Lens-Artists Challenge #296 – Abstracts
In Flight
“Fly with love in your heart.”
Anthony T. Hincks
This week Ritva has challenged us to include abstract images in our responses. Her post does a wonderful job of describing and illustrating the concept. Since she has explained and shown abstracts so beautifully, I will simply add that I find abstract art compelling when done well and occasionally enjoy playing with techniques to create it. For example, my image above captures an egret in flight using long exposure while in the image below I used Intentional Camera Movement to create an abstract lily pond.
“Remain transcendental, aloof, detached, a lotus flower in the pond.”
Osho
I enjoy working with images and this week am choosing to feature some of my results as nature collages. First up, a set of images featuring unaltered scenes captured this spring on Kiawah’s beach – natural abstracts if you will.
“Sitting on a beach or walking through nature makes me come alive always.”
Ian Somerhalder
I call the next set of images “blacks and browns”. The subjects are diverse except for the consistency of color. From left to right: Top- Angkor Wat stone columns, Kiawah tree bark, Art in Israel, Bottom-Kiawah tree bark II, Maine rock, Area Rug.
“Life is a painting and you are the artist.”
Paul J. Meyer
I chose to focus exclusively on Kiawah’s nature in the collage that follows. On both ends of the top level I created abstracts by shooting water reflections. The center image was a vertical pan of springtime’s marsh grasses. The bottom row includes our sweetgrass up-close, and beside it some weeds bordering a pond which I captured last week on our famous Ocean Course .
“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Last but not least, I edited some images using Photoshop’s special effects (fx). In some cases I don’t even remember what the original images were. My favorite of the set is on the bottom right which is an edited pile of oyster shells from a recent gathering here on Kiawah. Sometimes it’s fun just to play. These are certainly abstract but calling them art may be a bit of a stretch! 😊.
“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”
Michael Jordan
As suggested by the amazing Michael Jordan above, I had fun with Ritva’s challenge and hope you do too. Please remember to link your posts to her beautiful original here, and to use the Lens-Artists tag to help us find you. We offer thanks to Ritva for her challenge and to Donna for last week’s rock challenge. Who would have guessed the stunning variety we’d see on the subject?! Finally we hope you’ll join us next week when Egidio once again leads our challenge. Until then as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.
Looking for more information on joining our challenge? Click here.
Lens-Artists Challenge #295 – Rock Your World
“In the end it all comes to choices to turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.”
Amber Frey
This week Donna gives us an opportunity to feature rocks . If you’re anything like me you have way too many examples of earth’s beauty shown in its many mountains, rivers, cliffs and even pieces of art. I’ve tried to limit myself to subjects or scenes that are a bit unusual or especially breathtaking but I’ll admit it was difficult to keep my response to a reasonable limit. Who would’ve thought rocks of all things would prove so challenging?!
“The fall of dropping water wears away the stone.”
Lucretius
Honestly I would have no problem filling today’s entire post with glorious scenes like the one above from Glacier National Park . But that would be unfair to some of the other amazing rock formations I’ve seen throughout our beautiful world. The incredible red rocks of the US West, for example, offer many astounding vistas as shown below.
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
W.B. Yeats
There are places that can bring us moments of profound stillness and awe. Those I featured above were that for me. So too, some of the colorful individual examples of formations that drew first my eyes and then my lens.
“Colours are nature gone wild.”
Raheel Farooq
The examples above includes rock configurations from France, Israel and Argentina, but you might never guess that the top left image is from a national park in Ohio. It comes from a small world of wonder we visited with good friends who live nearby. The image below is another from that surprising adventure – proving there is wonder in our own back yard as well as across the globe.
“There is an ancient conversation going on between mosses and rocks, poetry to be sure.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Yes, rocks of many colors and varieties can be quite beautiful – perhaps that is part of the reason so many critters love to rest, feed and catch some of the sun’s rays on them.
“We have forgotten what rocks, plants, and animals still know…how to be still, to be ourselves, to be where life is: Here and Now.”
Eckhart Tolle
Of course, there are critters and then there are critters. Some live, others only facsimiles. I love both of course. Here are two examples of the latter.
“What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul.”
Joseph Addison
I realize I’ve gone way too far on this one but you should have seen the list of images I culled from my search of “rocks”! I’ll close with two images that are nothing other than simple rocks but to me they deliver a message. The first is the beauty of unadorned rocks kissed by a late-season snow, while the second is a symbol of meaning left by human hands.
