Picture This

I had a few topics in mind to write about this month. But knowing how overloaded with information we all are these  days, I decided to save my words for another time. Instead, I'm taking the advice of one loyal HeartWood reader who suggested sharing some of my recent 52 Frames submissions on an upcoming blog.

Great idea! I hope these images give you a break from whatever burdens you're dealing with. I'm including a bit of information about each assignment and the story behind the photo I submitted.

"End of a Writing Day" CHALLENGE: SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD -- Notebooks, folders, glasses. All good, but the pen is the star, so I gave it top billing.

"All My Eggs in One Basket" CHALLENGE: EGG -- I went through a phase of collecting polished stone eggs from flea markets and antique malls. The quest was fun, but now I've reached a point in life where I'm unloading possessions, not adding more. Certain things, including these eggs, survive my annual clear-outs. No sentimental attachment, just the pleasure of holding their smooth shapes and admiring their colors.

"March Thaw" CHALLENGE: BLACK AND WHITE -- The snow and ice are melting, revealing leaves, twigs, and who knows what else beneath. I spotted this spring reveal on my walk to the mailbox one day.

"Shadow Play" CHALLENGE: BLACK AND WHITE (Alternate choice) -- This leaf has been stuck in a crack between planks on our back porch all winter. Now its shadow suggests it's happy spring is almost here.

"Sewing Susan" CHALLENGE: TRIANGULAR COMPOSITION -- I've been reading old journals from my youth, when it was a treat to visit the sewing supplies aisle in the five-and-dime store and admire the rainbow of thread colors. I rarely sew nowadays, but I still have some of these old wooden spools, wound with colorful thread, along with the Sewing Susan packet of needles.

"Maybe Next Year?" CHALLENGE: UNFINISHED -- I've been on a major clearing-out and giving-away binge for the past few years. Michigan winters are the ideal time for making progress on the project, yet I never seem to finish before spring comes along, tempting me with walks in the woods and nagging me about garden projects I need to focus on.

"Through the Woods" CHALLENGE: MOTION BLUR -- Snow scene from our back porch into the woods, as seen with a slow-shutter zoom.

"A Different Perspective" CHALLENGE: PERSPECTIVE -- The builder who designed and constructed our home included many interesting angles and unusual details. Even after living here for more than a dozen years, I try to take time every day to notice and appreciate those features. Often I'm looking through this room at the natural setting outside its cathedral windows, but on this day I paused to look straight across from the loft at the rough-hewn beams and the shadows they cast.

"Harder Than Expected" CHALLENGE: HIGH KEY -- A white pebble on a white sheet of paper--what easier subject for a high-key challenge, right? Maybe for some other photographer, but not for me. I found out the hard way just what "hard as a rock" can mean.

"Showing Her Age" CHALLENGE: ROLL OF 24 (as if shooting film) -- Her hair is still shiny, but her face shows the years. I can relate! This doll has been with me since my long-ago childhood. Until I took a closer look this week, I hadn't realized how the years have taken a toll on her, as they have on me.

"Wabi Sabi Doorknob" CHALLENGE: Wabi Sabi (beauty in imperfection) -- The doorknob’s special meaning enhances its imperfect beauty. to me. It's from the front door of the Western Oklahoma farmhouse my mother grew up in. The door added a touch of elegance to the family's rustic surroundings, with its large, etched glass panel. When the farmhouse was razed decades later, my father salvaged the door and repurposed it into two wall hangings: a large one, lit from behind, of the etched panel, and this small plaque. The large one hung in my brother's stairwell for many years; this plaque has traveled with me everywhere I've lived. I love knowing my mother's hands touched it daily.

"Blue on Blue" CHALLENGE: BLUE -- Playing with focus stacking on a pair of well-worn blue jeans. I liked the contrasting colors of denim and stitching (and button and zipper), and the various textures.