August 20, 2020

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…

August 4, 2020

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. …

July 15, 2020

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…

July 9, 2020

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…

May 25, 2020

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…

April 23, 2020

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…

March 28, 2020

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #89 A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT

This week Amy suggested using the title from the book, “A River Runs Through it” by Norman Maclean as our photo challenge.  What is so important about a river?   It is a source of life for all of nature and also man plus it symbolizes the power of nature and fertility.  I live close to the Kiawah River which runs between Kiawah Island and Johns Island and the mainland area surrounding Charleston, SC.  The river is in a constant flux of change as well as the wildlife that depends on it for survival.  The images below offer a glimpse into some of the life by the river. This river is…

March 18, 2020

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #88 CHAOS

Ann-Christine chose Chaos as the word challenge this week. Choas in some form seems to be most everywhere. On Kiawah Island, there is a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins who learned to feed in a chaotic manner called strand feeding. This taught behavior is only seen in a few parts of the in the world.  You can see from the pictures below how chaotic strand feeding is!    The first part of the feeding routine looks more organized.  Working together, they locate a school of fish and begin herding them towards the shore as shown below. Once the fish are boxed in with no escape route, the dolphins attack by herding them…

March 5, 2020

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #86 SAME SUBJECT, DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

This week Patti wants us to feature pictures taken from different perspectives, or angles, of a subject instead of standing in front of it and taking the shot at eye level.  Perhaps spending a little extra time exploring the subject from different angles. Get down low and look up or move up high and check out the view looking down, or maybe move laterally to include or exclude other items near the subject, especially to see if the light changes in an interesting way.   The Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts, is located in Copley Square in Back Bay.  This first picture shows the Church at street level.  The second image…

February 27, 2020

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #85 PHOTO TREASURE HUNT

This week Tina decided to send us on a treasure hunt!  To make it interesting she selected specific items to include in our photographs.  Challenge Items: Sunrise and/or sunset, Something cold and/or hot, a bird, a dog, a funny sign, a bicycle, a seascape and/or mountain landscape, a rainbow, a church, a musical instrument, a boat, a plane, a waterfall.   Extra Credit Items:  An expressive portrait of one or more people, a very unusual place, knitting or sewing, a fish, an animal you don’t normally see, a bucket, a hammer, a street performer, a double rainbow.  Be sure to check out Tina’s blog, Travels and Trifles, to see how she…