“Natural rock formations looked like ancient temples, while ancient temples looked like natural rock.”
Storm Constantine
“I’ve just used cairns to get from here to there and there to here.”
Jim Whittaker (first American to summit Mt. Everest)
If you’re like me, you probably didn’t know those little piles of rocks you see everywhere these days are called cairns, and that in fact they have meaning and have existed in one form or another for millennia. For today’s post, they signify the end of the trail at last 😊. For those still with me, many thanks for hanging in until the end. Thanks also to Donna for a fun challenge – be sure to check out her terrific original here. Please remember to link your response to her post, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Thanks also to John for last-week’s Before and After Challenge. Sometimes it’s just fun to see how creative we can be and other times a simple tweak can make a big difference. Sincere thanks to those who participated. Finally, be sure to join us next week when Ritva leads us on her beautiful site. Until then as always please stay safe, be kind, and enjoy the journey.
Lens-Artists Challenge #294 – Before and After
“There’s no school of editing that says do it this way or do it that way. You find your own way there.”
Chris Boot
This week John asks us to “show our underwear” as it were – to share the unaltered originals of some of our images. As stated in my opening quote, good image editing is an important element in the transformation of a photograph from SOOC (straight-out-of camera) to something closer to art. The original image of a shrimp boat headed out to sea above isn’t terrible, it just looks a bit boring. First, it breaks an unwritten rule and places the subject smack in the middle of the frame. So I moved it to the right a bit, straightened the horizon, framed it, and added a bit of contrast to show the sunlight that originally shone on its left side. Then, I would normally have discarded it to be honest, as it’s a fairly boring image. Instead, for this week’s exercise I added a more interesting sky – one I captured myself earlier that same day. What do you think – interesting or a bit overdone? After all, beauty really IS in the eye of the beholder!
“A good eye can edit before the shutter opens.”
Craig Coverdale
My second choice of the week comes from our safari in Africa. For most of the time we were there, the landscape was very dry and dusty. The rainy season was to begin shortly after our visit so many of the animals were returning in anticipation. In Botswana, elephants were everywhere, in every shape and size imaginable. The adventure remains at the top of my list of favorite moments ever, and I cannot imagine anything that would surpass it. That said, let’s see how we might improve on one of my favorite captures.
“Editing is how you create meaning, so it’s probably the most important part of the process.”
Carolyn Drake
Because the landscape surrounding the two beautiful elephants was so barren, I turned to Photoshop’s Generative AI product to replace it. I very rarely use AI, and if I do I make a point of saying so – my version of “truth in advertising”. In this case I worked hard to keep the landscape true to what we actually saw in other parts of our adventure. I used the phrase “African landscape during spring” which is when and where we actually were. I discarded nearly a dozen options before finding this one, which to me felt quite natural. I then added a slight touch of contrast to the subjects, lowered the contrast in the background and added a frame. Here is the final result. To be honest I prefer the original which is true to the moment in my memory, but to an unbiased observer this version might be preferable.
“The editing, the sequencing? For me, that’s where a lot of the magic happens.”
Jonas Bendiksen
My next example uses the same technique, except that the subject is a lovely flower from nearby Magnolia plantation and the original background was so horrific I actually discarded the image. Having pulled it from oblivion I edited by once again replacing the background using Photoshop AI. This time, not only did AI replace the background (my text was “replace background with soft color”), it also added a stem for good measure 😊.
“Photography is a system of visual editing. At bottom, it is a matter of surrounding with a frame a portion of one’s cone of vision, while standing in the right place at the right time.”
John Szarkowski
In this case, to me the edited version is much nicer and in fact I might consider using it this way, but only after confessing the edit. I would also take out the 2 stems that were added which to me look a bit unrealistic.
“It’s possible to think of photography as an act of editing, a matter of where you put your rectangle pull it out or take it away.“
Michael Kenna
Finally, I’ve included a set of images from a recent storm here on Kiawah. In my post describing the storm I mentioned that the beach was strewn with hundreds of seashells and sea stars. In my original image I was not very happy with the coloring, which was gray and dark based on the timing and the weather. Here is the original unaltered:
“If most editorial stories were photographed just as they are, editors would end up throwing most in the waste basket.”
Alfred Eisenstaedt
For this image I tried a number of approaches to make it more appealing. I first removed the debris that surrounded it on the beach. I then modified the coloring to a warmer shade of beige more similar to the beach’s appearance on a sunny day. From there I added a frame but I was still not happy with the result. Finally I used AI to change the background for a bit more contrast and here is the result.
