February 25, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #237 Bringing Softness

“I like the muted sounds, the shroud of grey, and the silence that comes with fog.” – Om Malik This banner shot shows how fog and natural light can bring softness and beauty to everything it touches. “Our soul is like a soft and gentle flower, it needs to be nurtured, cared for, tended to, with sufficient sunlight, fresh air and freedom to bloom into its most precious and beautiful form. – Miya Yamanouchi The photo challenge this week is led by Bren, she suggests we bring or show softness in a few of our photos. One way this can be accomplished in camera is by photographing in the fog or…

Read more

written by Sylvia - Posted in Kiawah Island SC, Landscape, LENS-ARTISTS, Photography

February 4, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #234 Messages

“An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.” – Martin Buber Animals have their own unique way of communicating such as this Bottle Nose Dolphin sending the message of affection to her calf. This was taken in the Kiawah River, Kiawah Island, SC. This is our American Cocker spaniels a few years ago when Bentley sent a warning messsage to Chester telling to leave his sock alone!  A Mute swan sending me a message that I was getting too close.  A Canada goose sounding the alarm to others of approaching danger. Below is the Portland Head Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Like all lighthouses along the coast,…

Read more

written by Sylvia - Posted in Animals, Bottle Nose Dolphins, Kiawah Island SC, LENS-ARTISTS, People, Photography

December 24, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #230 Last Chance

Tina leads our photo challenge this week with a unique topic. She suggests we feature favorite pictures taken in 2022 that have not been shown before and do not fit into any particular category. In keeping with the Christmas season, these carolers from Charleston sang holiday favorites during a friend’s Christmas party.   In August we spent a week in Newport, Rhode Island, touring the town and then several days on Goat Island for a friend’s wedding celebration. Part of the week was rainy but once the storms cleared out, the sunsets on the Island were specular. In July we traveled to Quebec, Canada, and played golf at Owl’s Head Golf…

Read more

written by Sylvia - Posted in Landscape, LENS-ARTISTS, Photography, Travel

December 17, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #229 Perfect Patterns

“Some of nature’s most exquisite handiwork is on a miniature scale, as anyone knows who has applied a magnifying glass to a snowflake.” – Rachel Carson Nature has a way of creating Perfect Patterns, at least to My eyes the patterns are perfect! Fortunately, Ann-C mentioned this when suggesting our guidelines. She wrote, “Of course there is no such thing as a ”perfect” pattern…but it could be perfect in Your eyes, perfect for camouflage or perfect for its purpose…or simply radiating ”perfect”.  To me flowers, butterfly’s wings and trees are just about perfect! “His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly’s…

Read more

written by Sylvia - Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, LENS-ARTISTS, Nature, Photography

December 10, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #228 Diagonals

Diagonal lines play an important part in creating a more interesting photograph. Consciously or unconsciously, they tend to move a viewer’s eyes through a picture. This week’s challenge is to consciously look around for to see how often diagonal lines are visible, either in nature or man-made. When composing the shot below, I took advantage of the digonal line created by sand dunes in the forground. Does this line plus the tall sea oaks lead your eye to the focus of the picture, the sun and clouds? This golf course picture shows two types of diagonal lines. First, is the shadow at the base of the putting green (right side, middle…

Read more

written by Sylvia - Posted in Kiawah Island SC, LENS-ARTISTS, Maine, Photography

December 2, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #227 Home Sweet Home

“Your home should tell the story of who you are, and be a collection of what you love.” – Nate Berkus This week Tina suggests we think about where Home Sweet Home is to us. We may consider the country we live in to be our home, a neighborhood or our residence. My husband and I live on Kiawah Island and our home sweet home is a special place for us and our family. The house is surrounded by tall trees, blooming plants and an abundance of wildlife. There always seems to be pretty colors in our yard from a tree or two that is blooming at the time. Now…

Read more

written by Sylvia - Posted in LENS-ARTISTS, Photography

November 26, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #226 Textures

“It’s an obvious opportunity for black and white when a scene contains little color but lots of texture.” – John Beardsworth Texture is an important part of our interaction with art and photography. It is said to be an important factor along with line, color, shape, form, value and space. In a photograph it can add visual interest, highlight unique patterns, or even evoke emotions.  Texture in Nature:  The opening header shot was taken in Maine right after a hurricane passed through. I feel like this picture is full of different textures; the sharp rocks with soft moss growing on the tops, fast moving water with air-filled foam on the surface and the…

Read more

written by Sylvia - Posted in Atlantic Ocean, Flowers, Landscape, LENS-ARTISTS, Nature, 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…

Read more

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

November 5, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #223 Flights of Fancy

“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead This past week John (photobyjohnbo) has challenged us to “… consider sharing images of interesting or unusual subjects that represent notions or ideas that seem incredible even today or seemed unrealistic at some point in the past.”  I decided to feature the Constitution, a former warship located in Boston National Historical Park, part of Charlestown Navy Yard in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The USS Constitution, one of five frigates built for the United States Navy in 1776, gained recogination during the War of 1812 and then…

Read more

written by Sylvia - Posted in Boston, LENS-ARTISTS, Photography, USS Constitution Warship

September 1, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #214 Favorite Finds

“When the magic hour arrives, my thoughts center on light rather than on the landscape. I search for perfect light, then hunt for something earthbound to match with it.” – Galen Rowell Our challenge this week is to share a few pictures, randomly taken, which later turned out to be a favorite. Lately, I am trying to be more aware of the impact natural light has on a picture. For example, I was drawn to the scene below after noticing  yellow sunlight reflecting off the bricks and steam from the smoldering fire. To my surprise, when viewing this picture the next day, I noticed the camera had also picked up…

Read more

written by Sylvia - Posted in LENS-ARTISTS, Photography, Quotes, Sunsets