“Silence is a natural resource we don’t often think about because it is an absence, rather than a presence. But most of the places we think of as “quiet” are actually filled with an abundance of natural sounds…. As humanity grows louder, these pockets of silence and natural sounds are becoming rarer.” – Pete McBride, filmmaker and author of Seeing Silence: The Beauty of the World’s Most Quiet Places McBride says silence is the absence of human-made sounds and the “sublime notes of nature”. Our Lens-Artist host, Egidio, of Through Brazilian Eyes, proposes we select a few pictures to emphasize the presence of silence through photography. In his post, Egidio…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #316 Destination: Fun
“Love the life you live. Live the life you love.” – Bob Marley This week Egidio, of (Through Brazilian Eyes) suggests we show pictures of a few things we like to do for fun. I like being with friends, traveling with my husband or quiet times walking with my dog or reading a book. In adittion, having a camera close by is a great way to enjoy my surroundings since I find myself looking for interesting subjects to photograph. I decided to feature a few pictures of fun places and events my husband and I have enjoyed over the years. First, the banner picture, was taken at a resort…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #314 Shorelines
“My life is like a stroll upon the beach, as near the ocean’s edge as I can go.” – Henry David Thoreau Where do I find peace and relaxation? At the shoreline watching shorebirds search for food and listening to the rhythmic sound of gentle waves washing up on the sand. I also enjoy being around others on the beach walking along the ocean and seeing children playing in the sand. Occasionally, a few people are lucky enough to see a Loggerhead turtle return to the ocean after laying her eggs in the sand. This first selection of shorelines was taken during our many travels to the Islands of Aruba…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #310 Zigzag Pictures
Our photo challenge is to feature pictures showing zigzag lines. Did not think I had many pictures but was surprised. As it turned out, most of these images are zigzag lines seen in nature, first is ocean waves, then butterfly wings, water reflections, Atlantic coastline and a slab of marble. The first picture was taken at sunset on Kiawah Island, SC. Next is a beach scene of the Gulf of Mexico in Bonita Springs, Florida. Other zigzag lines seen in nature is lovely patterns on butterfly wings. Below is a Southern Oak Hairstreak butterfly with light-colored zigzag lines on its wings. (As a side note, the appearance of having it having…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #305 Two Rectangles
Egidio, who is leading our photo challenge this week, suggests we show pictures emphasizing two rectangles. He says, “By two rectangles, I mean you have two dominant rectangular areas in your image. For many people, this is one of those compositional tools we use without thinking about it. These rectangles give balance, harmony, and unity to a composition.” The image of these carps shows two pairs of rectangular areas created by contrasting light and shadows. Ever noticed the numerous rectangular areas on a baseball field? Large billboards, advertisements around the seating area, division of seating sections in the stands and even grassy rectangular patterns on the field. Overall, these pleasing…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #303 Connections
“The connections we make to people, places, things, and ideas, are what give purpose and meaning to our lives.” – Donna The connections we chose in our lives are very powerful. My connection with family, other people, my community, places I love and ideas I hold dear is the sum total of who I am. And it is my connection and relationship with nature that gives me a sense of calm and inner peacefulness. Whether watching a butterfly dart from flower to flower or listening to the constant rhythm of waves beating on the sand as birds fly about. I am continually reminded of the joy and wonder that can…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #302 Artificial Intelligence and Photography
The header shot is a “pure” Artificial Intelligence photo! It began with a blank page in Adobe PhotoShop. The page was selected by the Lasso Tool and AI Contextual Task Bar Tool was instructed to create an “ocean background sea oats foreground”. And this is what was created! For this week John has suggested we explore Artificial Intelligence techniques found in various software programs such as Adobe PhotoShop and others. Some software programs have had AI editing around for several years and is regularly used to remove digital noise, distractive objects and enhancing details. I use it in this context along with Dodge and Burning Tools when posting images on…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #300 Delicate
Our host this week, Ann-Christine, suggests we think about the word Delicate and what it means to us. I generally tend to think about certain creatures seen in nature that appear fragile and delicate. Some actually are delicate while others look that way even though they are strong, For example, the sun shining on the wings of this egret shows off the delicate structure of its strong wings. Even though Dragonflies have translucent and fragile looking wings, they are much stronger than they appear. This caterpillar stranded on these few twigs below is quite fragile and delicate and probably not able to take care of itself. These fragile Loggerhead Turtles…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #298 To Be Young Again
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Tina, who is hosting this week, suggests we feature children in our pictures. I rarely photograph people so this topic required a bit of searching through photo archives. My first thought was to look for pictures taken during the summer months that included water. From personal experience children love to play in water on a hot, steamy summer days! The perfect activities at the beach include building sandcastles, skimming the surf on a board, swimming in shallow waves or just enjoying the cool breeze blowing off the ocean. This taken near our house on Kiawah Island…
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #295 Rocks
“The most beautiful stones have been tossed by the wind, washed by the water and polished to brilliance by life’s strongest storms.” – unknown I have always enjoyed photographing interesting looking rocks. They have Rocks such a variety of unique colors, patterns and shapes based on where they were formed. Looking through my photo archives here are a few favorites taken over the years. I will begin with the Natural Bridge in Aruba, one of the largest of its kind several years ago. It measured approximately 25 feet high (7.6 meters) and 100 feet long (30 meters. This rocky land formation was originally part of an ancient cave and made…