“Those who want to be serious photographers, you’re really going to have to edit your work. You’re going to have to understand what you’re doing. You’re going to have to not just shoot, shoot, shoot.”
Annie Leibovitz
I was still unhappy with the image despite my love of the subject and the way Mother Nature herself had arranged it. So I played a bit with some of the standard editing tools available in Photoshop and this is my result. My goal was to have the sea stars appear as if they were under the shallow waves that reach the beach just as they are dying. I’ll admit I never quite fell in love with the image so it may yet appear in some other form in future posts, but for now here’s the final edit.
“Photography is simple…You take to the streets, you come back home, edit your photographs and show them. It’s that simple.”
Abbas Attar
I had to laugh at Mr Attar’s quote above. I think photography and in particular editing, are not the least bit simple! Good photographers have imagination and skillsets that allow them to create compelling images. There are basic edits like cropping, contrast, spot removal etc that can be used to improve the end result. But it is the photographer’s intent and skillset while capturing an object or a scene that truly counts at the end of the day in my opinion. The opportunities with options like Artificial Intelligence (which continues to evolve and improve) challenge us to remember the importance of the basic “rules” and to admit when we’ve gone beyond what our eyes and our lenses actually see.
Sincere thanks to John for challenging us to share some of our “misses” and the ways we might address them. Be sure to visit and link to his terrific original here, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Thanks also to Sofia for her beautiful Water in Motion challenge last week, and to all of those who responded with such amazing images. Finally, we hope you’ll join us next week when Donna once again leads us on her wonderful Wind Kisses site. Until then as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.
Looking for more information on joining our challenge? Click here.
Lens-Artists Challenge #293 – Water in Motion
“Artists are controlled by the life that beats in them, like the ocean beats on the shore.”
Dorothea Lange
This week Sofia asks us to share images of water in motion and for me the biggest challenge was paring down my choices, As one who lives at the beach, water surrounds me, and it is rarely still 😊. I’ve challenged myself to include only two of my favorite images of the moving seas of Kiawah,. My opening image was captured during a lovely sunset which occurred just before the arrival of a major storm. (You can see it in the clouds between the sky and the sea.) In the image below, I was transfixed by the photographer standing on his small island as the sea churned around him.
“The most important thing I have learned is to observe the beautiful effects of atmosphere and light.”
Leonard Misonne
The waves of the ocean are always on the move. So too are the creatures that frolic and swim in them – for example those I’ve featured below. I’ve posted about our unique dolphin stranding in the past and most all of the friends and family who have visited us through the years have experienced it. It’s amazing to watch.
“There’s no question dolphins are smarter than humans as they play more.”
Albert Einstein
Leaving Kiawah for some other moving waters, I’ve included some very different creatures in the next image. They too feed on the fish (in this case salmon) that inhabit their unique environment.
“The grizzly bear is six to eight hundred pounds of smugness. If it were a person, it would laugh loudly in quiet restaurants, boastfully wear the wrong clothes for special occasions, and probably play hockey.”
Craig Childs
In a far less threatening environment, I’ve included the lovely moving waters that appear in some of the fountains I’ve seen in my travels. On the left top, the entrance to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, on the right our welcoming pineapple fountain here in downtown Charleston, and on the bottom a fun water element in Scottsdale, AZ.
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love.”
Sophia Loren
We can portray ocean waters as moving gently by using slow ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) as I did for the image that follows.
“Inside movement there is one moment at which the elements in motion are in balance. Photography must seize upon this moment…”
Henri Cartier-Bresson
We can also portray more aggressive water as in the images below. On the left, an example of a calving iceberg, on the right ocean waves violently crashing into Oregon’s rocky coast.
“You can’t reproduce nature with a photograph or a painting. You can only honour it.”
Andy Greaves
Mother Nature calls the shots of course, whether we like it or not. I’ve included two examples below that can often interrupt our best laid plans.
“I wait for the right season, the right weather, and the right time of day or night, to get the picture which I know to be there.”
Bill Brandt
I’ll close with two captures of moving water that make me smile. The first is a little painted bunting taking a quick splash in my neighbors’ birdbath, the second a joyful moment at a wedding I photographed not long ago. I hope they will bring you a smile as well.
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
Maya Angelou
“Two bubbles found they had rainbows on their curves. They flickered out saying: “It was worth being a bubble, just to have held that rainbow thirty seconds.”
