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…

Read more

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

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…

Read more

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

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…

Read more

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

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…

Read more

written by Sylvia - Posted in Landscape, LENS-ARTISTS, Nature, People, Photography

November 17, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #275 Filling the Frame

“Filling the frame” refers to the technique of composing an image so the subject takes up most or all of the frame. The best way to accomplish this is to move in closer to the subject or use a zoom lens. By allowing the viewer’s focus to be only on the subject, often times details are revealed that are not readily noticeable otherwise. Plus, this helps to get rid of distracting elements in the background. Below are a few of my examples. (Click on each image to show more details.) Anne Sadler is the host this week so be sure to learn all about “Filling the Frame” by reading her…

Read more

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

September 30, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #268 Tell Us Why

This week Tina says “our challenge is to choose a few images which are our all-time favorites. No matter the subject or how long ago they were taken. Then we need to TELL US WHY you chose them.” (Note: I apologize in advance that many of you have seen these images before -clicking on a picture will enlarge it)  This cloud formation below appeared after an afternoon storm in Maine. This is a favorite because the sunlight creates various colors in the clouds and is also focused on what appears to be vertical looking columns of clouds. These flowers are from our garden in Wells, Maine. I am drawn to the…

Read more

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

September 23, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #267 Recharge

“Lose yourself in nature and find peace.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Egidio, Through Brazilian Eyes, is the guest host this week. The topic he chose is Recharge, he suggests we show examples of something we enjoy doing or seeing that help recharge our batteries and relax. For me, a walk outside is the perfect solution. I tend to walk fast when exercising, oftentimes taking our dogs so we can exercise together. Needless to say, at times when they are along it is not particularly relaxing right now since the puppy often sees interesting things to explore along the way. Although  going out with them does increase my energy level for…

Read more

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

September 9, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #265 Black and White or Monochrome

“There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.” – Stefan Kanfer What is the difference between black and white and monochrome pictures? They both start as a black and white image with various shades of grey. Although, monochrome images go one step further since a single toning filter is added to create an overall mood or feeling. I always photograph in color and usually in Raw which means some post-editing is necessary. One of the last steps is to convert the picture to black, white.  It is always fun to see how a picture looks in black and white verses color. Here are a few black and white examples below….

Read more

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

July 11, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #257 Simplicity

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. — Hans Hofman Our photo challenge this week is from guest host is Mr. Philo of the Philosophy Through Photography. In his post he wrote, “I considered selecting simplicity since the modern world is so stressful and chaotic that we are losing the fundamental clarity and simplicity that allow us to concentrate on what is really important.”  He suggested several ways of creating simplicity in photographs which I have tried to show in these images.  “Simplicity is nature’s first step and the last of art.” – Philip James Bailey Choosing a clear and compelling subject that stands…

Read more

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

May 12, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #248 Mood

“One of the most powerful, yet difficult, elements to master in photography is capturing emotion and feeling.” – Karyn Teno    The mood conveyed in a photograph helps enable the viewer to establish a connection with the picture when personal emotions or memories are triggered. A few ways moods can be portrayed is through the place, patterns, seasons of the year, colors, actions, lighting and shadows and weather. Although when photographing people, it is said that the most influential mood is facial expressions and body language. Black and white photos also give an image a sense of timeless mystery. What type of mood does this opening image convey – happiness,…

Read more

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