Photography | Change Is Hard

March 30, 2014
by dawnkinster 27 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Street Life

This week’s WordPress photo challenge is “Street Life.” I went down to Detroit this morning and parked near Greektown, hoping for something. But the light wasn’t great in Greektown itself, so I was wandering back to my car when I saw the towers of General Motors combined with the People Mover track overhead, the red brick factories converted to shops and lofts, and the tourists walking below.

I liked it, so I stood in the middle of the empty street and shot it.

Also on the way back to the car I saw a man, maybe Niki himself, standing outside a Greek pizza parlor…

…and unfortunately, a couple of homeless people sleeping near a grate.

Combined, these images show a version of the streets in the city of Detroit. There’s much more, of course, to this city – – much that is less photogenic. I saw some of that too but was not comfortable enough to stop. It reminded me that those of us out in the suburbs, in the country, driving our big SUVs, mowing our lawns, shopping in our trendy stores, have no idea what life is really like just a few miles down the road.

So that’s my street life submission. You can see a few of my favorites here, here and here. What does the street life in your part of the world look like? I’d be interested, and there’s plenty of time. You can post your images till next Friday at the WordPress site here.

I love how these challenges take us all over the world.

Enjoy!

March 16, 2014
by dawnkinster 20 Comments

Weekly photo challenge: Inside

WordPress has challenged us with finding a photo that represents inside. I think we’ve had that challenge before. I remember seeing flowers inside my kitchen window last fall. So all the ‘inside’ ideas I thought of this weekend involving windows I chucked. And of course some of you have seen a photo just like this when I posted about my sister’s visit here last summer. But I don’t have access to my archives at the moment, so Katie and I went out to the driveway and recreated her version of inside…outside.

Love my tunnel! Got a treat?

Of course this involved me setting her up in a ‘wait’ and then casually walking down to the other end, lying on the cold hard asphalt and yelling ‘COME!” A couple of times. And this was the best we could get. It makes me smile, so that works.

She’s a very good girl.

Here and here and here and here you can find a few of my favorite versions of ‘inside’ from the WordPress blog. Or go there yourself and see even more!

March 9, 2014
by dawnkinster 20 Comments

Weekly photo challenge: Perspective

The photo challenge this week from WordPress is to show perspective. As usual my mind pulled me this and that way when I considered what to do with that concept. I think I know what the photo challenge developers are getting at with the assignment. But I think, this week, I have to go in another direction.

Because, you see, I’ve been thinking about truck safety stuff more lately. My family was permanently upended in December of 2004 because of a truck, but that doesn’t mean I eat and breath trucking issues every day. I slip into complacency just like anyone might. But this week a letter was published in the New York Times from Joan Claybrook, who once headed NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), the Joan Claybrook who helped get seat belts mandated, the Joan Claybrook who fights the good fight for all of us on highway safety issues still today. You can read her short letter here. So this week my thoughts on perspective are slightly skewed toward safety and trucks.

I see some awful stupid stuff on my long commute to and from work. In our hurry to get where we’re going some of us driving the cars are making moves that aren’t worth the risk. Let me plead with you. Please, never cut in front of a semi. Never careen crazily around a slower truck. Never shift lanes without warning to gain an extra 100 yards in stopped traffic. Never tail gate behind that big rig. Put down your phone. Pay attention. Stay away from the trucks. Stay as far away as you can get. Because when you look at the big picture, when you see in perspective how small you are next to them, well, it’s obvious who will be the loser in any truck/car altercation.

No matter whose fault it is, if you tangle with a semi truck you and your family are going to lose.

The trucking industry is still lobbying hard to get bigger and heavier trucks on the roads. The roads they share with you and me. Despite overwhelmingly public disapproval for larger or heavier trucks, they are still trying; in just about every major bill before Congress there is an attempt to override states law size and weight limitations.

You can help by calling your Senators and Representatives and telling them you don’t want bigger or heavier trucks on the roads you and your families drive. People are already dying. People are already living with life long injuries. Bigger and heavier trucks will not make the numbers of deaths (approximately 4,000 a year) or injuries (approximately 100,000 a year) go down.

Let’s keep trucks in perspective. Let’s stop bigger trucks. Visit the Truck Safety Coalition’s website for more information.

Please.

March 2, 2014
by dawnkinster 31 Comments

Weekly photo challenge : Abandoned

This week’s WordPress photo challenge is show ‘abandoned.’ Lots of things ran though my mind immediately. There’s an old rusted truck out by the main road and I thought I might do that. And I will someday. But as I thought more about the word abandoned I began to feel the city of Detroit pulling me. Some of you probably know the city is in bankruptcy, the biggest city in the United States to head down that road. There’s been a lot of abandoning that has happened in the city in the past many years, but hopefully the path is becoming clearer for the emergence of a new, brighter city.

There’s one building that stands, for me, to represent the abandonment of Detroit by so many. I’ve always wanted to go downtown and photograph it, but it’s a little daunting. Scary too. So I haven’t. This weekend I decided to drive down before our weather gets worse and just see what might be possible. Turns out there were lots of people out and about right there, going to some event down the street. So, though I wasn’t able to get really close as they have it all fenced off I was able to get a few shots of the abandoned Detroit Train Station.

What a magnificent building this was in its day and what a shame that it has come to this. You can see photos of the inside here and imagine what it once was. It’s totally gutted now. When you’re further away from the building you can see daylight all the way through it, from one empty window through to the empty window on the other side. This year they hung giant lit snowflakes in some of the windows. I hear it was pretty at night.