Carl Sandburg
I enjoyed putting my post together for this week’s challenge and offer my thanks to Sofia for leading us. Please remember to link your responses to her beautiful original here, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Thanks also to all who responded to and/or commented on my People Here,There and Everywhere challenge last week. It seems most all of us share a shyness about approaching strangers but somehow have overcome it, or have gotten creative in other ways. It was great to see the results of that creativity. Last but never least, we hope you’ll join us next week when John leads us once again on his Journeys with Johnbo site. In the meanwhile, as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.
Looking for more information on joining our challenge? Click here.
Lens-Artists #292 – People Here, There & Everywhere
“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.”
Desmond Tutu
Like many of us, I’ve been fascinated by the people I’ve encountered throughout my many travels although I’m a bit shy about photographing strangers. So this week, our challenge is to share images of the people we’ve captured along the way. Travel notwithstanding, as photographers we are often called upon for family photos. As such, I’ve opened with a favorite image of my niece and her two adorable daughters captured during their visit with us last summer. The rest of today’s images are personal favorites from our many adventures.
As I travel, I am especially drawn to those I would never encounter in daily life. Clearly that’s true for the following set of images. I was particularly obsessed with the many monks in Cambodia, and worked hard to capture them as they carried on in their everyday activities.
“The only way to build a meaningful life is to filter out the noise and look within. This is the first step to build your monk mind.”
Jay Shetty
Sometimes it can be interesting to photograph people from the back, which I chose to do in the two images that follow. I was pleased when the second image was selected by A Hong Kong-based tour company for inclusion in their China travel brochure.
“Sometimes life has a way of putting us on our backs to force us to look up.”
Charles L. Allen
There are times when photographing people in color works beautifully, but others when monochrome is a better choice. For the two image sets that follow, I’ve included both options to illustrate the point. For me the color in the original images is a distraction from the essence of the subjects. What do you think?
“Full-color images lack the poignancy of monochrome.”
Peter Bunnell
Interestingly, I chose the images before finding the quotation above. According to the NY Times, Peter Bunnell was “a curator at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and a professor at Princeton University who pushed museums and art historians to take photography seriously.” Poignancy was a key element of the images I chose for the illustration. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the collage that follows features some of the happiest people I’ve encountered in my travels – each of whom comes through in vibrant color.
“Art.. brings back smiles and memories..showing the beauty of the world.”
Lakshman Iyer
Sometimes color is actually the element that captures our attention. In the image below, I did not position the child, I simply noticed him perfectly set within a marvelous color combination. He was still as a statue until his mom joined him. Serious serendipity!
“Working in color is an additional ingredient in the juggling act of making an interesting photograph.“
Jeff Mermelstein
Finally, I’ll close with two examples of subjects happily posing to show pride in their work and joy in the task at hand.
“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word—excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.”
Pearl S. Buck
I enjoyed my stroll down memory lane as I chose the images for today’s post, and hope you’ll feel the same. Remember to link your responses to my post and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. We offer our sincere thanks to all of our followers for continuing to join us, and to Patti for last week’s beautiful Cityscape challenge. What an amazing world tour we took through your responses! Finally, as always we invite you to join us next Saturday at noon EDT when Sofia leads us once again on her beautiful Photographias site. Until then please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.
Looking for more information on joining our challenge? Click here.
Lens-Artists Challenge #291 – Cityscapes
“We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us.”
Winston Churchill
Interestingly, this week Patti has challenged us to share some cityscapes. Coincidentally my husband and I spent last week in New York City, with perhaps as many cityscapes as anywhere in the world! Sadly, the weather was especially uncooperative so my images are cloudy and/or wet, but it became my opportunity to capture the city in a different way. I’ve opened above with the view from my window, centered around the very tall and uber-expensive residential building known as 111 Murray Street.
“You are trying to capture the fog, and no one can do that.”
Patrick D. Smith
Under murky skies, we ventured out for long walks before the clouds opened and torrential rain followed. Along the Hudson we could see at least parts of the buildings on the New Jersey side, a tiny bird on one of the pilings, and off in the distance on the left, the Statue of Liberty. New York has done a terrific job of lining the river with walking/running paths, children’s playgrounds, tennis courts, pleasure and ferry boat docks and other places of interest. We were among many others taking advantage of the sights each morning.
“The World Trade Center site will forever hold a special place in our city, in our hearts.”
