get in line

I had a hard time settling on my two photos for this post.  I've been noticing and photographing repeating patterns all over the place since we announced the theme.  Patterns--especially lines--are everywhere in an urban setting.  With so many buildings, stairs, windows, doors, bricks, tracks, streets...I basically live inside a grid.

I saw this man sitting at the Federal Hall National Memorial on Wall Street recently. The steps of this building are usually quite crowded, as it's just across the street from the New York Stock Exchange and is also a tourist destination in its own right.  I thought I should capture this rare solitary moment in a place usually buzzing with people.

I assume there is no shortage of architectural patterns and lines in Seattle either.  I love how the strong lines in Rain City Girl's photo create the diamond shapes on several different angles of the building facade.  The Seattle Public Library looks like a beautiful place.

See you soon!

~christy of urban muser

                                                                                                              diamonds~ by Rain City Girl

playful patterns

There is a great little park by my home with a really cool brick road.  When you stand above it gives a great illusion of stacking cubes. My kids love to run and play along it and I of course love taking pictures of them on it :) 

I love this image by spanish moss of her daughter playing on the floor lights at a museum, the light and contrast of the shoes are wonderful!

I hope you have a happy playful day!
April of April Newman Photography

my job by spanish moss

for the love of cupcakes

Oh, how I found this week's theme difficult. My brain does not seem to see patterns or repetitions in the world. I went on walks around the city, around the country, in the garden, at home. I looked at books, I looked on the internet, I looked and looked for patterns. And then while baking with the children, I realised that we had a legion of cupcakes. And all was well again.

Clearly, blue elephant photography has the same feelings about cupcakes as I do. I just love the way the decorations echo the background with those pastel colours really making me want to taste that cupcake.

kirstin of fleeting moments

sweet as cupcake by blue elephant photography

patterns of patriotism

Recently while enjoying my lunch outside on a breezy day, I took notice of the U.S. flag snapping in the breeze. As I watched it wave and studied the patterns of the stars and stripes I thought about what those patterns represent.

From I am the Flag by Ruth Apperson Rous

My thirteen stripes alternating red and white, with a union of thirteen white stars in a field of blue, represented a new constellation, a new nation dedicated to the personal and religious liberty of mankind. . . .
Today fifty stars signal from my union, one for each of the fifty sovereign states in the greatest constitutional republic the world has ever known.  . . .
As you see me silhouetted against the peaceful skies of my country, remind yourself that I am the flag of your country, that I stand for what you are - no more, no less. . . .

Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand: "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

In Ann's photo I see the patterns of crosses and am reminded of the men and women who have throughout our history and continue today to protect and defend our flag and all that it stands for. And I am proud to be an American.

xo maureen from Cottage 960

normandy american cemetery by ann mcleod images

blinded

 

"But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart"

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

I've been known to look for small comfort within large spaces - to find that quiet amongst chaos. You see, crowded places overwhelm me. The noise...the color...sometimes it's way too much stimuli. However, I find that when I put my eye up to the view finder, my world starts to come into focus. Much like the quote above from The Little Prince, we must search within our heart to view those things which our eyes might never see, such as the beauty of window blinds in the late afternoon sun. 

I feel that way when looking at ninafrancine's image. I love the contrast of the hard shadow lines against a relatively peaceful shot - she so clearly portrays beauty against an everyday backdrop.

Until next time,

Ashley of Ramblings and Photos

PS: Speaking of "blind," you may be interested in these photographs by blind photographers: click here.

window by ninafrancine

happy memories

Many thanks to Muse Mosey for asking me to guest post today. The concept of repeating patterns is little out of my comfort zone, and I enjoyed the challenge.

Growing up in New York City, I lived against a background of repeating patterns. The city itself is built on a grid plan, and everywhere I looked I saw repeating patterns in rows of windows, murals, subway tiles, construction sites, bridges, advertisements, and storefronts, the patterns always interrupted by the never-ending stream of people walking by them.

