This is the end of the first week of Discover Prompts on WordPress (not in real time, but as I finally got to them after discovering the challenge a month late). The subject is “Below”. And, LOL, “below” is my blog response!

For years, as I have been out and about, I have taken pictures of a multitude of subjects – arranging them into various albums and filing them away (in the film era) in boxes or various files (in the digital age).

One of the subjects of a digital age file was “My Feet”. Now, don’t laugh; it wasn’t just my feet. It was my feet in different locations. And if you stop to think about it, my feet were “below” just about everything I viewed or that I participated in. The following is a sample of those photos.

This first example (below) is just to show my feet. Good contrast, no actual flesh, general introduction to their shape, and an opportunity to get to know them. Nice, huh?

The next image (again – and for all future images – below) shows that I am not the only one interested in my feet. Check out this young cat named Stan Lee. I have to be very careful when Stan Lee is around. He has very sharp teeth and claws. My feet and legs are frequent targets.

I’m pretty sure that taking pictures of my feet started with them accidentally ending up in photos that I took while traveling. The next image shows an example from New Orleans a year or so ago. The lesson learned was that you can take pictures of your feet and folks will always relate them to where you where and what you were doing.

We had gone to New Orleans in order to board a ship for a cruise. The result? Another image of my feet. And anyone looking at the photo would instantly know that I was on a cruise. Check out the wake “below”!

While we were on the cruise, we realized that the carpet in the hallways was decorated with fish. And the fish, it was pointed out to us, were always swimming toward the bow (front) of the ship.

Having been sucked into the practice of photographing my feet (or shoes as the case might be), my “art” background started influencing my choice of feet “scenes”. This is an example of a sidewalk with interesting cracks. Portions of it look like arctic ice in the spring time – cracking apart with small pieces floating in between large icebergs that have yet to separate and float apart into open sea. But then your eyes are drawn to a couple of Maple leafs – which grabs your wandering mind and smashes it back into the reality of true scale.

Another sidewalk has cracks filled in and obscured by a cement filler. Not as interesting as miniature icebergs, but certainly an interesting pattern. And, again, something visual to dwell upon below my feet.

Then there was the day I was eating lunch at Taco Bell and noticed the shadows being displayed on the floor by the bright Arizona sun. Couldn’t resist myself and ended up with another photo for the “My Feet” album.

So, you are out traveling and you spot an image on the sidewalk, stenciled there by the local publicity folks to encourage tourism. Absolutely requires a photograph. Which once again tells everyone exactly where you were that day.

Or you are walking along at the Florida location of the Ford and Edsel homes and spot some pieces of cement scratched with the name “FORD”. A helpful docent provides the background of the pieces of cement and you leave with another photo of what passed below your feet.

I’m always drawn to small details. Rocks, leaves, sticks, patterns in nature, whatever. When you get home and zoom in on the detail, you find many things you did not observe when in the field. That process works well in the forest, at the beach or out in the desert.

The subject was “Below”. The actors were my feet. You were the audience. I hope you enjoyed the show.