Michael Bloomberg
Our walks included a visit to the World Trade Center site, now a beautifully-designed memorial to those lost as well as a thriving area for business, tourists and of course shoppers. Each time I visit I’m hoping to grow more fond of the Oculus (center, above). It sits like a large bird in the center of the surrounding skyscrapers, wings spread for flight. Sadly, like many others, I am not a fan. While the interior is magnificent, I find the exterior jarring and out of place. On the other hand, the image below shows the magnificent interior of the newest building in the area, the amazing Perelman Center for Performing Arts.
“Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.”
Frank Gehry
I’m including a final set of cityscapes from the city that never sleeps. On the left, the always busy Broadway, aka the Great White Way. The teeming rain that arrived within moments of capturing the image did nothing to dampen our spirits as we headed back following a fun theatre performance featuring Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame. On the right, I’ve captured a nighttime image of the iconic Woolworth building, once considered a skyscraper, now a bit “far from the maddening crowd”.
“I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps…New York, New York”
John Kander and Fred Ebb
Last but never least, a brilliant sunset welcomed us back home to South Carolina.
“I regarded home as a place I left behind in order to come back to it afterward.”
Ernest Hemingway
Sincere thanks to Patti for the opportunity to share an atypical visit filled with soggy cityscapes in the Big Apple. We look forward to seeing your responses and expect a week of terrific world views! Please be sure to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you, and to link your response to Patti’s beautiful original here. Thanks also to Ann-Christine for her fun circular challenge, and especially for covering for me during our travels. Your response were beautifully creative and I enjoyed catching up with everyone as I traveled. Apologies to anyone I may have missed along the way. Finally we hope you’ll join us next week as I lead the challenge here on Travels and Trifles. In the meanwhile, as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.
Lens-Artists Challenge #290 – Circular Wonders
“Will it go round in circles…”
Billy Preston
This week Ann-Christine invites us to share the wonder of circles – which, it seems, are everywhere! I decided to take a walk to look for some new, local circles and my opening collage highlights some of my results. Except for the bocci balls all of the items in the collage were captured for today’s challenge. The circle in the bottom center is a plaque that is mounted on the mailbox of any resident who meets the ecological challenges set by the Kiawah Conservancy. You’d be surprised at how many of us meet their challenge! The image that follows captures some of the beauty of Chihuly glass – how nice of him to offer us a circular design just for this week’s challenge 😊 (or not!).
“It is possible to walk, like Alice, through a looking glass and find another kind of world with the camera.”
Another amazing circular wonder was directly outside our window as we explored Seattle with some very good friends. The ferris wheel was huge and the little lamppost adds a nice circular feature to the image. Interestingly the perspective of the image makes the lamppost appear much larger than it was, and the ferris wheel smaller.
“Don’t try to re-invent the wheel. Be inspired.”
Mark Power
I’m including the next image, although I’ve used it on the blog several times before, for two reasons. First it’s one of my all-time favorite images, and second because it’s perfect fit for this week’s challenge. Sorry, I couldn’t resist!
“Working in color is an additional ingredient in the juggling act of making an interesting photograph.”
Jeff Mermelstein
The next two images were captured during our travels as well. While the circles did draw my attention, I was also drawn to the textures and tones in both examples.
“Photographs testify to the relentless effacements of time.”
John Rosenthal
Last but not least, some interesting circles from China.
“Life is fun. You’ve got the pictures to prove it.”
Anonymous
Many thanks to Ann-Christine, especially for covering for me as my husband and I do a bit of traveling this week. Be sure to link to her beautiful post here, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Thanks also to John for last week’s focus on some Important tools of photo composition. As always, you rose to the challenge and then some! We hope you’ll join us again next week when Patti leads our challenge. Until then please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.
Lens-Artists Challenge #289 – Photo Composition Tools
“Seeing shapes and colours without the burden of thinking about what they are will liberate your creative mind.”
Philippa Stanton
This week John challenges us to focus on some key elements of photo composition. I’ve compiled my response using images from our visit to Scotland, which presented me with a wealth of options. In my opening image I was drawn to the round shapes but also loved the angles and vertical shapes that surrounded them. I also liked the contrast of the smooth pipes next to the texture of the brick walls. Further illustrating texture, the image below captures that of an ancient stone bridge surrounded by beautiful flowers in full bloom.
“Let your imagination bloom in a riot of color.”
Vera Nazarian
One of my favorite images from Scotland follows, capturing a silhouette of multiple spires in the evening sky over Edinburgh. The spires’ shapes combine with the twilight to form a lovely, calming impression of the very busy city below.