I live in the country now, where the roads meander and the backdrop is wild. Our “grid plan” is the pattern of the year and the changing of the seasons. There are patterns in nature, too, but one has to look harder for them. And people are few – one's more likely to find one's pattern interrupted by a cow or an insect.

This week I did look for patterns in nature and found many, and I looked for patterns in farms and lumber yards, and I found them. However, it was while photographing layers of stacked boards and pipe in a lumber yard that I looked up and saw my daughter walking past the roofing tiles, and seeing her against the patterns behind her gave me a sense of deja vu of growing up amongst the patterns of the city. Yet, the red of barn and the dirt beneath her feet in my photo marks it very much as “country” to me.

This photo of t.morris's, also brings back to me those memories of a life set against repeating patterns and who could resist the happy message on the wall?

Deirdre of superdewa photography and superdewa on flickr

strolling past happiness by tmosnaps

inspired by nature.

This week I looked above and beyond for patterns. I shot a million pictures and yet, no one was hitting me. That feeling where you just know : this is it.
I went out, searching for inspiration in nature. As I walked through the city suburbs I came across a lot of fences but this one was the most beautiful one.
Thanks to the suburbs I created a pattern in my picture, which for me was quite hard to be honest.

The picture by Aimeelmk implements the most perfect combination of nature and patterns to me. She did a very good job on this weeks theme.
Thank you everyone who submitted a picture this week. I really love looking through all the goodness every week.

See you in 9 days,
Love,
Suki

Sunflowers at Sunset by Aimeelmk

intertwined

Repeating patterns in art and architecture are as intertwined as a vine growing along a trellis. Architects of the ages have filled the sweeping curves of arches and outlines of doorways with repeating elements of stone, paint, or even chips of glass. This Byzantine glass mosaic found in Ravenna, Italy holds no less than eight repeating patterns, by my count. How many can you see? Imagine the time it took to create this work of art and architecture.

The mosaics of Ravenna were born out of influences beyond Europe, echoes of other places. Kristina Mueller captured one of these places in her image of Ben Youssef Madrasa in Morocco.

These images are a reminder that you can start from one tiny thing - a piece of glass or ceramic or stone, or maybe even a word or gesture or gift - and build it into something larger and more beautiful by repeating the pattern over and over again.

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

IMG_5308 by kristina_mueller 

fun and games

While growing up, Saturday evenings were "family night."  We would cook up a fun dinner like fried dough pizzas, shut off the television, and pull out a stack of board games.  Over the years, the games changed.  CandyLand and Chutes and Ladders gave way to Scrabble, Life, Uno, Boggle, my personal favorite, Clue and the dreaded Trivial Pursuit, as shown below in Carole's photo.  I am not sure if I ever beat my dad at this one.

I was recently discussing this family tradition with my mother.  She said it started as an inexpensive and educational way to spend time together but in my teenage years, it kept my friends and I near and out of trouble.  I remember a particularly silly game of Life where I landed on every available space to have twins, ended up with too many kids for the car, and had to leave them on the side of the road.  Hmmm... I am sure there is a Life lesson here.

My love of all games and puzzles still continues and I tease that maybe Clue was the reason I pursued a degree in Accounting with a minor in Criminal Justice. I guess I am still determined to catch Colonel Mustard doing something dastardly.

Do you have a family game night? What are your favorites?

I hope your week is filled with fun and games.

xo tammy lee of bliss and folly

 

Winners! 3/365-2011 by Carole-*

and the next theme is... REPEATING PATTERNS

garage door by à la mosey

During Saturday's Muse University post, Kat discussed repeating patterns.

"We have repeating patterns everywhere in our lives. So much so that we don't always notice them. We see, catalog, and sort the differences in things, that's how our brains work. The sameness can blend in to the background. But, when we notice, we can use the "sameness" of patterns to good effect in our photography."

lines and pattern by michel feist

For the next 9 days, we invite you to share your photographs that showcase an eye-catching pattern or repetition.   Make sure to stop by tomorrow for the start of musing on Transportation and a guest muse. 

See you then.

xo tammy lee

Day 20 by AprilMN