October 11, 2025

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #368 Autumn Colors

“Fall has always been my favorite season.  The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” – Lauren Destefano Autumn comes early in Maine.  You can tell it has arrived when a sweater or light jacket is needed in the mornings, leaves begin to turn into lovely yellows, reds and oranges, colorful chrysanthemums are visible everywhere and small groups of Canadian Geese stop over in local ponds for a day or two as they head south. Maine as well as other states in New England have a well-deserved reputation as being one of the prettiest areas during the…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Photography

October 4, 2025

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #367 Everyone Should See This

The challenge this week is to share a few photographs that have inspired me or are meaningful in some way. Each picture either has a story to tell or captures a particular meaningful moment. All were taken near our home on Kiawah Island, SC, except the last one. This first picture is telling a story about an Anhinga and the juvenile alligator. When I walked nearby, the Anhinga was quietly resting on the fence post. Then, when the alligator decided to cross the golf path and head for the water on the other side, the excitement began! The Anhinga went crazy, he started making loud “cruk-cruk-cruk” sounds while moving around…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Nature, Photography

September 12, 2025

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #364 Quiet Moment

“Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.” —Hermann Hesse A Quiet Moment is precious time spent alone with one’s thoughts. Away from the hustle and bustle of everyday sounds. Alone time can provide the experience of inner peace and personal growth by listening to your inner voice, enhancing your creativity, improving mental clarity and gathering your strength. Quiet moments can be further enhanced by being with nature or going to a favorite place in your house for reflection.   This first series of pictures shows my favorite Quiet Moment locations close to our house in Maine. This first…

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

September 6, 2025

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #363 Virtual Scavenger Hunt

“Of all man’s works of art, a cathedral is greatest. A vast and majestic tree is greater than that.” – Henry Ward Beecher The photo challenge this week is a virtual scavenger hunt. Anne is challenging us to look through our photo archives to find the right one that meets her criteria. Who knows, I  may find a few pictures I had forgotten about. She suggested a list of items to look for. Here are a few: something with green eyes, or cool jewelry, something circular, rectangular, has a design or a pattern, something with bumpy texture, a soft texture, or something of glass, and her list goes on….   All…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Nature, Photography

August 16, 2025

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #360 Found at the Market

“Great cooking is about being inspired by the simple things around you – fresh markets, various spices. It doesn’t necessarily have to look fancy.” – G Garvin I decided to begin by showing a different type of marketplace in addition to the traditional outdoor farmers’ market seen almost everywhere. The series of photos below were taken at the Eataly in the Food Hall inside Copley Square Prudential Center in Boston, MA. These types of market have become popular in larger cities by offering high-quality Italian retail food in addition to small dining areas scattered throughout. They offer a large selection of authentic Italian products, a lively market atmosphere, and educational…

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

August 2, 2025

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #358 Live and Learn

“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.”  Zig Ziglar The photo challenge words this week are “Live and Learn”. Tina is hosting and suggests we show examples of things we have learned about a particular subject. Of course, Photography is one of my favorite subjects! I have always had a camera but was not able to devote much time learning about it or about taking pictures. Then one day many years ago I knew it was time to revisit my artistic roots. I love to learn new things and photography is no exception. I…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Photography

June 28, 2025

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #354 Reflections

Seeing reflections in a photograph can instantly make a picture more appealing. They can be used to create visually interesting and unique artistic designs by adding symmetry, depth, and a sense of surrealism. Reflections are created by any kind of light (sunlight or artificial light) bouncing off a reflective surface (like a mirror or water). If the surface is smooth a clear reflection is created. A rough surface scatters light rays and the reflection becomes blurry and usually creates an artistic looking designs. I have a few pictures showing reflections created by various reflective surfaces. For example, a large puddle of water, a mirror, sunglasses, ocean waves, beach sand, a…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in LENS-ARTISTS, Photography

June 21, 2025

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #353 Stormy

Take time to look towards the sky, notice the various cloud formations and lovely colors created by the sun’s light. The photo challenge topic this week is Stormy. Many things can be referred to as being stormy but generally I think about stormy weather such as snowstorms which often occur in Maine, rainstorms, severe storms which can be most anywhere and then there are also hurricanes and nor’easter which are formed over water and occasionally move over land leaving a lot of destruction in its wake. Having lived most of my life along the eastern coast of the United States, I have experienced a fair number of storms, especially Nor’easters…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Atlantic Ocean, Nature, Photography

May 23, 2025

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #349 The first thing I thought of…

“Daily laughter has been shown to elevate our moods, promote creativity and give us more energy.” – Robin Sharma It’s wonderful to smile or laugh out loud when seeing a particular picture, so this week Tina is inviting us to share a little humor by writing the first though that comes to mind underneath each picture.  She says “Sometimes our sense of humor kicks in before we press the shutter button, other times a perfectly serious image can be made humorous after the fact.”    Below are a few random pictures I thought would be fun to post. My eye sight must be worse than I thought! I wonder how that glass…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in LENS-ARTISTS, Photography

April 26, 2025

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #345 My Go-To-Places

“Connections we make to people, places, things, and ideas, are what give purpose and meaning to our lives.” – Emily Esfahani Smith One of my favorite places to be is at home on Kiawah Island, outside walking in the neighborhood or on the beach. This is something I enjoy doing several times a week. (Years ago I loved jogging on a regular basis with our dogs but after having to replace two worn-out knees, my doctor advised me to take up another gentler sport, like walking.) I love going on long walks, especially with Tucker, our two year old Cocker Spaniel. These walks are important to me and he enjoys…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in Landscape, Photography