May 9, 2026

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – 396 Favorite Quotes with Images

“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” — Rudyard Kipling. Ann-Christine, our host this week, writes, “There is much to learn from old wisdom – and wit…that speaks to us”. Her challenge is for us to make others feel these quotes through our pictures!  I agree that Illustrated quotes with pictures help to make the saying more memorable. Below are a few of my favorites. “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” – Walter Hagen   “Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine for…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Photography

August 2, 2025

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #358 Live and Learn

“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.”  Zig Ziglar The photo challenge words this week are “Live and Learn”. Tina is hosting and suggests we show examples of things we have learned about a particular subject. Of course, Photography is one of my favorite subjects! I have always had a camera but was not able to devote much time learning about it or about taking pictures. Then one day many years ago I knew it was time to revisit my artistic roots. I love to learn new things and photography is no exception. I…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Photography

March 29, 2025

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…

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

March 16, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #290 Circular Wonders

“The whole universe is based on rhythms. Everything happens in circles, in spirals.” – John Hartford When thinking about the photo challenge topic this week, everywhere I looked I saw Circles! I have been to the beach a lot lately, our dogs love it there plus it is a beautiful place to take long walks early in the morning. The other day after a recent storm a lot of sea foam had washed up on the sand. The foam was particularly interesting this morning because the early sun was reflecting off hundreds of tiny circular bubbles giving the appearance of lovely arrangements of colorful jewels all along the beach. The…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Flowers, Kiawah Island SC, LENS-ARTISTS, 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…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Flowers, 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….

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

June 16, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #253 Fragments

This week Brian has selected a challenging topic, at least for me anyway. He suggests we show examples of our interpretation of the word Fragments. After giving this a little thought, I decided to present a few pictures from one point of view showing the subject along with its fragments. For example, separated clouds floating away from the larger one close by, a stuffed animal’s tail torn off a dog’s toy and apple slices cut out of the apple. For the opening shot, as these clouds were passing overhead yesterday I noticed many wispy fragments had broken away and were floating by on their own. And the picture below shows…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in American Cocker Spaniels, Clouds, LENS-ARTISTS, Photography

March 18, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #240 The Photographic Road (Most Often) Taken

“Flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.” – Jim Carrey I would like to show my favorite “road” in photography. John is leading the challenge this week and he suggests we consider a favorite photographic style like low key/high key, monochrome, etc. Maybe a genre of photography like a preference for architecture, still life, portraiture, etc. I enjoy photographing many different genres but my favorite must be flowers based on the number of pictures in my archives! Here are a few favorites. “Flowers are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty out values…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Flowers, LENS-ARTISTS, 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…

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

December 2, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #227 Home Sweet Home

“Your home should tell the story of who you are, and be a collection of what you love.” – Nate Berkus This week Tina suggests we think about where Home Sweet Home is to us. We may consider the country we live in to be our home, a neighborhood or our residence. My husband and I live on Kiawah Island and our home sweet home is a special place for us and our family. The house is surrounded by tall trees, blooming plants and an abundance of wildlife. There always seems to be pretty colors in our yard from a tree or two that is blooming at the time. Now…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in LENS-ARTISTS, Photography