Feet

Snapshots in Time is a poetry prompt that Susan Ahlbrand gave us in April. At the time, I wasn’t able to find the photo of my mom looking content and appearing to have it all in 1950–vogue style, trim waist, rugged husband, and four precocious kids in an L.A. suburb. A comment I left on the prompt was: “I wanted to write a poem called Feet, and how her feet didn’t handle those high heels for the long haul.” When I ran across the photo recently, I decided to write that poem today.

My Mom’s Feet

Feet
Showcased
My mom’s style
She loved high heels
And rocked them for years
Pointed or open-toed,
Spectators, ankle straps.
Looking into fate’s eyes,
My sweet mama, whose fashion
Was foremost, saw her feet
Begin to fail her flair
Surgeries and treatments
Nailed hammer toes
Podiatry
Helped relieve
Her worn
Feet

Photo a Day for the Summer

You are invited to join educators and others who will take a photo a day for the summer.

Check out the #JJAProject group on Flickr. I like Flickr because conversations ensue and relationships are built. Likewise, in case I get behind in viewing and commenting, I can find all the pictures in one place. Flickr is now free, with a one terabyte limit.  However, if you have another favorite way to share photos, like Instagram or TwitPic, that’s fine too. Just tweet out your pic to tell us about it using the hashtag #JJAProject so we can find it.

Two summers ago, Sheri Edwards told me about this June/July/August Project, and I gave it a try. I even wrote about it back then.

BEST PART: My experience in this group two years ago helped me to learn what a PLN was, as I began to develop online friendships with other educators. 

Today’s picture:
2013-06-01 New Computer

Freedom With CC-BY Licensed Images

So, why do I like the Attribution license best? First, here’s what the license says…

You are free:

  • to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
  • to Remix — to adapt the work
  • to make commercial use of the work

Under the following conditions:

Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

Three reasons for using the liberal Creative Commons –  Attribution (CC-BY) license.

1. You can use beautiful images to make cool posters or use just a portion of someone’s picture. (derivatives allowed)

This is my favorite reason! When I need a picture of the Eiffel Tower or the Coliseum, I don’t have to go there. I have friends all over the world who take photos and share them, entrusting their pictures to people like me! The last time I looked there were over 150 million photos on Flickr alone, of which we have permission to make derivatives.

Daunting Notebook” by Laura Coughlin (lauracoughlin) with CC BY-NC 2.0

2. You can change the license on derivatives. (no share-alike)

Although I can imagine a time when someone might need to do this, my guess is that most people fail to share-alike by accident. Here is a photo I took, and I suspect here and here, where this person kept “All Rights Reserved,” that it was done unintentionally. S/he shared this in the Flickr group Great quotes about Learning and Change, so perhaps s/he doesn’t know how to change permissions. Maybe s/he is new and just learning how to be a digital citizen. Maybe s/he has no idea what Creative Commons are. It would be ridiculous to believe it’s for any nefarious or money-making reason.

Plus, if I had a stricter license, I would feel obligated to complain to a user if he/she didn’t adhere to the license, and I don’t like to complain. If I am anything, I am liberal. Liberal with belief that most of my fellow humans are trying to do their best. Liberal with good will toward others. And liberal with the photos I’ve shared. That’s why even in derivative sharing, I choose the liberal Attribution license.

3. You can make money. (commercial)

I say this tongue-in-cheek, but it’s true. By using images (and sharing them with) the Attribution license, you are receiving (and giving) permission to use images commercially. I’ve never sold anything or benefited financially from using anyone’s images, but others have used some of my images commercially. You know something, it just makes me proud, not upset, jealous or angry. (See image below for some examples.) Maybe someday, a group I’m in will have reason to make a calendar for a fundraiser, and there will be CC images available for us to use.

It’s risky to share pictures with the Attribution only license, but I made the decision to do it because I’m serious about being a contributor. My friends Kris and Laura, whose pictures I used in this post, each share their images with a different license,  but they both gave permission to make derivatives and just asked me to give them credit and I appreciate that!

There are six different Creative Commons license, which are helpful to both the sharer and the user. Here are two simple questions to ask and answer to help you “Choose a License.” I would encourage you to read about each of them here: Creative Commons Licenses.

How to Cite a CC Image

Using and properly citing Creative Commons images is a characteristic of good digital citizenship. To cite a CC image…

  1. First find a picture you want to use that has a CC license. My favorite license to use is CC BY (Attribution) license, which allows for the most freedom. Search for CC BY images here on Flickr. (If you use other CC licenses*, be sure you understand the limits of each.)
  2. Credit the person who took the photo. I use both the real name and the username when available.
  3. Help your viewers get back to the original image. Take care so your viewers can find the original image without trouble. Make sure your links are working and go directly to the intended image. Notice on the two images below, both the picture and the title are linked back to the original photo on Flickr.

It really is simple.

Bubbles” by Kris McGuire (krismc2011) with CC BY-SA 2.0 license.
Daunting Notebook”  by Laura Coughlin (lauracoughlin) with CC-BY-NC 2.0

That’s just one way to do it. There are other ways too, as long as you follow the licensing agreement.

Thanks to Kris and Laura for sharing their images with a CC license!

Creative Commons is great. However, don’t forget that sometimes, it’s also great to take and use your own photos.

