“If you are in a place where you can enjoy sunrise and sunset,then you are living like a lord.” – Nathan Phillips The header image was taken in southern Maine as a storm was approaching. And, in the image below, the sun is setting over Kiawah Island, SC. Hope you enjoy seeing these pictures!
“Lose yourself in nature and find peace.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson This week Tina, of Travels and Trifles, suggests we “take Ann-Christine’s challenge (from last week) one step further, and address the ways we’ve learned to Find Peace in today’s ever-more busy world.” Experts are in universal agreement on the importance of Finding Inner Peace, a few suggestions are: Spend Time in Nature. When you spend time in nature, like taking short walks or appreciating nature, you may find serenity. Don’t Let Your Past Mistakes Define You. Take Responsibility for Your Actions. Be Grateful. Meditate or practice mental silence. Practice Acceptance and Contentment. The picture below is of the…
“I like the muted sounds, the shroud of grey, and the silence that comes with fog.” – Om Malik This banner shot shows how fog and natural light can bring softness and beauty to everything it touches. “Our soul is like a soft and gentle flower, it needs to be nurtured, cared for, tended to, with sufficient sunlight, fresh air and freedom to bloom into its most precious and beautiful form. – Miya Yamanouchi The photo challenge this week is led by Bren, she suggests we bring or show softness in a few of our photos. One way this can be accomplished in camera is by photographing in the fog or…
“An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.” – Martin Buber Animals have their own unique way of communicating such as this Bottle Nose Dolphin sending the message of affection to her calf. This was taken in the Kiawah River, Kiawah Island, SC. This is our American Cocker spaniels a few years ago when Bentley sent a warning messsage to Chester telling to leave his sock alone! A Mute swan sending me a message that I was getting too close. A Canada goose sounding the alarm to others of approaching danger. Below is the Portland Head Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Like all lighthouses along the coast,…
Diagonal lines play an important part in creating a more interesting photograph. Consciously or unconsciously, they tend to move a viewer’s eyes through a picture. This week’s challenge is to consciously look around for to see how often diagonal lines are visible, either in nature or man-made. When composing the shot below, I took advantage of the digonal line created by sand dunes in the forground. Does this line plus the tall sea oaks lead your eye to the focus of the picture, the sun and clouds? This golf course picture shows two types of diagonal lines. First, is the shadow at the base of the putting green (right side, middle…
Kiawah Island Golf Course Many people enjoy playing golf when visiting Kiawah Island in SC. Except for hot humid summers, the weather is otherwise delightful. There is rarely any snow and the courses here are open year-round. After a round of golf, my husband and I were having lunch on the back deck of Cougar Point club house looking down the 18th hole. This is a beautiful course, as are all the courses on Kiawah, with an abundance of water hazards and sand dunes to distract even the best golfers! About the photo: taken with the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Basic editing in Camera Raw/Photoshop – adjusted exposure, contrast, highlights….
“In life, as in art, the beautiful moves in curves.” – Edward Bulwer-Lytton Curves seem to be everywhere, especially in nature! When outside have you ever looked around to see how many curvy objects you can see? A few days ago I spent some time with my camera on the eastern end of the beach on Kiawah Island. Most everything in sight was curvy. The header image shows curved dune grasses bent by the blowing breeze. Sand dunes also tend to be curvy; their shape is constantly changed by the wind. The full picture is shown at the end of this post. The picture below shows the length and curvature…
Each time I walk down to the ocean, I always wonder what I will see. Will the tide be high and almost up to the boardwalk or low and much further out? It was almost halfway out on this day. Will deer be running on the dunes or beach, or groups of shorebirds and migratory birds feeding, Bottlenose dolphins swimming parallel to the shore a few yards out and during the summer will Loggerhead turtles leave their tracks in the sand from the ocean and up into the sand dunes to lay their eggs and then back? People walking or jogging, sometimes with their dog, others enjoying yoga, bikers riding…
“Dance with the waves, move with the sea, let the rhythm of the water set you soul free.” – Christy Ann Martine This week Anne suggests we think about Water. She says, “Water enhances our photos, adding impact. Photographing it is also fun and sometimes a challenge.” I agree, photographing water makes the picture more interesting, especially if wildlife is around. The first several pictures show some of the wildlife we have on Kiawah Island. These pelicans are resting after having spent their morning diving for food. In a few more hours they will be out again, fishing, before darkness arrives. Kiawah is the home of a pod of dolphins…
“Pictures taken in low light seem to convey a certain mood or feeling, perhaps more so than those taken in bright sunlight.” – Sylvia Bacon This week Sofia is challenging us to feature some of our low light images. Sunrise and sunset on Kiawah Island’s beach seldom fails to disappoint. At times the sky and its reflection on the ocean becomes so overwhelming when washed with brilliant colors. The header shot and the one below are two examples. “Get outside. Watch the sunrise. Watch the sunset. How does that make you feel? Does it make you feel big or tiny? Because there’s something good about feeling both.” – Amy…