Spotlighting 500px

What is 500px?

Let me begin by saying that I am posting this using my iPad, so I will not be able to post any pictures until I get my hands on a computer.
While I was playing with my iPad I came across a great app called 500px. This image generating app is populated with tens of thousands extreamy high quality images that are truly breath taking. I used some of the images with my students as picture prompts for story writing and poetry and the results speak for themselves. My students tried to capture the emotion and mood in these pictures using extreamly vivid vocabulary. It is amazing how their writing changed by simply changing the quality of the picture prompt.

How to download 500px

In the app store search of 500px and the app looks like this


All you need is an iTunes account and nothing else as this is a free app.
One precaution is that there are images that may not be appropriate for younger children, however content restriction can be activated.

How 500px was used in the classroom

So I started by giving my students a regular picture that I had cut out from the newspaper and asked them to explain the emotion and mood they felt after seeing of the image. The picture I used was of a group of children playing at a newly built play ground. Some of the statements they said were:

"They are having fun"
"The playground is new"
"The plastic is red and yellow"
"It must be cold because I can see their breath"

The next example I gave my students was from 500xp of a group of people skating in an outdoor rink. However, this time the image was externally high quality. I asked my students the same question "explain the emotion and mood they felt after seeing the image". This time the language they used was significantly more vivid and specific. Some of their statements were:

"they are skating on a clear glass surface"
"emotions of joy and pleasure flood my heart"
"the colours of the rainbow transcended beyound the picture" (the people in the picture were wearing colorful jackets)