Happy Fall Ya’ll

Photo by Megan Oteri © All Rights Reserved

Reflection

© Megan Oteri

© Megan Oteri

“Blue Ridge Sunset” © Megan Oteri ~ All Rights Reserved

Leaf on a Rock by Megan Oteri © All Rights Reserved

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Vision

 

This week I am at Mills Park Elementary School in Cary, North Carolina leading a photography and creative writing residency, A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. The students are having a blast taking digital photographs and writing about them. It is a very open ended residency as I do not give them a writing prompt. They have to create their own creative writing prompt from the photo they select. They have to take the photograph themselves. That is really the only rule. Some students are writing poetry. Some are writing non-fiction. The genres I have seen so far are creative nonfiction, fantasy, science fiction, autobiography, essay, multi-genre, and even a marketing/advertising campaign.

I love being the Yes (wo)man and giving students permission to write outside the box. In fact, there is not even a box — not even a polygon.  They have created their own space and within it, they have created their own muse. It’s a beautiful thing. Kids are naturally creative and it is exciting to witness it in action. I will post a longer post after the residency. In the meantime, here are some photos of the students taking photos on campus.

Shine

 

 

Focus

 

 

Scope and Sequence

Layers

Wonder

 

Close Reading

Right Angles

 

Lights

Depth

 

Bus

Elbow

 

Hero

 

 

Waffle House Beauty

We drove through Wendy’s — some exit off 95. My camera’s SD card in my laptop unloading 500 plus photos I took months ago.

I ordered a #1 combo but substituted a chocolate milk shake. The light on the Waffle House sign was brilliant, only accomplished in the late afternoon before afternoon courts evening.

My cell phone camera too low in battery to allow a photo, yet it still lets me watch Netflix.

I got a little neurotic; my husband knows this dance. My arms get rigged; my Aries do-it-now ram horns flare and get ready to go. My husband says, “How important is a Waffle House sign lit up by light?”

He really meant no unkindness.  But in that one slow moment, there was nothing more important — the bright yellow sign glowing in Autumn light — fire truck red straight across beneath painting perfect contrast.

What is a scene or something you remember lit up lovely?