December 10, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #228 Diagonals

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…

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

March 27, 2022

Cellpic Sunday 27 March 2022 Golf Course

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….

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Cellpic Sunday Photo, Golf Courses, Kiawah Island SC, Photography

March 24, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #191 Curves

“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…

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

March 20, 2022

Cellpic Sunday 20 March 2022 Beach in March

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…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Atlantic Ocean, Cellpic Sunday Photo, Kiawah Island SC, Landscape, Photography

February 26, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #187 Water

“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…

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

February 17, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #186 Low Light

“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…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Boston Massachusetts, Kiawah Island SC, Photography, Sunsets

November 6, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #172: A Day in My Week

“Right in this moment, I can’t even remember what unhappy feels like.”  – Maggie Stiefvater A few days ago around sunrise, I decided to take a long walk on the beach, something I try to do at least twice a week.  When walking down the boardwalk my attention was immediately drawn to the beautiful sweetgrass brushes growing beside the sand dunes.  “Nature unfolds her treasure at the first ray of sunrise.” – Kishore Bansol The beach looked magical this particular morning.  It was low tide and the sun was casting bright rays of light off the ocean surface and wet sand.   For the first half an hour the ocean and…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Atlantic Ocean, Kiawah Island SC, LENS-ARTISTS, Nature, Sunrises

August 27, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #162 It’s All About the Light

“I am forever chasing light.  Light turns the ordinary into the magical.” – Trent Parke The challenge this week is to explore the magic of light.  Share images illustrating the extraordinary power light has to convey emotions in a photo. This first picture shows the sunlight on clouds which have been stirred up by ocean breezes.  The light has turned them into a golden color giving the picture an airy, light, optimistic feel.  “Photography is painting with light” – Miroslav Tichy The power of light… I can still recall an eerie feeling sweeping over me as everything turned pinkish and blue.  This soft natural light created several surreal, ethereal moments…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Fine Art Photography, Landscape, LENS-ARTISTS, Natural Light

April 24, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #144 Taking Flight

“No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.”  William Blake The phrase, Taking Flight, made me think of birds although it can easily describe other things flying like butterflies, bees and balloons.  Looking through my photo archives, I found pictures showing several species of birds Taking Flight that I’d like to share.  (Double clicking each image shows a larger version).    These two pictures are of the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) as he gracefully glides through the air, so quietly he can hardly be heard in spite of his size.  These owls are the largest common owl in the eastern United States with a wing…

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

April 10, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #145 My Choice – A Morning Shoot

With such beautiful weather on Kiawah Island now, I was compelled to grab my camera and head out to photograph a few interesting birds for this week’s challenge.  Too bad the birds were not aware of this.   The location I chose was around Cinder Creek.  A rustic clubhouse is beside the marsh along with a lovely gazebo out over the Creek.  Directly across the road is a large swamp area and a ghost forest.  This is where birds had been spotted several days earlier.  Although, unfortunately there was only one White Egret to be seen.   Since I was already there, to make the best of the situation, I decided…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Digital Art, Kiawah Island SC, Landscape, LENS-ARTISTS, Nature