May 12, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #248 Mood

“One of the most powerful, yet difficult, elements to master in photography is capturing emotion and feeling.” – Karyn Teno    The mood conveyed in a photograph helps enable the viewer to establish a connection with the picture when personal emotions or memories are triggered. A few ways moods can be portrayed is through the place, patterns, seasons of the year, colors, actions, lighting and shadows and weather. Although when photographing people, it is said that the most influential mood is facial expressions and body language. Black and white photos also give an image a sense of timeless mystery. What type of mood does this opening image convey – happiness,…

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

May 3, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #247 Backlit

”Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” – George Eastman As a photographer, how do you create a backlit picture?  It is done in camera because backlighting is a controlled technique in which the light is positioned behind or at a right angle to the subject.  As Ann-Christine says, “Backlighting is dramatic. It often creates silhouettes, yellow halos around the subject, and/or a brilliantly bright background.”  It also produces effects such as depth behind the subject or dramatic contrast. Notice the backlighting and direction of light on the lily with the…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Backlighting, Fine Art Photography, Photography

March 25, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #241 Spring

Spring time at the Rookery!  Each spring there is a flurry of activity at Magnolia Plantation’s Rookery. The area is alive as Great Blue Herons, white Great Egrets and other large coastal birds begin the breeding season. After selecting an site for their nest, the nest building begins. The adults work as a team throughout the season, building their nest together and providing food. The male gathers sticks and other nesting materials and gives it to the female to arrange it their nest. These photos were taken at The Rookery at the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, SC.  Sofia wants us to show pictures of what…

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

March 11, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #239 Finding Peace

“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…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Atlantic Ocean, Finding Peace, Landscape, Photography

February 25, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #237 Bringing Softness

“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…

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

December 24, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #230 Last Chance

Tina leads our photo challenge this week with a unique topic. She suggests we feature favorite pictures taken in 2022 that have not been shown before and do not fit into any particular category. In keeping with the Christmas season, these carolers from Charleston sang holiday favorites during a friend’s Christmas party.   In August we spent a week in Newport, Rhode Island, touring the town and then several days on Goat Island for a friend’s wedding celebration. Part of the week was rainy but once the storms cleared out, the sunsets on the Island were specular. In July we traveled to Quebec, Canada, and played golf at Owl’s Head Golf…

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

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

November 26, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #226 Textures

“It’s an obvious opportunity for black and white when a scene contains little color but lots of texture.” – John Beardsworth Texture is an important part of our interaction with art and photography. It is said to be an important factor along with line, color, shape, form, value and space. In a photograph it can add visual interest, highlight unique patterns, or even evoke emotions.  Texture in Nature:  The opening header shot was taken in Maine right after a hurricane passed through. I feel like this picture is full of different textures; the sharp rocks with soft moss growing on the tops, fast moving water with air-filled foam on the surface and the…

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

November 12, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #224 Exposure

This week the challenge is learning more about Exposure and showing a few examples. When using your camera, the amount of exposure is determined by how much light passes through the lens. Exposure levels can also be determined in post editing using software such as Photoshop or Lightroom or the editing software in an iPhone. The picture below was edited using Photoshop and bumping the exposure slide up to give the image an ethereal look. The second one looks more like the image in the camera. Is there one look you prefer over the other? This is another example of how an original image can be converted into a high…

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

October 8, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #219 Treasure Hunt

Tina is hosting a treasure hunt this week so she made a list of subjects for us to feature with our pictures.  The first is about umbrellas and extra credit if people are using them in  the rain. Another is the picture of a truck and extra credit if it includes the driver and/or what the truck is hauling. Happily, I earned plenty of extra credit again😉 because the driver is loading his truck with shipping contains full of lobsters, headed for  market.  And, there is also the fire engine with the driver and his passengers as the header! Pets are also on her list; this is our two cocker…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Photography