Butterfly Archives - My Colorful Expressions

August 7, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #310 Zigzag Pictures

Our photo challenge is to feature pictures showing zigzag lines. Did not think I had many pictures but was surprised. As it turned out, most of these images are zigzag lines seen in nature, first is ocean waves, then butterfly wings, water reflections, Atlantic coastline and a slab of marble. The first picture was taken at sunset on Kiawah Island, SC. Next is a beach scene of the Gulf of Mexico in Bonita Springs, Florida. Other zigzag lines seen in nature is lovely patterns on butterfly wings. Below is a Southern Oak Hairstreak butterfly with light-colored zigzag lines on its wings. (As a side note, the appearance of having it having…

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

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…

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

March 19, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #190 Close and Closer

“In photography the smallest thing can be the greatest subject.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson This week it is suggested we take a closer look at the subjects we photograph. Look for interesting details, patterns, colors or unseen objects to show. This can be accomplished using a macro lens, zoom lens, by moving ourselves in closer or simply cropping. Note, these images can be enlarged by double clicking them. The banner shot shows different types of coral found on Caribbean reefs. And, the image below highlights a small area of the reef, revealing the detailed beauty in the various corals. This was taken at The New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts. This…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Burano Italy, Butterflies, Photography, Travel

May 17, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #148 Spots and Dots

Dots are defined as a small round mark and Spots are a small roundish mark, differing in color or texture from the surface around it. One place where I often see round shapes is on the beach when waves leave behind lovely soft areas of air bubbles which slowly disappear. The morning sunlight is accenting these bubbles and the sand which gives the area a lovely glow. (Double clicking on the image shows off the colors.) Another example is some of the tiles in an American Mah Jongg set. It consist of 144 tiles which includes three suits (totalling 36 tiles each). The suits are called Dots, Bams, and Craks. Below is…

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

January 27, 2020

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…

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

February 1, 2019

UNEXPECTED: Lens-Artists Photo Challenge

This week Leya invites us to show images defining the word UNEXPECTED. Hum….extra thought was required as to how best define this word with photographs. Finally, a decision was made – show three pictures which reveal an UNEXPECTED outcome after editing. Below are copies of three original RAW pictures and immediately beneath each top image is its edited version. What was so UNEXPECTED to me was the different image revealed from each photograph! “Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.” – Matt Hardy “In many…

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

November 7, 2018

BLENDING IN / STANDING OUT: Lens-Artists Photo Challenge

This week Leya challenges us to share a few pictures relative to “Blending In and/or Standing Out” so I decided to approach this challenge by sharing a couple of wildlife images. Although the subject of the last image is different; decided to include it since it’s a good example of blending in with the environment. “Every organism willing to fight for survival, received a gift from mother Nature, Camouflage.” ∼ Abhi N Dead Leaf Butterflies (Kallima inachus) easily blend in to protect themselves against predators….. ….. or, they can stand out by flashing their brilliant colors to attract a mate. Alligators are passive hunters and…

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

August 18, 2018

PATTERNS: Lens-Artists Photo Challenge

When thinking about the photo word of the week, I realized patterns are visible in most everything we see. And to become aware and appreciate the multiple patterns which make up a scene or object, one needs to stop a moment and “really look” at their surroundings. “Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the patterns of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.” ∼ Tunichiro Tanizaki ——- Bailey Island Bridge, or Cribstone Bridge, was originally built in the 1920s and its unusual pattern design is deliberate so it can withstand the tides and winds of Maine. According to the website Atlas Oscura, “the…

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

August 10, 2018

BLUE: Lens-Artists Photo Challenge

When searching my photo archives I was surprised to see so many pictures where blue is the dominate color. Just wish I had a pair of blue suede shoes to show! “Blue is the only color which maintains its own character, in all its tones it will always stay blue; whereas yellow is blackened in its shades, and fades away when lightened; red when darkened becomes brown, and diluted with white is no longer red, but another color – pink.” ∼ Raoul Dufy —————- “I see skies of blue and clouds of white, bright blessed days and dark sacred nights, and I think to myself what a wonderful world.” ∼ Louis Armstrong Several…

written by Sylvia - Posted in Kiawah Island SC, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Travel

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