Fine Art Photography Archives - My Colorful Expressions

August 9, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #261 Work in Progress

“Life is a work in progress” – Jeff Rich Ann-Christine is our host this week and she has selected a topic everyone can relate to, Work in Progress. As she says, everything is a work in progress! A work in process is evident in our household now as my husband and I are training our eight month old American Cocker Spaniel, Tucker, to become a good citizen! The good news is things are going well; he has a wonderful disposition and is a quick learner. The not so good news is our trainer says he is going through a puppy adolescent stage which will probably last several more months, Ugh. (As…

written by Sylvia - Posted in cocker spaniels, Fine Art Photography, Quotes, Wildlife

May 27, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #250 Skyscapes or Cloudscapes

“Every cloud has a silver lining.” – John Milton Clouds come in all sizes, shapes and colors, that is what makes them so interesting. The images you see now will change within five minutes or less. They can blanket the sky and block out the sun or provide a backdrop for a spectacular sunrise or sunset. This week Amy, of The World is a Book…”, chose a very interesting topic; Skyscapes and Cloudscape. What is the difference between the two? The dictionary describes a Skyscape as a section of the sky, usually extensive, which often includes a part of the horizon usually seen from a single viewpoint. Whereas Cloudscapes are…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Clouds, Fine Art Photography, LENS-ARTISTS, Photography

May 3, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #247 Backlit

”Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” – George Eastman As a photographer, how do you create a backlit picture? It is done in camera because backlighting is a controlled technique in which the light is positioned behind or at a right angle to the subject. As Ann-Christine says, “Backlighting is dramatic. It often creates silhouettes, yellow halos around the subject, and/or a brilliantly bright background.” It also produces effects such as depth behind the subject or dramatic contrast. Notice the backlighting and direction of light on the lily with the…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Backlighting, Fine Art Photography, Photography

November 12, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #224 Exposure

This week the challenge is learning more about Exposure and showing a few examples. When using your camera, the amount of exposure is determined by how much light passes through the lens. Exposure levels can also be determined in post editing using software such as Photoshop or Lightroom or the editing software in an iPhone. The picture below was edited using Photoshop and bumping the exposure slide up to give the image an ethereal look. The second one looks more like the image in the camera. Is there one look you prefer over the other? This is another example of how an original image can be converted into a high…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Fine Art Photography, Landscape, LENS-ARTISTS

May 7, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #197 Rule of Thirds

What is the Rule of Thirds? It’s a compositional technique that divides your frame into an equal, three-by-three grid with two horizontal lines and two vertical lines intersecting at four points. When placing main subject(s) on one or more of these focal points the image more pleasing to the eye and helps to create a balanced or visually interesting image. If you are not familiar with this rule, it is easy to experiment to see if you think it makes a difference. Some cameras can display the superimposed grid over the image in addition most editing software programs offer it when cropping. Although like most rules, it is ok to…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Fine Art Photography

September 18, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #165: Going Wide

“Appreciation is like looking through a wide-angle lens that lets you see the entire forest, not just the one tree limb you walked up on.” – Doc Childre Life through a wide angle lens. This is where the camera records what you see when looking at a particular scene with eyes fixed in one area. By using shorter lenses you are able to get more in the picture and everything is on a smaller scale. Wide angle lenses are versatile and work well in landscape scenes, street photography and architecture shots. I decided to feature a few landscape scenes which were converted to black and white. The header shot was…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Black and White, Fine Art Photography, Landscape, LENS-ARTISTS, Travel

August 27, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #162 It’s All About the Light

“I am forever chasing light. Light turns the ordinary into the magical.” – Trent Parke The challenge this week is to explore the magic of light. Share images illustrating the extraordinary power light has to convey emotions in a photo. This first picture shows the sunlight on clouds which have been stirred up by ocean breezes. The light has turned them into a golden color giving the picture an airy, light, optimistic feel. “Photography is painting with light” – Miroslav Tichy The power of light… I can still recall an eerie feeling sweeping over me as everything turned pinkish and blue. This soft natural light created several surreal, ethereal moments…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Fine Art Photography, Landscape, LENS-ARTISTS, Natural Light

August 7, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #159 POSTCARDS

Postcard pictures from the southern coast of Maine – show postcards or our own pictures which could be used for postcards and which create happy memories. Years ago I collected postcards when traveling to remind me of interesting sights and happy memories. Now in the era of digital photography it is easy to snap a picture and design my own postcards for friends. Friends like seeing them along with a brief note, a thank you or just ‘thinking of you’ message. “I choose to collect memories instead of things.” – Elena Levon Since I am in Maine now it only seems right to show my postcard pictures from here. The…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Fine Art Photography, LENS-ARTISTS, Maine, Photography, Travel

July 28, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #158 Along Back Country Roads

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost This week we are challenged to feature images seen on back country roads. Roads we walk or ride on off the beaten path, through farmland, forests, quaint small towns or in the middle of nowhere. Here are a few sights which caught my attention when exploring unknown country roads. The building below is on Peake’s Island, a small Island in Casco Bay off the coast of Portland, Maine. Peake’s Island is only accessible by ferry; the few people who live there have cars, otherwise others have…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Fine Art Photography, LENS-ARTISTS, Maine, Old Buildings, Photography

May 17, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #148 Spots and Dots

Dots are defined as a small round mark and Spots are a small roundish mark, differing in color or texture from the surface around it. One place where I often see round shapes is on the beach when waves leave behind lovely soft areas of air bubbles which slowly disappear. The morning sunlight is accenting these bubbles and the sand which gives the area a lovely glow. (Double clicking on the image shows off the colors.) Another example is some of the tiles in an American Mah Jongg set. It consist of 144 tiles which includes three suits (totalling 36 tiles each). The suits are called Dots, Bams, and Craks. Below is…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Fine Art Photography, Landscape, LENS-ARTISTS, Photography, Spots and Dots

Several years ago, a talented group of four ladies started a blog log called Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. Each week one of them selects a topic and the challenge for all LA blog followers is to post their pictures and text relative to the topic. By the way, anyone is welcome to join this international group of photographers.

Participating in this continues to be quite rewarding. It has trained my eye to be more aware of people and things to photograph in addition to making new blogging friends all over the world.

Photography has always been a big part of my life and traveling offers many wonderful photo opportunities. I live on Kiawah Island in South Carolina and spend summers in southern Maine. Hope you like seeing my posts as much as I enjoy creating it!

“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” ∼ Ansel Adams