When You Look

When you look through the lens, you may find...

the weariness reserved for little girls up way past their bedtime,

the beauty of innocence,

the sweetness of waiting,

a new Alice in Wonderland ready for a new world, a new Queen, a brave new adventure,

a too long forgotten, tender lost part of you, waiting to be claimed once again.

Oh the things you will find, when you look through the lens.

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What are you finding when you look through your lens today? Tell us all things simple and true in the comments today, and don't forget links to your unique point of view.

Superhero Photo Challenge: A handful of treasures

Do you remember being a kid in the summer and gathering treasures at the beach? We would stroll up and down the water gathering shells, rocks and seaglass to bring back to our towels to examine more closely. The best treasures would come home with us to be displayed prominently on the windowsill.

Fall is a perfect time to gather treasures as well. Searching for them has us take notice of the micro worlds we normally don't see and get down in the dirt once in a while. For this week's challenge, play with this idea of hands full of treasures.

Treasures can be bright green acorns,  colorful seaglass from the beach, wedding rings in tiny hands, or a magical rock that says just the right thing.

Surprise us with what you find!

Superhero Photo Challenge: The leaf perspective

This week's challenge has some very specific instructions. 

1. Walk outside

2. Find some leaves on the ground

3. Place your camera on the ground at leaf level and imagine the world from a leafy perspective. 

4. Don't worry about getting your eyeball way down on the sidewalk, just click the shutter and see what happens. 

5. Play! Experiment! 

6. Share your captures here.

superhero photo challenge: counter this

Sometimes you have to go across the street or around the world to find that perfect shot, but most of the time the picture you've been waiting for is right under your nose.  What happens when you confine your eye to what's closest to you?  Can you find the shot?  This week we're going to find out.

For this week's Superhero Photo Challenge, go to your kitchen counter and capture that glimpse of ordinary magic you might have overlooked otherwise.   Share your photos and links here in the comments below.

A Likeness

On a shelf in our living room is a small stack of old family photos we just found. On top is a school photo of my husband. He looks about 6. When a friend stopped over the other day, the picture caught her eye. She held it up and covered part of the photo with her hand. What remained revealed an incredible resemblance to my oldest daughter. I was shocked I hadn’t noticed. Looking at the whole photo and seeing the big picture didn’t make the similarities obvious but looking at the smaller part, the little detail, it...he looked just like her.

When I shot this self-portrait I recognized my tom-boy side —comfortable in my soft cotton and denim ‘uniform’. I saw myself in my bathroom mirror, as I do every morning,  getting ready to start the daily routine. What I didn’t see was my father. Until I took the detail above. And then, all at once, in one thumb nail, I saw him. Undeniably. I’ve known I have my father’s hands for years now but it’s one of those things I forget about.

I’ll admit I have often complained about having masculine hands—my dad’s hands—but this time when I saw a glimpse of my father in myself, it made me happy. And incredibly proud. His hands are big and can still make mine feel small. They are incredibly strong. And even amidst the cracks and calluses from years of hard work, the are soft, tender and loving.  I can only hope that having my father’s hands means having all of the other wonderful things that they hold.

Have you ever seen someone or something in yourself that stopped you in your tracks? Something you’ve known all along or maybe a pleasant surprise? Give us a glimpse, won't you?