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Photo Challenge: Weight(less) . . . Defying Gravity and Convention

The photo challenge for this week is to share a photograph that either shows weight or the air of weightlessness. This memory came to mind: a time when I was walking through the plazas of Madrid. Street theater is entertainment at its best: varied, unexpected, usually humorous and contributions are voluntary–defying the boundaries of standard entertainment venues. Street theater is democratic, as actors can decide, independent of usual restraints, to perform whatever they like. Since no tickets are required, the audience receives the benefit of a free show. Defying both gravity and convention–fascinating.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Weightless

Written

on 01/08/2016

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Photo Challenge: Circle

The photo challenge for this week invites photographers to consider what a circle represents. What came to mind was this snow shovel invention, which makes use of a wheel to create a fulcrum to lift snow.

Last year the total snowfall amounted to over 58.4 inches in our area, all of which had to be removed from the drive and walkway. Because the drive is shaded, the snow freezes making a nice, slick patch of ice to negotiate.

Then I saw our neighbor across the street using a crazy-looking device for removing snow: a huge wheel attached to a shovel. I watched as our neighbor cleared his entire driveway without having to bend over to lift the snow. He gave us the information on the device, and I lost no time checking the Internet on the invention: the Snow Wovel. Time Magazine claimed it as the best invention for 2006, so it’s been around for a few years. According to their website the Snow Wovel is

recognized by Co-op America and National Green Pages™ for its positive, pollution-free environmental standards and zero carbon footprint in usage. University of Massachusetts independent study confirms the wheeled snow shovel clears snow with a fraction of the effort and safer on the back: “comparable to simply walking.”

Wheel technology continues, as I ponder when the first human conceptualized this circular device about 3,500 BC, making life easier for us all.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Circle

Written

on 01/01/2016

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“Oops!”, Photo Challenge: Clean Out in HR Office Reveals Strategies

Human resources cleaned out their office and left free books for the taking, inadvertently revealing their game plans for dealing with employees.

Weekly Photo Challenge:Oops!

Written

on 12/13/2015

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Photo Challenge: Eye Spy

“I saw it!”

Weekly Photo Challenge: Eye Spy

Written

on 12/04/2015

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Photo Challenge: Trio in Tangier

I wandered through the winding lanes of the old city, Medina, a labyrinth of alleyways to the Grand Socco and then to the market with stand after stand of vegetables, fruits, spices and meats. Vendors stepped out from their stores, enticing me with merchandise–leather handbags, bracelets, scarves, and bongo drums–and “reasonable” prices. Tangier is also a modern city with gleaming white modern buildings reflecting the sun.

A trio of photographs with subjects in threesome in locations throughout the city:

Stopping at a colorful tea room, I caught reflections on the ceiling of green and red light from a lantern, the host pouring tea from a silver pot and a stained glass window reflecting color on the back wall. The mint tea tasted refreshingly sweet, and the cookies had an unusual flavoring, very tasty. At a popular tea room, musicians played music and sang as we sat at round tables eating round cookies.

Tie Up at ATM, like every other place in the world.

Armed guards stand outside a government building. Why military men patrolling the streets carried machine guns, I’m not sure. I thought about the ISIS threat and their attempts to disrupt peaceful coexistence, or were the soldiers keeping a watchful eye on their own countrymen?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Trio

Written

on 11/20/2015

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Photo Challenge, Ornate: Balconies of Barcelona

Barcelona, or what I would call the city of balconies, because so many of the apartments have a platform to the outside. Many balconies display intricate iron railings and have become iconic architectural features. It’s understandable that living in such a beautiful city, you might want to always have access to the outside, and to gaze out into the city from a decorative vantage point, creates an even more dramatic experience.

http://me.sh/bqasxda

Weekly Photo Challenge: Ornate

Written

on 11/07/2015

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Tempest in a Teapot: Weekly Photo Challenge

This week’s challenge is to find beauty or interest where we might least expect it.

In walking through the neighborhood of Mt. Airy, I stumbled on the Philadelphia Salvage Company. Suitcases and trunks piled on an old railroad cart, and metal cans spilled over the sidewalk. I didn’t linger too long outside in the cold. On entering the building, I noticed a cast iron stove, pumping warm air through the building, and I warmed my hands as a looked around, mesmerized by the array of architectural salvage, from stained glass, plumbing and electrical fixtures, antique doors and windows.

A well-worn tea kettle bubbled boiling water as steam spewed from its spout.