February 16, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #286 Weather

“Sometimes I wish that I was the weather, you’d bring me up in conversations forever. And when it rained, I’d be the talk of the day.” – John Mayer “The weather” almost always seems to come up in general conversations! Discussions can center around what to wear outside to stay comfortable, whether to plan an outing on a given day, how today’s weather makes us feel, and this list could go on. For some photographers, weather is an important consideration before going outside with the camera! Suppose the light outside is too harsh or flat at midday or too stormy or its snowing too hard to venture out? These are…

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

February 6, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Chllenge #285 Warm Colours

“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.” – Don McCullin Warm colors tend to stand out and draw attention. Most people generally think of only red, orange and yellow although gold, beige, creamy neutrals, brown and tan are also warm colors. It is said the brain associates warm colors with a range of feelings, including passion, comfort, anger, and power. Below are a few examples featuring all eight colors. For fun, as you look through these photos, see if any of them influence the way you…

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written by Sylvia - Posted in LENS-ARTISTS, Photography

January 12, 2024

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #281 Highlights from 2023

“Photography is a love affair with life.” – Burk Uzzle This week Tina wants us to share a few favorite pictures from 2023. Selecting only a few turned out to be harder than I thought! Note: Clicking on a picture to open it in full screen. Also, to read more of an individual post, click on the underlined title. “Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.” – Orhan Pamuk It only seems right to start off by showing pictures of Tucker, our puppy who recently turned one year old. His energy and enthusiasm has dominated our household and our lives!  Tucker was featured in May…

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

November 17, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #275 Filling the Frame

“Filling the frame” refers to the technique of composing an image so the subject takes up most or all of the frame. The best way to accomplish this is to move in closer to the subject or use a zoom lens. By allowing the viewer’s focus to be only on the subject, often times details are revealed that are not readily noticeable otherwise. Plus, this helps to get rid of distracting elements in the background. Below are a few of my examples. (Click on each image to show more details.) Anne Sadler is the host this week so be sure to learn all about “Filling the Frame” by reading her…

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

October 21, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #271 Contrasts

“There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.” – Charles Dickens The challenge this week is to show a few ways of expressing contrasts in photography, such as tone, lights/shadows, colors, architectural structures, softness/texture, landscape. In the first image shows a stark contrast between silhouettes of the people along the shore line and the lovely golden tones from the setting sun. Even though these two pictures are the same ferns the contrast in their color is determined by the seasons. A beautiful green color most of the year although in autumn the cooler temperatures turn them into gorgeous reds, oranges and yellows. “Contrast…

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

September 30, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #268 Tell Us Why

This week Tina says “our challenge is to choose a few images which are our all-time favorites. No matter the subject or how long ago they were taken. Then we need to TELL US WHY you chose them.” (Note: I apologize in advance that many of you have seen these images before -clicking on a picture will enlarge it)  This cloud formation below appeared after an afternoon storm in Maine. This is a favorite because the sunlight creates various colors in the clouds and is also focused on what appears to be vertical looking columns of clouds. These flowers are from our garden in Wells, Maine. I am drawn to the…

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

September 23, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #267 Recharge

“Lose yourself in nature and find peace.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Egidio, Through Brazilian Eyes, is the guest host this week. The topic he chose is Recharge, he suggests we show examples of something we enjoy doing or seeing that help recharge our batteries and relax. For me, a walk outside is the perfect solution. I tend to walk fast when exercising, oftentimes taking our dogs so we can exercise together. Needless to say, at times when they are along it is not particularly relaxing right now since the puppy often sees interesting things to explore along the way. Although  going out with them does increase my energy level for…

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

September 9, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #265 Black and White or Monochrome

“There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.” – Stefan Kanfer What is the difference between black and white and monochrome pictures? They both start as a black and white image with various shades of grey. Although, monochrome images go one step further since a single toning filter is added to create an overall mood or feeling. I always photograph in color and usually in Raw which means some post-editing is necessary. One of the last steps is to convert the picture to black, white.  It is always fun to see how a picture looks in black and white verses color. Here are a few black and white examples below….

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

July 20, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #258 Fences

“Don’t ever take a fence down until you know why is was put up.” – Robert Frost When I started looking for examples of fences for this week’s photo challenge, they seemed to be everywhere, in all sizes, shapes and colors! Fences seem to have been around forever and their appearance and location is a stong indication of its purpose.  I will start with a couple of fun pictures which could be considered a ‘works of art’. The first fence is associated with a popular seafood resturant. And, the other is a wooden property fence along with a child’s beautifully painted lemonade stand. The Wedding Cake House, and it’s designer…

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

July 11, 2023

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #257 Simplicity

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. — Hans Hofman Our photo challenge this week is from guest host is Mr. Philo of the Philosophy Through Photography. In his post he wrote, “I considered selecting simplicity since the modern world is so stressful and chaotic that we are losing the fundamental clarity and simplicity that allow us to concentrate on what is really important.”  He suggested several ways of creating simplicity in photographs which I have tried to show in these images.  “Simplicity is nature’s first step and the last of art.” – Philip James Bailey Choosing a clear and compelling subject that stands…

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