge in one post and I can!

The Photography 101 assignment is:

Today, let’s focus on a street. It can be a quiet road in a small town, an alley near your apartment, or a busy street where pedestrians weave between cars and motorbikes….In your shot, think about its basic components: a foreground and a background. The foreground is the part of you that’s nearest to the viewer, and where you can place a subject or focal point of your picture.

I took this photo in a way the viewer might think that my focus was the texture of the road in the foreground.

The Weekly Photo Challenge is:

This week, show us your interpretation of descent — experiment with your point of view and angle, or go even deeper with the theme.

I think the picture above captures the concept of descent well!

*****

Completing these assignments reminded me of an incident that happened decades ago. When it snows in Seattle it is nearly impossible for me to drive to or from my house. This photo shows the road going west from my house. There are 8-10 more blocks of steep incline beyond what you see here; so driving uphill when there is snow on the ground is not an option.

One year, I thought the one block decline going east was potentially doable so I decided to try it.

I took a deep breath and turned the corner onto McClellan St. When I looked into my rear view mirror, a moment or two later, I saw a station wagon sliding down the hill sideways. Somehow, I avoided a collision, but that was the end of my driving when it is snowing in Seattle! If I need to go somewhere I walk, take the bus or go by light rail!

Wordless Wednesday

Written for Wordless Wednesday and Weekly Photo Challenge: Signs

Weekly Photo Challenge: Cover Art

The instructions for the Weekly Photo Challenge are:

For this week’s Photo Challenge, stimulate your creative process and imagine which of your images you would like to see gracing the cover of a book, an album, or a magazine. Would the image inspire us to take a peek through the pages, listen to the music, or buy a ticket to the show? Would it strike a chord with viewers, making them reflect on or revisit memories of places, people, and experiences.

This is the photo I picked for a book cover: Continue reading “Weekly Photo Challenge: Cover Art” →

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Out-of-this-World

Soon after I started to drive yesterday, I noticed that there were two insects on the window to the left of me, about 8 inches from my face. They did not look like anything I had ever seen before and their presence and proximity startled me. I couldn’t tell if they were inside the car or outside. Continue reading “Weekly Photo Challenge: From Out-of-this-World” →

Weekly Photo Challenge: Cannabis Sign

When I saw the Weekly Photo Challenge was to take a picture of a sign, I knew exactly what picture I would take. Last week, I felt stunned when I passed a huge cannabis billboard. It was my understanding that billboards advertising alcohol and tobacco were illegal. How could a billboard advertising a recreational drug be acceptable??????? It made no sense to me. Continue reading “Weekly Photo Challenge: Cannabis Sign” →

From Darkness to Light

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय । तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय । मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय । ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Om Asato Maa Sad-Gamaya | Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya |
Mrityor-Maa Amritam Gamaya | Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Om, Lead us from Unreality (of Transitory Existence) to the Reality (of the Eternal Self),
Lead us from the Darkness (of Ignorance) to the Light (of Spiritual Knowledge),
Lead us from the Fear of Death to the Knowledge of Immortality.
Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

Navatatri started on Friday. Navaratri is a nine day festival honoring Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Durga destroys our negative tendencies; Lakshmi brings prosperity; and Saraswati is the embodiment of knowledge. On Friday, I went to a friend’s house for an event and she had a Navaratri altar set up. The altar was so stunning that I gasped when I walked into the room. I heard the same reaction from other people. Continue reading “From Darkness to Light” →

Weekly Photo Challenge: Endurance

I read about this week’s challenge just before I took my ex-husband Al home from having a cardioversion, a procedure to stop his heart from fibrillating. To me he is the epitome of endurance.

On his way home from cardioversion last Saturday. — On the way home from the cardioversion last Friday.

In 2002, Al had a massive heart attack. It was so bad that they had to leave his chest wall open for several days because every time they closed it, his heart would stop. Our children, Sreejit and Chaitanya came from California and India respectively, to be with him and to take care of him. I recently found out that the doctor said he had never had a patient with that level of heart attack survive. The doctor credited his survival to the care Sreejit and Chaitanya gave him in the hospital and at home.

At the time of the heart attack, Al had a stent put in. In 2009, he had more surgery. This time six stents were inserted. Since then he had three cardioversions for atrial fibrillation.

His endurance was tested again last year, in a completely different way. In December 2013, my children and I were in India when we received a phone call from Al, saying that he had been mugged and beaten at 5:30 in the afternoon as he was going into his apartment building in the International District. He was 73 years old at that time and has M.S. in addition to his heart condition. Because of the M.S., he is very unstable on his feet, but he decided he wasn’t going to take it and fought back. As a result, all he lost was his phone.

He was very happy that he had stood up for himself. He also felt very grateful. Al has one eye that has been pretty much destroyed by glaucoma. If the mugger had beaten Al’s good eye, he would have been blinded; but since he beat the damaged one, Al still has good vision. I could understand Al’s sense of gratitude but was amazed at his ability to maintain a positive attitude in that situation.

I think by now, you can understand why I think Al is a very good example of the quality “Endurance!”

Written for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Endurance