“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” – Eleanor Roosevelt The sun’ll come out tomorrow….Just thinkin’ about Tomorrow Clears away the cobwebs… These are a few of the words from the song Annie sang in the Broadway musical, Annie. Ana from Anvica’s Gallery is leading the Photo Challenge this week. She is encouraging us to continue to be hopeful and know a brighter future is ahead. She wants to remind us of Annie’s optimistic outlook on grey and lonely days when things were difficult. Be sure to see Ana’s uplifting post and beautiful pictures! Morning sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean. The top picture was taken by the…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #119 A HIDEAWAY
Being outside with nature has always provided special hideaways; a wonderful place to relax and surround myself with beauty and tranquility. “Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy while cares will drop off the autumn leaves.” John Muir, Our National Parks This week Ann-Christine wants us to think about our hideaways, where we like to retreat for relaxation and solitude. So many wonderful places such as early morning walk on the beach while watching Sandpipers feed, sitting by the river’s edge observing canoes idly drifting in the breeze, observing gorgeous sunsets or…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #114 NEGATIVE SPACE
“I frequently leave areas of raw, unprimed canvas unpainted…’Negative’ space has just as active a role as the ‘positive’ painted space. The negative spaces maintain shapes of their own and are not empty.” – Helen Frankenthaler This week Amy is inviting us to explore the use of Negative Space in our photography. By definition Negative Space is the area surrounding the main subject in a photograph which is left unoccupied. Creating this Space around the subject helps communicate the composition of the photograph and automatically draws the eyes to the subject. These pictures show how incorporating Negative Space can enhance the overall image. For example, in this first picture notice how…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #113 A LABOR OF LOVE
“A Labor of Love is exalted because it provides joy and self-expression to those who perform it.” – Dennis Kimbro This week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge topic is A Labor of Love. Rusha wants us to recognize those who go the distance and accomplish things which impact life for others in a meaningful way. Labors of Love can be found around us, all the time. It is often easy to identify and appreciate what others do for the better good of so many. The volunteers below are members of the Kiawah Island Loggerhead Turtle Patrol Program in SC. Their dedication and Labor of Love helps protect endangered Loggerhead Turtles by monitoring…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #110 Creativity During Covid
This week Tina asked us to share a few things we did over the past few months when the covit pandemic created a worldwide social recession. “Creativity is the gift that keeps on giving” – Eric Maisel Catching up on long overdue projects around the house, spending more time learning from webinars and working to improve my photography skills became more of a priority. My husband and I spent mornings on the beach. Exploring with my camera was both mentally and physically rewarding as he walked around enjoying the scenery. It was during this period a few photography friends spotted a reddish egret – white morph hanging out with some…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #108 SANCTUARY
“Within you there is a stillness and sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.” – Hermann Hesse This week Xenia from Tranature.com is challenging us to share our thoughts about our Sanctuary, where we find it and how we create our place of calm and healing. Be sure to check out her blog. My Sanctuary is a place I can visit either literally or figuratively. It is a brief retreat from a daily routine plus ever changing events I cannot control. The importance of a personal sanctuary is to create a balance between a hectic lifestyle and a time to relax and clear my mind. …
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #105 SPRING
This week Tina selected Spring as our photo word challenge. After thinking about this topic, I decided to approach the topic of Spring a little differently by focusing on an event that occurs each spring on Kiawah Island when Red Knots or Calidris canutus rufa begin to arrive. These birds leave their winter home on the coast of southern Chile and Argentina and journey to the mainland and islands above the Arctic Circle; a one-way trip of more than 9,300 miles or 14,966.9 kilometers! For years now Kiawah’s beach is a stop-over in their semi annual migration. Red Knots are amazing birds and one of my favorites. They are documented as being…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #104 SUMMER
“Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.” – Jerry Has This week Amy asked us to celebrate summer with our photos. To me summer time represents people having fun outside, warm air, sunshine, fun at the beach, eating ice cream, outside meals, kayaking, fishing and riding in a convertible with the top down! So, I decided to share a few favorite pictures of people enjoying summer on Kiawah Island. “Summer is singing with joy, and the beaches are inviting you with dancing waves.” – Debasish Mridha Summer time means after dinner bike rides on the beach with a cooler of beverages to enjoy as the…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #98 DELICATE COLORS
This week’s challenge from Ann-Christine gives us a chance to explore Delicate Colors; beautiful, soft shades of color blending into each other. Being surrounded by these lovely colors can be soothing and relaxing in spite of the hectic world we live in now. 🙃 Delicate Colors are all around us, waiting to be discovered when outside and one with nature. Ann-Christine shows beautiful examples of delicate colors she found in her garden and neighboring forest. “There are no lines in nature, only areas of colour, one against another.” – Edouard Manet Each of these pictures show a different color palette that only mother-nature can create…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #93 MORNING
This week Ann-Christine selected Morning for our weekly challenge. She is asking us to share a few things we do when starting off our day. Generally, I am an early morning person and find myself heading to the beach first thing, even before a morning cup of coffee! Am not sure what draws me there, probably the tranquility and sound of waves crashing on the shore, the salty smell in the air and nature’s beautiful colors gently painting the sky and ocean. Since no two mornings look the same, I am also curious as to what might have transpired overnight. Maybe there will be deer tracks in the sand next…