My Colorful Expressions

July 23, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #208 Summer Vibes

“Live in the sunshine. Swim in the sea. Drink in the wild air.” – Ralph Waldo Emeson Summer is a happy time of the year. Warm sunshine and a cool breeze is energizing as well as relaxing. This makes spending time, either alone or with friends, so enjoyable. The guest host this week, Andre, suggests we share a few summer activities which initiate happy summer vibes! For example, sailing with friends on Casco Bay in Portland, Maine. “Summer means happy times and good sunshine. It means going to the beach and having fun.” – Brian Wilson A day at the beach with family and friends creates memorable summer vibes. “We…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Photography, Quotes, Summer

July 16, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #207 Seeing Double

“The world is a looking glass and gives back the reflection of his own face.” – William Makepeace Thackeray Jez of Photos by Jez, the guest host this week, says “seeing double is all about reflections…. I tend to see them everywhere & actively seek them out when they’re not readily apparent…..[They] are all transitory in nature; they’re not permanent but can be captured forever.” With Jez’s thoughts in mind, I found a few of my favorite pictures of reflections. The banner shot is the reflection of colored lights on the water from nearby restaurants and shops. (Grand Canal in Venice) This picture below is the reflections of several high…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Buildings, Nature, Photography

June 18, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #204 Doors/Doorways

Doors can be seen wherever we turn, they are literally everywhere! And, all doors are surrounded by doorways for us to walk through, some look more attractive than others. With so many different types and designs, it should be fun to pick several doorways that attract your attention. Ask yourself, what caught your eye. Does this doorway communicate a friendly, inviting atmosphere (perhaps much like its owners)? Or, is it imposing due to its size and grandeur, or perhaps ominous looking, sending a message to stay away? Here are a few different styles of doorways I have noticed. A few were recently taken and others came from my archives so…

written by Sylvia - Posted in LENS-ARTISTS, Photography, Quotes, Types of Doorways

May 26, 2022

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #200 Every Little Thing

“Perfect happiness is a beautiful sunset, the giggle of a grandchild, the first snowfall. It’s the little things that make happy moments, not the grand events. Joy comes in sips, not gulps.” – unknown We are invited to share little things that makes us smile and hopefully you will also. The header shot is a white Hydrangea flower. Interestingly, this large single flower is made up of many clusters of small flowers. These beautiful flowers are quite popular and come in several colors. They have a wonderful way of bringing happiness and warmth in someone home. “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” – Confucius When looking at this…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Flowers, Food, Photography, Quotes

May 20, 2022

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #199 Mechanical/Industrial

John, of photobyjohnbo, wants us to “consider subjects reflecting industry or items that are mechanical in nature…. There are signs of the old ways and the new way of doing things, wherever you look.” My first example is the wind turbines, shown in the header. Wind turns the blades which are connected to a drive shaft which is attached to an electric generator, and electricity is produce. These turbines replaced wind mills which were used many years ago. Another mechanical example below is this vintage fire engine (pumper truck) located in Ogunquit Maine. Compare this to a much newer model truck in Charleston, South Carolina. The Southern Railway 385 Steam…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Landscape, Photography

May 12, 2022

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #198 Light and Shadow

“Darkness is absence of light. Shadow is diminution of light.” – Leonardo da Vinci Light and Shadow: Patti suggests we feature a few pictures showing how well they play together to create beauty, drama, serenity or a smile. “I am forever chasing light. Light turns the ordinary into the magical.” – Trent Parke “Don’t be afraid of the shadows, it only means there’s a light nearby,” – Amy Lee In this particular picture, shadows are something to be afraid of! This once beautiful 19th century home in Maryland is purported to be haunted. 😥 “A luminous body will appear more brilliant in proportion as it is surrounded by deeper shadow.”…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Flowers, Landscape, Photography

May 7, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #197 Rule of Thirds

What is the Rule of Thirds? It’s a compositional technique that divides your frame into an equal, three-by-three grid with two horizontal lines and two vertical lines intersecting at four points. When placing main subject(s) on one or more of these focal points the image more pleasing to the eye and helps to create a balanced or visually interesting image. If you are not familiar with this rule, it is easy to experiment to see if you think it makes a difference. Some cameras can display the superimposed grid over the image in addition most editing software programs offer it when cropping. Although like most rules, it is ok to…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Fine Art Photography

April 26, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #196 Humor

This week our Photo Word Challenge is led by John Holmes, better known as JohnRH of John’s Space. He suggested we dig into our photo archieves and I found a few humorous pictures to share. Hope a few of these photos made you smile! (Double clicking each picture will enlarge it.) A big Thank You goes to John for encouraging us to find some humor and share with others! Be sure to see his post by clicking here. Remember to stay safe and healthy and be kind to others.

written by Sylvia - Posted in Photography

April 10, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #194 Bokeh

“Photography is the story I fail to put into words.” – Destin Sparks Bokeh, what is it and how can you create it with your camera? Since this is such an interesting subject and fun to do, Sofia has challenged us to feature a few of our favorites this week. Bokeh is the out-of-focus background in a photograph which is lovely to look at. It is created when background objects are softly blended together, displaying an array of beautiful colors, while the subject is in focus and sharp. Good Bokeh does not have hard edges or sharpness and sometimes there are round, smooth circles of light visible. So, how can…

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

April 3, 2022

Cellpic Sunday 03 April 2022 Maple Tree in Spring

A few weeks ago my husband and I drove to Virginia Beach, VA for a few days. Naturally an eight road trip requires a few quick stops along the way. Not long after crossing the South Carolina state line on the way home, I saw this beautiful Maple tree covered with bright red samaras against the deep blue sky. Since maple trees are deciduous, they are not very attractive over the winter months. Although, with the advent of spring they produce double-winged samaras or seeds (commonly known as “helicopters,” or “whirlers”). Once they have fallen to the ground large beautiful leaves quickly appear. About the photo: taken with the iPhone…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Nature, Photography, Trees

Several years ago, a talented group of four ladies started a blog log called Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. Each week one of them selects a topic and the challenge for all LA blog followers is to post their pictures and text relative to the topic. By the way, anyone is welcome to join this international group of photographers.

Participating in this continues to be quite rewarding. It has trained my eye to be more aware of people and things to photograph in addition to making new blogging friends all over the world.

Photography has always been a big part of my life and traveling offers many wonderful photo opportunities. I live on Kiawah Island in South Carolina and spend summers in southern Maine. Hope you like seeing my posts as much as I enjoy creating it!

“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” ∼ Ansel Adams