* Other Licenses

CC BY-ND 3.0 – Attribution and no derivatives

CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 – Attribution, non-commercial and share alike

CC BY-SA 3.0 – Attribution and share alike

CC BY-NC 3.0 – Attribution and non-commercial

CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 – Attribution, non-commercial and no derivatives

 

Noticing and Appreciating

Yesterday my husband and I were out, and we had to stop for a train that was approaching. The first thing my husband said was not, “Bummer — this looks like a long train.” Instead, he said, “Hey, get your camera. There are some great pictures of graffiti on this train.”

You see, last week I had asked him to stop the car so I could take the picture above, because “graffiti” was one of our themes for August in the #T365Project photo group.

Well, I didn’t really need another graffiti picture, but I started snapping pictures anyway. They are in the mosaic below.

We watched the long train go by, commenting on and enjoying each new artwork, watching in anticipation of what would come next. We actually were a bit disappointed when it finished!

This was another reminder of the many benefits I’ve received from taking pictures and sharing them on Flickr: I’ve relearned to notice and appreciate all the beauty around me.

Besides both my husband and I doing more noticing and appreciating, I have also added over 2,000 Creative Commons photos to the pool of images available for others to use. My students now do the same, and we have also learned to properly cite photos of other people’s when we use their Creative Commons images.

There was a time not long ago when my students and I just Googled any images for our own use.

There was a time not long ago when I had heard of Creative Commons but didn’t know what it was or how it related to me.

There was a time not long ago when I wanted to properly cite images, but I didn’t even know where to start.

Well, now, a year later, I’m doing it! I don’t even know how I learned really, except I do know that mostly it came by doing — by creating and contributing. I joined Flickr, and I began to figure it out. You can too.

I posted the train graffiti mosaic picture in a group called #TFotoFri. It’s for teachers to post one picture from their week. If you are like I was not so long ago, maybe you’d like to join the #TFotoFri group to get started on your next adventure in learning.

My Namesake

Class of 2012

Today was graduation day at our school. What a wonderful day! This group was the first seventh grade class I had six years ago. They will be missed!

At one of the parties I got to tour a student’s barn.

I have been reading personal experience narratives about that barn over the years, so it was fun to visit it.

I loved the light shining in.
The Barn Full of Stories
The Wall of Fame
Circle of Light

And bonus! I got to meet my namesake, which is a young goat. Miss K is raising three goats for 4-H. They are named Snap, Crackle Krebs, and Pop.

Crackle Krebs
Miss K with Crackle

I love living in Iowa!

I took lots of pictures at the barn today and Miss K said, “Now, you are probably going to write a blog post, right?”

Right! Thanks, K, for inspiring me to do so!

Taking Pictures with Words

In my driveway before the drive began

The roads were 100% snow covered in some areas, and I had precious cargo in the van with me–students on the way to a quiz bowl meet. There were dozens of photographs jumping out to be taken, but I had precious cargo and I couldn’t stop–we would have been late and there were several cars in the ditches.

Since June, I have been taking many more photographs. Most of them with my point-and-shoot camera, and I am no expert. However, I have gone from the one who didn’t have a camera, or if I did, the batteries were dead to one who is always prepared and on the lookout for photos.

Last summer I received a tweet from Sheri Edwards inviting me to participate in the June, July, and August Project (#JJAProject) which was started by some fellow teachers. After that was over, a few of us continued with the Teachers’ Foto Friday (#TFotoFri) once a week group. Now, about 20 teachers and I are attempting the #T365Project, a picture a day in 2012.

But back to my snowy road trip.  This was the first snowy day of the year and only the second of the whole winter! I was so taken with all the beauty, finding photographs everywhere I looked — from the quick sparks and snowy powder shooting up from the blade of the heavy snow plow in front of me to the gentle, intricate flakes falling and melting onto the warm windscreen of the van.

Today, instead of taking the pictures, I could only talk to myself about them.

Some more photos I missed…

  • Powdered sugar snowfall sprinkled evenly on the oxidized railroad bridge.
  • Hay bails lined up in formation with uniform helmets of snow.
  • Festive and frosted evergreens, missing during Christmas, now found interspersed among the bare deciduous trees.
  • Thin ice, now snow-covered, proved to me it was at least thick enough to hold the deer whose tracks ran down the middle of the river.

After a long day, we turned around and retraced our steps, the snow mostly gone after a sunny winter day. However, the images continued to come.

  • Reflective tape danced in the sun as the box cars and tankers rumbled by at a train crossing, train art graffiti occasionally broke the rhythm.
  • Golden grass, bent in the breeze, absorbed and reflected the late afternoon sunshine.

Without my camera, I discovered that my year-long photography adventure is making me a better observer, a better describer, and a better writer. As a literacy teacher, I couldn’t help but wonder if taking photos would have the same effect on students’ writing. What do you think?

Will a photography challenge help students observe, describe, and write?

When they find themselves unable to get a shot they long for,  will they take pictures with words?

One of the photos I took after I arrived at our destination.

A Winter’s Day Walk

Today I walked to the post office during my prep period. The weather was in the 40s, but it seemed warmer since the sun was shining and the humidity is low.

I have decided to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather.
I took tons of photos downtown by the post office.
I went to lunch recess outside.
It’s been a glorious day.

I never noticed these interesting doors. Each one on the SAME building!