Tuesday Photo Post-Shadows

I had the pleasure of choosing the prompt for  Wordsmith Studio's Weekly Photo Prompt. This week's prompt is shadows.

Here's a look at what created the shadow mural I posted in the prompt.

Let's not forget you can find interesting shadows indoors, too.

There's still time to join in the fun. Watch for the shadows. You may be surprised what you see. Take a picture of one and go to the link above to comment on the prompt page.

Related Link

Photography Craft-Aperture

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PAD Week Two-Halfway Through

Wow! It is hard to believe we are already halfway through the 2012 November PAD Chapbook Challenge on Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides blog.  I still feel like I am keeping up better than I did with my first challenge in April. I have been trying to stick with the technique of writing about the prompt until I write my way to a poem. This seems to work for me.

 

This week, we called on dead poets, wrote from the perspective of veterans and about technology we don't have. I wrote about jazz, a memory from high school and time travel. We also were challenged to use a word from a different language as a title or in the body of a poem. A word immediately came to my mind because I learned it from another poet and friend.

Un Abrazo

A hug sends a message
through the arms and hands
right down to the fingertips.
Welcome-arms that have been
spread in anticipation
thoroughly engulf the recipient.
Swaying may be involved.
Congratulations-there is a
firmness to this hug that says,
“You did it!”
Consolation-the two participants
truly hold on to each other.
There may be a reluctance or
an inability to let go.
Love-The one message sent
by every hug.

Click here to read other responses to this prompt.

And, don't forget to go to Wordsmith Studio's Weekly Photo Prompt

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Tuesday Photo Post-The Jump Shot

This week's Wordsmith Studio Photo Prompt (courtesy of Emily McGee) is The Jump Shot. The challenge is to take pictures of people jumping.

 

For a photo challenge earlier this year, I took some photos of myself while I was walking. I decided to try the same thing while I was jumping. Since I needed to mulch the leaves in my yard, I thought I would jump into them before I got to work. Besides piquing the curiosity of the neighbors, I did get a few pictures.

I'm sure you won't be surprised when I say it was a lot harder to take a picture of myself  jumping than walking. Even though there isn't much of me in the picture I chose, I kept coming back to it. Everytime I look at it, I feel like I'm ready to hit the ground.

 

There's still time to join in the fun! Take a photo of someone jumping  and post a link to it in the comments section of the link above. Don't forget to check in at Wordsmith Studio every Thursday for a new prompt.

 

Related Posts

 

When He Said "Jump..."

 

Photography Craft: Aperture

 

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PAD-Week One Done

One week and seven poems into the 2012 November Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge at Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides blog. This month, I am a veteran challenger as opposed to the rookie I was in April. I think I have benefited from the experience.

I seem to have more patience with the tasks at hand. I don't get stressed if I don't have an idea as soon as I read the prompt, which I do in the morning. At least once, I didn't have an idea until late evening; but I wasn't anxious about it. Definitely, a change for the positive.

A couple of Wordsmith Studio friends, Linda G. Hatton and Veronica Roth, stopped by Tueday's Photo post and mentioned that the photo fit with the PAD prompts to write a "left" poem and a "right" poem. I took their suggestion and wrote the following:

Right Turn

The right road isn’t
paved with perfection.
It bends and dips and
sometimes closes for repairs.
Detours take us out of our way,
but eventually bring us back
to our path of choice, both
weary and wiser.

On to week two. Stop by the challenge and see the prompts and the works they have inspired. Join in the writing and/or the reading!

Related Post-Wordsmith Studio's Weekly Photo Prompt


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New Tuesday Photo Post

If you explore the right-hand border of this blog, you'll see a badge that reference's the Wordsmith Studio. Wordsmith Studio grew out of the April Platform Building Challenge on Robert Lee Brewer's My Name is Not Bob website.  This recent post by Lara Britt gives you a little history and introduces you to some of the people who have gotten this new website off the ground.

In addition to writerly groups, Wordsmith Studio has a multi-media group that includes writers who also are interested in photography. Rebecca Barray is our photography guru. The Multi-Media blog will include posts regarding craft and a photo prompt that will be posted each Thursday. I'm going  to post my response or responses to the prompt on Tuesdays.

The first prompt is Orange.  I photographed one of the most despised orange signs in existence, especially if you come upon it unexpectedly and you are already running late.

There's still time to join in the fun! Take a photo related to the theme Orange and post a link to it in the comments section of the link above. Don't forget to check in at Wordsmith Studio every Thursday for a new prompt.

A New Challenge

Today is the first day of Robert Lee Brewer's 2012 November PAD Chapbook Challenge. He will post a prompt each day in November and those willing to take the challenge will try to create new poems from the prompts within about 24 hours of the post.

I did the PAD Challenge that Robert did in April of this year. It was the first writing challenge I had done and I found it interesting.

 The first thing I realized was that, most of the time, an idea was not going to come to me the moment I read the prompt.  It was not going to come to me if I stared at the prompt or even if I thought really hard about the prompt. I had to write the idea out of the prompt. In other words, I had to start putting words down on paper until I wrote something that I wanted to continue writing about.

Some days, I ended up with just a few lines. Some days, I ended up with a group of lines that had the potential to be a poem; and some days, I actually ended up with poems. I still go through what I wrote during that challenge to see if I can turn the few into groups and the potential into poems.

So, now I'm ready for a new challenge that will teach me something else about writing and give me possibilities for the coming months.

 

Good luck to everyone who's taking on a writing challenge this month!

Related Post-Elementary, My Dear Poet

 

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William Blake-Words and Images

Sometimes you do find treasure on the internet.

I was reading about William Blake in preparation for the October Sunday Salon at The Writers Place. The Salon is held the third Sunday of every month and hosted by Sharon Eiker. A different writer is discussed each month. Attendees take their own approach to learn about the life and works of each writer and share their perspectives.

Blake was both a visual artist and a poet. As this biography on poets.org explains, he expressed an interest in painting at the age of 10 and his parents sent him to drawing school. At 14, he was apprenticed to an engraver and was assigned to sketch the tombs at Westminster Abbey. He saw a variety of Gothic styles that he used as inspiration throughout his life. He went on to become an engraver and illustrator of books and magazines.

As I was looking for information about Blake, I hoped to find some of his poems and images. I didn't expect to find the William Blake Archive. I urge you to take a look for yourself to learn about this still-growing resource. I will give you a tip. After you have pulled up an image, hit the compare button.


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