Then I turned around and saw an old hotel, probably the place people landed when they arrived in Detroit and first stepped off the train. It’s been abandoned too, though not by the graffiti artists.

And next door to the hotel was an abandoned house, you can still see the good bones of it hidden under the boarded up windows.

Around the side of the house was this, which epitomizes abandonment to me…the abandonment of hope.

Someone had dreams here.

There’s so much more abandonment in this city; I saw it everywhere as I scurried into downtown and back out to the illusion of safety in the suburbs. It needs a braver person than me to document the pain there, and to document the return to life of what was once a great city. I’d love to do it, but it’s just too darn scary.

You can find more photos by creative people that represent “abandoned” to them, up at the first link at the top of the post….or here and here and here are a few of my favorites.

February 24, 2014
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Threes

This week the WordPress photo challenge is “threes” as in three photos that tell a story…or a photo with three of something in it…or three angles of the same object…or, and this is what I did, three photos starting from the broad topic and moving to the detail. There are endless possibilities for great shots that include something of threes. Design uses the rule of three all the time and you probably use it unconsciously when you’re out taking photos, or designing that kitchen or painting that next masterpiece or just redecorating the living room.

I thought about showing you more of the immediate world around me. But that would involve snow and I know you’re all tired of snow. I certainly am. I wanted something brighter, happier, colorful. Where to go to find that? I was thinking about this conundrum during my morning commute which passes, by happenstance, the local nursery. As in summertime hopes, heat, flowers. Flowers. I wonder what’s inside this time of year?

Want to see? Well, here you go!

A bit of joyful pink to brighten your day! At the nursery I could pretend, for a few short minutes, at the end of a long harsh winter that spring was just around the corner. I’m sure it is…

…isn’t it?

Here and here and here are some of my favorite ‘threes’ from others who posted their own creativity for this photo challenge.

Another three

February 17, 2014
by dawnkinster 26 Comments

Karma’s photo challenge

Karma has put together a new photo challenge for all of us! She’d like us to choose a word, any word, and then find photos that represent each letter of that word. Well. You know how much I love a good photo challenge! So I’ve been thinking about this one. Perhaps the hardest thing was to come up with the word. I’m not going to tell you what it is. We’ll see how good my clues are.

So here you go. One photo for each letter.

So what do you think I’ve spelled here? There’s actually a clue in one of the photos…can you find it?

Have fun!

February 16, 2014
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

A break from the snow

Those of you still struggling with snow might enjoy a quick glimpse of something not covered in the white stuff. So here you go. (Click on any of the photos to see more detail.)

Walking through the woods on a sunny day.

Of course you might just become jealous.

Fishing lures glow in warm sunlight.

But don’t be too jealous, I have to go back home soon.

Steps up to a view.

Dramatically at the top of the tower.

And I hear that the snow there has not been vanquished.

Three of the four.

So soon all of this warmth and sunshine will be but a memory.

Heading for adventure.

Soon I too will be back in the cold and snow.

Home.

Sad really. But someone will be glad to see me when I get back.

It’s OK, I LIKE snow Mama!

Photo credits: Walk in the Woods and Steps to a view: Beth Badger; Dramatically, Three of Four and Heading for Adventure: Bruce King; Fishing Lures and Home; Dawn.

February 12, 2014
by dawnkinster 11 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

Shhhhhh……Katie here, don’t tell Mama I’m talking to you. This is supposed to be wordless. Yea. Right. Like a Sheltie is ever quiet, you know what I mean? Anywho… I think my Mama has been feeling a little down and I’ve done my best to remind her she has me, me me ME! And what more could she want, right? So guess what? I, me, myself and I, arranged for the sun to come out today! Just for her! (Well, if any of the rest of you see it too that’s OK, I can share.) I am, after all, nothing less than a Princess…and a Princess gets whatever she wants, right? And I wanted sunshine. So I asked, and I got it and I sure hope she appreciates it.

Now I need to go take a nap. This has all been exhausting.

You can thank me later.

February 9, 2014
by dawnkinster 27 Comments

Weekly photo challenge – selfie

WordPress challenged us all to post a selfie in this week’s photo challenge. Given the kind of weather we’ve had up here this winter I thought this was appropriate.

Baby it’s cold outside.

As usual you can go to the original post in the link above and see what others are posting in this challenge. I hope that they are warmer! Here and here and here are a few of my favorites that have posted so far. If you go to the original link there are likely to be even more that you like.

February 3, 2014
by dawnkinster 14 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Object

This week the WordPress photo challenge is Object. You’d think that would be easy. Just take a quick shot of something..anything…right? All things are objects. Still. It should be more than that – maybe something that represents your part of the world, a photo that is intriguing, interesting. That makes the challenge, well, challenging.

During my drive to doggie school yesterday I saw a couple of things that might fit the challenge, but the weather was so bad there was no place to safely stop. I’ve kept those items in mind for a day when the snow is not blowing sideways, the roads not so slick with slush. You may see some of them yet.

In the end, for this challenge, I looked no further than my own driveway where the truck was parked covered in the latest snowfall. Such interesting shapes revealed themselves that I had to see whether or not the camera saw it the same way.

Rear view mirror

And because I couldn’t decide which photo I liked better, I’ll give you another.

Blinker

We are pretty tired of snow here. Sure it’s beautiful, but it was more beautiful in December. Now it’s just work. And cold.

Going nowhere.

There are so many objects to focus on for a photo study. Look around your house. You don’t have to go on a grand adventure to find something interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. As usual, here’s a few of my favorites of those already submitted. Just click on any of the links. Or you can click on the word Object at the top and go to the original post and look at lots more!