February 5, 2022

Lens-Artists #184 Travel Has Taught Me…

“I am not the same,having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world” – Mary Anne Radmacher Over the years my husband and I have visited many countries around the world, meeting a lot of wonderful people along the way. These trips taught me alot about people who live all over the world.   I learned people everywhere are basically alike, we all share very similar values and desires.  Family life is very important as well as social friendships, religious beliefs also play a big role in many cultures.  Travel also taught me that complete strangers are generally very kind and helpful.  It does not matter whether we speak…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Photography, Travel

January 29, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #183 Memorable Events

“When memorable events are remembered, they bring a smile to our faces.” – Sylvia Bacon This week we are asked to share a few favorite memorable events.  Looking back through my pictures, I decided to start off by featuring pictures from a couple of trips when visiting close friends.  When looking at these pictures again, it was nice to relive the fun we all had plus the wonderful sights and things we did.  The banner picture shows the Cloud Gate sculpture, affectionally known as The Bean.  It is the centerpiece in Millennium Park in Chicago.   The picture below was taken at Niagara Falls, from the Canadian side of the border…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Landscape, Photography, Travel

January 22, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #182 Interesting Objects

It is amazing how many interesting sights are around us once we start looking for them.  This week Patti suggests we share a few things we have seen when walking through a city, the country, a museum, or a beach.  Something different that catches our eye.  This banner shot was taken a few years ago when visiting a botanical garden in Canada.  These artistic metal flowers among the other plants added a lot of color and interest.  And, below is a popular ice cream shop in Maine which is known for their long list of delicious ice creams plus humorous signs around the property.  The picture of the cow and…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in LENS-ARTISTS, Photography

January 6, 2022

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #180 Highlights from 2021

“There are no great people in this world, only great challenges which ordinary people rise to meet.” – William Frederick Halsey, Jr.     2021 was such a challenging year for so many; hopefully everyone one got through it ok and became a wiser and stronger person.  I would like to wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy Year in 2022.   Tina suggested we show our favorite pictures from 2021. When looking through my pictures I was surprised as to how many I found. The opening picture shows a pair of Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) which were featured in an April post, entitled Taking Flight.   The next two images are from a…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Highlights from 2021, LENS-ARTISTS, Photography

December 16, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #178 Holiday Lights

“We didn’t realize we were making memories; we just knew we were having fun.” – unknown I always enjoy the sights and sounds surrounding the Christmas holidays and especially the time spent with family and friends.  Christmas music everywhere, Christmas cards, buying gifts, wrapping presents, decorating the house, the smell of the tree and other evergreens throughout the house, all leading up to the big day.  Since Tina is giving us our choice of topics this week, I decided to share a few pictures of holiday decorations.  (Each of these images can be enlarged by double clicking it.) For years, during the Christmas holiday my husband and I would spend…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Christmas Holiday Lights, LENS-ARTISTS, Photography

December 4, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #176 One Image/One Story

“The greatest art in the world is the art of storytelling.” – Cecil B. DeMille The challenge this week is to show pictures which tell a story.  Ann-Christine asked, “What is a photo story? Some photos are staged, or taken just for their story, and some stories come up first when you see your photo on the screen. A lot of photographic storytelling involves capturing shots of interesting scenes and phenomena that cannot easily be explained through words…. There are so many stories to capture…and to tell.” It is normal to see fish constantly swimming in an aquarium and hopefully the banner image tells their story since most fish have…

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

November 20, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #174: Shapes and Designs

Images featuring shapes and designs, they are all around us, easy to see once you become aware of them.  They can be found in nature, your home, garden, architecture, fabrics, paintings, just about everywhere.  This week Patti invites us to share a few we have noticed.   A dead tree, dried out by the elements, has been shaped into an interesting design.   It’s base looks like a circle with small branches curving overhead and off to the side. Beautiful star shaped clematis flower growing along the fence in our yard. Once the flower petals die, this lovely circular seed pod appears and remains for quite some time. Other examples of shapes…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in LENS-ARTISTS, Ocean, Photography

November 13, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #173: Interesting Architecture

“As an architect you design for the present with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.” – Norman Foster Interesting, beautiful architecture can be seen most anywhere people live, especially in cities and towns.  It is visual art that is hard to ignore.  I always enjoy photographing interesting looking buildings.  I selected a few favorites pictures from within the United States – Maine, Boston and Chicago. This Gothic-inspired architectural house has won the distinction as the most photographed house in Maine.  It is known as the Wedding Cake House since George W. Bourne (a prominent 19th-century shipbuilder) built it for his new bride in 1825. …

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Architecture, Boston Massachusetts, Chicago, LENS-ARTISTS, Photography, Travel

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

October 23, 2021

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #170: Street Art – Boston

Street art, such as sculptures, murals, graffiti, poster art, is commonly displayed on buildings, walls, sidewalks – anywhere it can attract public attention.  This week Patti invites us to share images of street art whether it is scrawled messages all the way up to the most elaborate of commissioned work.  Even though Boston Massachusetts is full of beautiful and interesting murals and graffiti, I decided to feature four pieces of commissioned works of art and public statues.  The header shot of the Tortoise and Hare at Copley Square, was created as a tribute to all Boston marathon runners by Nancy Schon in May 1995. This first street exhibit more than…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Boston Massachusetts, LENS-ARTISTS, Sculptures, Street Art