This week Ann-Christine selected Morning for our weekly challenge. She is asking us to share a few things we do when starting off our day. Generally, I am an early morning person and find myself heading to the beach first thing, even before a morning cup of coffee! Am not sure what draws me there, probably the tranquility and sound of waves crashing on the shore, the salty smell in the air and nature’s beautiful colors gently painting the sky and ocean. Since no two mornings look the same, I am also curious as to what might have transpired overnight. Maybe there will be deer tracks in the sand next…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #92 GOING BACK TO ST KITTS
This week our guest host, John Steiner, asked us to think if we have visited a favorite place more than once and if so, how did you approach the second trip photographically? Or, if you’ve only been somewhere once, what would you do differently the second time around? His lovely post is available here for you to enjoy. When thinking about our challenge, the Island of St. Kitts immediately came to mind; we have been there twice and want to return again. On our second trip we had a tour guide a couple of days and he told us about the Island’s history and took us to many sites. …
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #91 SIMPLICITY
Patti suggests we think about Simplicity this week so I decided to feature a few flower and landscape shots to illustrate how beautiful and elegant things are when they are not lost in the detail. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” – Leonardo da Vinci “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry “Simplicity is the glory of expression.” – Walt Whitman “There is beauty in simplicity” – unknown “Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy” – Isaac Newton “Our life is frittered…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #89 A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT
This week Amy suggested using the title from the book, “A River Runs Through it” by Norman Maclean as our photo challenge. What is so important about a river? It is a source of life for all of nature and also man plus it symbolizes the power of nature and fertility. I live close to the Kiawah River which runs between Kiawah Island and Johns Island and the mainland area surrounding Charleston, SC. The river is in a constant flux of change as well as the wildlife that depends on it for survival. The images below offer a glimpse into some of the life by the river. This river is…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #88 CHAOS
Ann-Christine chose Chaos as the word challenge this week. Choas in some form seems to be most everywhere. On Kiawah Island, there is a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins who learned to feed in a chaotic manner called strand feeding. This taught behavior is only seen in a few parts of the in the world. You can see from the pictures below how chaotic strand feeding is! The first part of the feeding routine looks more organized. Working together, they locate a school of fish and begin herding them towards the shore as shown below. Once the fish are boxed in with no escape route, the dolphins attack by herding them…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #86 SAME SUBJECT, DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
This week Patti wants us to feature pictures taken from different perspectives, or angles, of a subject instead of standing in front of it and taking the shot at eye level. Perhaps spending a little extra time exploring the subject from different angles. Get down low and look up or move up high and check out the view looking down, or maybe move laterally to include or exclude other items near the subject, especially to see if the light changes in an interesting way. The Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts, is located in Copley Square in Back Bay. This first picture shows the Church at street level. The second image…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #85 PHOTO TREASURE HUNT
This week Tina decided to send us on a treasure hunt! To make it interesting she selected specific items to include in our photographs. Challenge Items: Sunrise and/or sunset, Something cold and/or hot, a bird, a dog, a funny sign, a bicycle, a seascape and/or mountain landscape, a rainbow, a church, a musical instrument, a boat, a plane, a waterfall. Extra Credit Items: An expressive portrait of one or more people, a very unusual place, knitting or sewing, a fish, an animal you don’t normally see, a bucket, a hammer, a street performer, a double rainbow. Be sure to check out Tina’s blog, Travels and Trifles, to see how she…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #84 NARROW
Amy picked the word “Narrow” for our photo challenge this week. I decided to begin with this photo featuring a narrow strip of beach, separating the Atlantic Ocean and Kiawah River, at Captain Sam’s Spit which only appeared at low tide. In addition to wildlife resting on this narrow area, pods of resident dolphins live and play in the Kiawah River. Notice the curious bottlenose dolphin in the foreground, quietly observing the birds on the bank. This was taken on the west end of Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Two narrow channels have been cut out as the ocean tides change twice a day, creating this tidal pool shown in…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #83 FUTURE
Ann-Christine choose the word Future for our photo challenge this week. After considering a few options, I decided to feature a recent event when a stranger’s Future outlook on life was changed. “Do something today that your future self will thank you for.” – Sean Patrick Flanery A friend observed her eightieth birthday not too long ago and decided to celebrate this memorable occasion by helping others. The first step she took to put her plan into motion was to purchase twelve blue envelopes and place $80 in each. Next, she asked a few people if they would be willing to take an envelope and give her money…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #81 SEEING RED
Patti invites us to show pictures featuring the color Red. Red colors are believed to be a symbol for many things: passion, love, rage, danger, good luck. Even though shades of red can be in many tones, it’s rarely seen as demure. Perhaps Taylor Swift says it best: “Red is such an interesting color to correlate with emotion, because it’s on both ends of the spectrum. On one end you have happiness, falling in love, infatuation with someone, passion, all that. On the other end you’ve got obsession, jealousy, danger, fear, anger and frustration.” Ladybugs are considered to be lucky charms by many cultures when they land on someone…