According to a song from the 1966 hit musical Cabaret, money makes the world go ’round. While not scientifically accurate, money does affect our daily lives like few other things. It’s one of the most challenging topics of conversation and can really put a strain on relationships. We work for money. We exchange it for food, housing, transportation, clothing, taxes, utilities, insurance and more. We try to save some for retirement. We may to get creative in the kitchen or when shopping, to make sure money out doesn’t exceed money in. This post doesn’t include any genius tips for balancing your budget; instead, I applied imagination to photograph money in a few ways that aren’t strictly representational…

1. Five Dollar Detail

Canada was the first G8 country to use polymer thin films for printing currency, beginning with a new $100 note in 2011. The current $5 bill, which features an image of the Canadarm2, was unveiled by astronaut Chris Hadfield, when he was aboard the International Space Station in 2013. The Frontier series polymer notes last longer and have more security features than previous Canadian paper money, including this holograph of the West Block of Parliament Hill incorporated into the fiver. It was pretty easy to tilt the face of the bill to just the right angle to make the colours appear for this photograph.

2. Canadian Coins

Canada currently has five coins in general circulation: nickel, dime, quarter, loonie ($1) and toonie ($2). The loonie replaced the $1 bill in 1987 and is nicknamed for the loon water bird featured on the coin. The toonie, which features a polar bear, replaced the $2 bill in 1996. I like that four of the five coins feature animals/nature. BTW, the Canadian Mint stopped producing the penny in 2012.

3. Cabbage, etc.

Ever hear money called dough, bread, cabbage, lettuce, salad, chips, cheddar, cake or some other food? The only theory I can come up with is that food and money are both vital. What’s your theory?

4. Money Shot

In my book, the “money shot” is the photograph that best conveys the essence of something I’ve explored with my camera. This month, I took in Canmore’s 2020 Art Walk in the Woods and the installation of mirrors in a stand of mixed forest truly embodies the concept: the woods become the subject of the art, with the reflections changing as winter transitions to spring and as you move your viewing location.

5. Oil and Water

“Friendship and money: oil and water.” – Mario Puzo 
This oil and water photograph was composed with Canadian $5 (blue), $10 (purple), $20 (green), $50 (red) and $100 (tan) bank notes as the background. Leave a comment to LMK if you’d like to see a #BTS shot of the set up.

Food for thought – it’s good to have money and the things money can buy, but it’s also good to value things money can’t buy, like manners, integrity and compassion.

That’s it from me this month. Head over to organizer PJ’s post and check out the link up to see what everyone else came up with.

While you’re there, consider joining this photo blogging challenge! It’s a kind of low-stress photo assignment – an excuse to hone photography skills. For each month’s theme, share five photos snapped with any camera. The amount of accompanying text is up to you. The next theme will be posted at a ‘lil Hoohaa in early March.