“Abandoned beauty. To notice the beauty in things left behind is to see the soul of the life it once loved.” – Heather Durren It’s always been interesting to photograph things that are old and especially those that have been weathered by the elements and or reclaimed by vines, plants and wildlife. These few photos show some random subjects I stumbled on over the years. A water glass or bottle was washed up on the beach during an ocean storm. Years of erosion from the salt water and pounding waves has created this lovely and intriguing design. This old, abandoned church was sitting on the side of a country road….
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #342 It’s a Wild Life!
This week Egidio of Through Brazilian Eyes is suggesting we show a few pictures of what we consider to be wild! There are lots of possibilities to consider so I decided to show a few wild animals I have encountered plus a couple showing mother-nature in a wild mood! This scene in the Atlantic Ocean was taken at Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine in 2011 as Hurricane Irene was passing through. Notice how the ocean was wild and raging due to high tides and strong winds. My husband and lived on Kiawah Island and one of the many unique things about this Island is the pods of Bottle Nose Dolphins…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #341 Personal Favorites
“Photography is a love affair with life.” – Burk Uzzle Tina had a great idea for our photo challenge. She suggests we only choose five favorite photographs we would like to use as screensavers on our computer! I quickly realized that picking just five was not going to be easy. The first picture I decided on was taken during a gondola ride in Venice with my husband. We liked this picture so much that it now hangs over our sofa. And since we wanted a contemporary look, it was edited using a Topaz software program. “The canals lure you, call you, cry to you to come and embrace them from…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #340 Portraits
“When you photograph a face, you photograph the soul behind it.” – Jean-Lug Godard Ritva, our host this week, is an accomplished photographer especially when it comes to taking portraits of people. Her photo challenge is for us to show pictures that capture the essence and personality of our subject. Whether it is of a stranger, a self-portrait, a friend, family member, acquaintance, or portraits of animals and birds. When viewing a portrait, the goal for the viewer is to connect with the person or subject and become interested in wanting to learn their story. Ritva shares a couple of tips to consider when photographing others. First and probably most…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #333 Dogs and Cats
“A dog will teach you unconditional love. If you can have that in your life, things won’t be too bad”. Tina suggests we show some pictures of dogs and cats. There has always been dogs and cats in our life. All our dogs have been American Cocker Spaniels and their names are Bucky, Willard, Winston, Spencer, Bentley and Tucker. All loved playing games and were great companions. I selected a few random photos of them playing games with each other and also when they had some quiet moments. Clicking on a picture will enlarge it. Play Time: taking turns pushing the ball over the top step. Winston runs to retrieve…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #332 Shoot From Above
This week Ritva suggests we show pictures taken from above as we look down on our subject. Interesting how the subject looks so different from another viewpoint. To start the challenge I decided to feature an unusual sight on Kiawah Island – Snow! These two pictures from our front door (too much ice for walking outside!) illustrate how lovely the captivating patterns of light and shadows show up from a distance on the ice and snow as sunlight outlines the Spanish moss hanging from an oak tree. This past Tuesday night much of the east coast was treated to a rare snowstorm. We were ‘lucky’ to only get about two…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #330 Favorite Photos in 2024
This week gives us the chance to show our favorite photos in 2024, whether they have been previously published or not. The first couple shown have never been published. Even though they were taken a few years ago, after recently stumbling on them in my photo archives and re-editing, they took on a very different look. They are now included in my list of all-time favorites in 2024. The first picture, from Venice, Italy, was re-edited so it would hopefully have more of a contemporary look. (You can double click each picture to enlarge it.) An American Bald Eagle which is a permanet resident at the The Avian Conservation Center…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #329 Last Chance
The Photo Challenge topic is Last Chance. The Last Chance to selection a few photos taken in 2024 that have not been shown. Those that didn’t fit a particular challenge topic or were not quite good enough to make the first cut. These first several images that did not fit any of the the topics. First is the header image showing a colorful lawn party being set up at a well-known Playhouse in Ogunquit, ME. Then, two pictures taken during the October aurora and the last in this series shows a fallen tree during a thunderstorm. (Double click a picture to enlarge the details.) In early October it was…
Lens Artists Photo Challenge #328 Winter
“There’s just something beautiful about walking in snow that nobody else has walked on. It makes you believe you’re special”. – Carol Rifka Brunt John, our host this week, mentioned in his opening sentence that winter will be upon those living in the northern hemisphere in only two weeks. Must admit I had to smile when reading his words because we have already had two snowstorms and it is only December 14! For the challenge, John suggests we share some pictures of what winter means to us. Personally, I have enjoyed the couple of winter months we have experienced in southern Maine. Out of the fifteen summers spent here we…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #327 5 Elements
Sofia is challenging us to explore the 5 Elements of Wuxing that create the world around us: Wood, Fire, Earth Metal and Water. This Chinese Theory asserts that the world changes according to 5 elements’ generating or overcoming relationships so a balance can be maintained. For example, Water nourishes Wood (waters flowers, plants) and/but Water regulates Fire. Earth generates Metal (minerals and ores) and Metal generates Water (condensation on metal surfaces). Wood generates Fire, which generates Earth in the form of ash and soil. To learn more about the 5 Elements of Wuxing, be sure to read Sofia’s blog Photographias. She explains the relationships beautifully through her pictures and explanations….