November 12, 2020

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #122 When the Sun Comes Out Tomorrow

“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…

October 22, 2020

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…

October 10, 2020

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #117 PHOTO WALK

This week Amy invites us to take a walk with our camera.  Taking the time to look around at sights which are normally taken for granted.  It was shortly after sunrise on a cool, foggy Maine morning when I grabbed the camera for a photo walk.   “In nature, everything has a job.  The job of the fog is to beautify further the existing beauties!” – Mehmet Murat Jldan  There are several ponds close to our neighborhood so instinctively I headed there.  What a lovely sight.  The sun was trying to break through the fog, bright light reflected off marsh grasses and a few ducks out for a morning swim.  Ordinally,…

September 30, 2020

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #116 SYMMETRY

Symmetry in nature and architecture is all around us in one of its many forms – horizontal, vertical or radial. “Symmetry is what we see at a glance.” – Blaise Pascal This week Patti wants us to explore a few types of symmetry.  Simply put, symmetry can be described this way; if the subject is divided in half, both sides will look similar or the same.  See Patti’s post to learn more and enjoy her beautiful examples, click here.   The first image (the header) is an example of radial symmetry.  The raindrops are making beautiful concentric circles as they hit the deck floor. Think of how many times have we…

September 23, 2020

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #115 INSPIRATION

This week Tina is inviting us to show images that Inspire us.  I had a hard time narrowing down this topic because the truth is, whenever outside there are many Inspirational things all around to see and photograph!  My husband and I are in southern Maine now so I decided to feature some Inspirational pictures taken in Boothbay Harbor. On a couple of occasions we visited this area with our friends to play golf, spend the night and enjoy the town.  It is quite picturesque as you can see; a popular yachting and tourist destination, known for lobster fishing, boat building and numerous celebrations throughout the year.  Plus, Boothbay Golf…

September 15, 2020

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…

August 29, 2020

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #111 EVERYDAY OBJECTS

Everyday Objects or Things is the word challenge for the week.  Things we normally see and take for granted, hardly giving them a second glance. “There’s a world out there.  Open a window, and it’s there.” – Robin Williams This week, Patti, http://pilotfishblog.com, is challenging us to spend an extra second or so to really look at something and view it from a new perspective.  We recently arrived at our home in Maine so I decided to walk around the house with ‘new eyes’, looking for a topic.  When in the kitchen/dining room area, out of habit my eyes automatically went to the windows.  So easy to take windows, curtains…

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 13, 2020

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: #109 The Sun – A Road Trip North

“Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” – Helen Keller This week Amy challenges us to feature pictures of the Sun.  Saturday, when she announced our word challenge, my husband and I were traveling north up the east coast from South Carolina to Maine.  Not knowing what images to share, I decided on photographing the sun various times during the last leg of our three day journey to Maine.  These images were taken on Sunday during a seven hour period with the iPhone 11 Pro Max, from inside the car at 70+ miles an hour.  (If you’d like, double click each image to view…

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. …