Just stating the obvious here but, I do love photography. It has taught me so much beyond the mechanics and techniques of shooting a photo (which are the two things I know the LEAST about!). Probably the biggest lesson I've learned is that there is beauty in the everyday mundane and ignored. All you have to do is...notice it.
Yes, my family can attest to the fact that I notice ALOT of unnoticeable things. And, I'm pretty sure I am the "Queen of Mundane"...just ask my kids. Can't imagine WHY Thing #3 rolled her eyes when I said to her "hey, come look at my spaghetti pictures...they look like an amoeba!" Which lead to the inevitable...dinner was late because mom was photographing it! You know, sometimes it's just okay to play with your food.
My fascination with the spaghetti was the accidental end result of a photo scavenger hunt prompt that had me breaking out in a cold sweat...GEOMETRY!!!
My last encounter with Geometry was in the 10th grade with Mr. Walter Staller. My mind worked overtime in that class...chiefly trying to figure out how it was possible one man could sweat that profusely! The only geometric patterns that kept my attention were his daily God awful combos of plaid polyester pants that he paired with various clashing patterned ties. Mr. Staller did give me a passing grade tho, barely! But I'm pretty sure it was pay off for promising him I wouldn't take another math course...ever.
Fast forward to my freshman year at Penn State when I was informed my toxic relationship with math would continue. This time my tears just didn't work on the professor. I was enrolled in Math 35, aptly named "Mathematics for the Non-Mathematically Inclined Student". We spent the semester figuring out which pocket a billiard ball would go into, related to the angle the ball was hit. FYI, my pleas for help resulted in alot of cursing from the guys who lived on the Engineering floor below me because...they couldn't understand it either! Seriously??!!?? I barely passed THAT class too. But I was DONE with math, or so I thought.
As I was pondering dinner the other night and pulled out the mundane and usually ignored box of spaghetti, a light bulb went off and I started playing with my food. Converging lines and angles...voila! That IS Geometry, isn't it? Mr. Staller would be so proud...if he remembered me at all.
Which also provided me another valuable lesson...math can be beautiful, despite profuse sweating and questionable fashion choices. It only took me a lifetime to notice THAT!
--Kathy
We had spaghetti last night too! Lovely shots. How did you get that gorgeous blue background? :)
ReplyDeletegreat shots, I will have to take a better look at my spaghetti next time.
ReplyDeleteLast class I took in college was pre-calculus, hardest D I ever worked for!
You really want me to give away my "professional" secrets??? Haha...it's a piece of navy blue poster
ReplyDeleteboard :)
Clever! I love noodles!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting!!
ReplyDeleteFun story and lovely spaghetti photos. I would not have thought of that. Of course, I think I miss out on so much detail not having a Macro lens. I have to tell myself one thing at a time.
super inspiring! It's so simple and striking. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteFABULOUS! that sounds about like what goes on my house!! Love the pov on the pasta.
ReplyDeleteYou deserved an A in Geometry from these photos, great! How'd you get the lighting so perfect?
ReplyDeleteTom...every once in awhile things just happen to fall into place. My "elaborate" set up was a drinking glass with a box of spaghetti in it so it fanned out. I set it upon a navy blue and also a black piece of poster board. Took it to a table by the window for natural light. Propped up a white piece of poster board behind the glass of spaghetti....and shot mostly from above. Sheer luck I believe :)
ReplyDeleteKathy
very cool shots! I love how abstract the pictures came out!
ReplyDeleteGet my camera kids, I want to take a picture of our Fajitas! Great photos and story, we have to remind ourselves to look for beauty in all that we do and see. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeletePeg, I'm available to shoot all dinners. Fajitas....sooooo many creative possibilities :).
ReplyDeleteThey are really very pretty. I don't know that I would have guessed it was spaghetti if you didn't tell us.
ReplyDeleteWOW ... this spaghetti is seriously cool... great idea with the paper backdrop. This is great! I never would of thought of raw noodles!
ReplyDeleteThese are fantastic! I absolutely love the second one!!
ReplyDeleteGenius - I love the spaghetti - why didn't I think of that. Beautiful shots!
ReplyDeleteLove them!!! =) Thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog! =)
ReplyDeleteWonderful, with an excellent frame, excellent focus and color tones spectacular.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos and a great post too!
ReplyDeleteThose are so awesome! I really should play with my food more.
ReplyDeleteClever girl! Poster board totally made this shot. I find when I've taken photos of ever flower and bug on the farm, it's time to get creative. Love this photo. :)
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely in love with these shots - such a great idea! And I'm with you, didn't like geometry in school, but in photos . . . that's a different story.
ReplyDeleteSo simple but beautiful.
ReplyDeleteVery cool creative shots!
ReplyDeletewow - pasta never looked so pretty! great shots.
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post, loved your entertaining story!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of the spaghetti, fantastic thinking outside the box!
I love this!! I love the lines and the macro feel!! Very cool! These are fantastic and I definitely think worth dinner being late for! You have definitely inspired me to look at our food differently!! Very fun!!! Thanks for linking up and sharing what you learned :O)
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