April 27, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #296 Abstracts

“Abstract art was the equivalent of poetic expression; I didn’t need to use words, but colors and lines. I didn’t need to belong to a language-oriented culture but to an open form of expression.” – Etel Adnan This week Ritva of Ritva Sillanmaki Photography selected Abstracts as the photo challenge. Much has been written on this subject, Ritva describes abstracts as “photography which breaks the normal rules of realism. It turns everyday scenes, objects, or textures into visual poetry, inviting viewers to see beyond the surface.  It is a genre of photography that focuses on the shapes, colors, textures, and patterns of the subject, rather than its literal representation.” It…

April 20, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #295 Rocks

“The most beautiful stones have been tossed by the wind, washed by the water and polished to brilliance by life’s strongest storms.” – unknown I have always enjoyed photographing interesting looking rocks. They have Rocks such a variety of unique colors, patterns and shapes based on where they were formed. Looking through my photo archives here are a few favorites taken over the years. I will begin with the Natural Bridge in Aruba, one of the largest of its kind several years ago.  It measured approximately 25 feet high (7.6 meters) and 100 feet long (30 meters.  This rocky land formation was originally part of an ancient cave and made…

April 6, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #293 Water in Motion

This opening shot captures one of many beautiful designs that can be created by splashing pool water in the sunlight as a person goes down a water slide and hits the water! As I thought about different ways water could be in motion a few adjectives came to mind. For example, the two pictures below show how powerful and dangerous an ocean can become at times. Or, how graceful and beautuful it can appear with lovely reflections on the surface.   Water in Motion can also create momentary feelings of comfort and energy as soft, hypnotic sounding waves wash up on the shore. Heavy rain beating on a wooden deck during…

February 23, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #287 Sound

This week Donna of Wind Kisses suggests we feature a few pictures showing examples of sound. Sources of sound can be divided into two types: geophony or natural and man-made.  A few examples of natural sounds would be blowing wind, flowing streams or oceans, storms or animals such as the barking dog playing on the beach in the header shot. Well-known man-made sources are road vehicles, airplanes, music, home appliances, for example. I will start off showing a few examples of man-made sounds. “The city is a symphony of sounds, from the sirens to the laughter to the footsteps of strangers” – unknown Big city sounds is a continuous hum…

February 16, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #286 Weather

“Sometimes I wish that I was the weather, you’d bring me up in conversations forever. And when it rained, I’d be the talk of the day.” – John Mayer “The weather” almost always seems to come up in general conversations! Discussions can center around what to wear outside to stay comfortable, whether to plan an outing on a given day, how today’s weather makes us feel, and this list could go on. For some photographers, weather is an important consideration before going outside with the camera! Suppose the light outside is too harsh or flat at midday or too stormy or its snowing too hard to venture out? These are…

January 27, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #283 Illustrate a Favorite Quote

“Birds in flight fascinate me. I admire eagles, falcons [and all birds]. I’m inspired by a feather but also its color, its graphics, its weightlessness and its engineering. It’s so elaborate…” – Alexander McQueen This week I am sharing a few favorite quotes and illustrating them with pictures. This first quote relates to the header image showing a flock of Red Knots (Calidris canutus rufa) during one of their stop-overs on Kiawah Island, SC. These birds migrate from their winter home on the coast of southern Chile and Argentina to islands above the Arctic Circle for summer, a flight of more than 9,300 miles or 14,966.9 kilometers, a journey which…

January 20, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #282 Dramatic

What does it mean to photograph a dramatic scene or create a dramatic looking picture in post processing? What makes a picture appear dramatic? It is said a dramatic mood can be created by anything that evokes strong emotions in the viewer and gets the imagination going, or is mysterious, exciting, scary or unusual. Below are a few of my favorites which seem to fit this defination.  Dramatic Old House! This house in Maine is perched atop a seaside cliff which juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Interestly, last summer on the internet I saw its photo along with an advertisment about an FBI mystery thriller novel being for sale…

January 12, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #281 Highlights from 2023

“Photography is a love affair with life.” – Burk Uzzle This week Tina wants us to share a few favorite pictures from 2023. Selecting only a few turned out to be harder than I thought! Note: Clicking on a picture to open it in full screen. Also, to read more of an individual post, click on the underlined title. “Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.” – Orhan Pamuk It only seems right to start off by showing pictures of Tucker, our puppy who recently turned one year old. His energy and enthusiasm has dominated our household and our lives!  Tucker was featured in May…

December 9, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #278 Unique

“Unique is the quality of being unlike anything else.” – Amy, L-A host for the week.  Here are a few unique scenes of trees and architectural structures I stumbled on over the past many years. The header shows Fort Gorges, a former US military fort on Hog Island Ledge in Casco Bay, Maine, built in 1864. It was never used and fell to decay and ruin until a few years ago when it became a historic landmark, was restored and opened as a tourist site. “Of all man’s works of art, a cathedral is greatest. A vest and majestic tree is greater than that.” – Henry Ward Beecher This grand…

October 21, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #271 Contrasts

“There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.” – Charles Dickens The challenge this week is to show a few ways of expressing contrasts in photography, such as tone, lights/shadows, colors, architectural structures, softness/texture, landscape. In the first image shows a stark contrast between silhouettes of the people along the shore line and the lovely golden tones from the setting sun. Even though these two pictures are the same ferns the contrast in their color is determined by the seasons. A beautiful green color most of the year although in autumn the cooler temperatures turn them into gorgeous reds, oranges and yellows. “Contrast…