“A photographers work is given shape and style by his personal vision.”
Pete Turner
Another of the elements John mentions is form – which is a bit different from shape. According to Elements of Art in Photography “how we light an object can determine whether it’s perceived as a shape (if the lighting is flat or silhouetted) or a form ( if the lighting has accentuated shadows & highlights to create depth)”. Following that line of thought, I’ve chosen the image that follows as an example of the latter, as well as an example of texture.
“The rules of composition are important, but the idea is to learn them and then break them.”
David Alan Harvey
A more definitive example of textures is demonstrated in the image below. As we were boarding a ship heading to the beautiful Isle of Skye, I captured this pile of equipment which had been tossed on the pavement for later use by the crew.
“Each picture requires a special composition and every artist treats each picture originally.”
Peter Henry Emerson
I couldn’t resist a capture of the textures and shapes of the image below, although it was the chimney smoke that drew me to photograph the scene.
“…it is usually some incidental detail that heightens the effect of a picture.”
Bill Brandt
I’ll close with a final image that illustrates both shape and texture. It captures my husband as he strolls through a beautifully arched building that features multiple shapes and some wonderfully textured walls.
“The value of composition cannot be overestimated: upon it depends the harmony…”
Gertrude Käsebier
Sincere thanks to John for challenging us with some key concepts. Please remember to link your response to John’s original challenge here, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Thanks also to Ritva for last week’s creative window shopping challenge. It was great fun following along with all of the approaches you took, especially when (like me) you’re not much of a shopper to start with! Finally, please join us next Saturday at noon EDT when Ann-Christine leads our challenge. Until then, as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.
Looking for more information on joining our challenge? Click here.
Lens-Artists Challenge #288 – Window Shopping
“Bread baking is one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony.”
John Steinbeck
This week Ritva joins us with her first challenge as a member of the Lens-Artists Team, and what a challenge she’s given us! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am not now, nor have I ever been, much of a shopper. The only window I tend to use for shopping is the one on my computer screen. 😊 But as we’ve traveled we’ve come across some windows that called for a capture, such as the one above. I loved the bike and milk cans that spoke to me of more gentle times gone by – and of course the sights and aroma of a wonderful bakery! And no, I didn’t give in to this one although I’d have liked to.
Also from our travels, I’ve chosen to include another example of resisting temptation, – a window display that really tempted my sweet tooth.
“Chocolate is happiness you can eat.”
Ursula Kohaupt
During our visit to Central Europe, I captured this image of shoppers browsing in an indoor shopping mall.
“No matter how hard you try, you cannot plan every detail of a shopping trip, and you never know exactly how it will end up.”
Amanda Ford
While my three opening images were captured during our European travels, the image below is from much closer to home. We are fortunate that our families are only a short plane ride away, and of equal importance that they live in interesting places. Clearly this scene comes from New York City and is meant to attract tourists with a treasure trove of miscellaneous ‘Big Apple” logo paraphernalia. Happily I can say I was not tempted.
“Why do things cost what they do in New York? How am I expected to survive here?”
Mary H K Choi
Windows that feature food obviously call my name as we travel. In Provence there is no such thing as a bad meal (at least as far as I can tell!). The image that follows features some of the delicacies that make it so wonderful.
“For some, shopping is an art; for others, it’s a sport…Some love it. Some hate it. Rarely is someone indifferent.”
Pamela Klaffke
Farther afield, in Israel these adorable children’s boots drew me in with their colorful patterns. They also looked totally impervious to moisture, especially of that of a “stomp in a puddle” variety. 😊
“It’s fun to put on the boots and makeup and act like a tough girl”
Alicia Silverstone
Last but never least, from our visit to China, a young couple strolls along a colorful side street, seemingly having found something that piqued their interest.
“There’s different shopping in Paris than there is at a bazaar in Istanbul, but they’re all wonderful.”
Iris Apfel
That about does it for my interpretation of this week’s challenge. Apparently I’m more interested in OTHER people window shopping than in doing it myself (unless, apparently, there is food involved!). Sincere thanks to Ritva for her uber-interesting challenge. I’m looking forward to seeing this week’s creativity. Please be sure to link your responses to her challenge here, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Thanks also to Donna for last week’s inventive Sound challenge. She made us all think a bit harder than usual so kudos to her and to you for such an interesting week! Finally, we hope you’ll join us next Saturday at noon EST when John will once again lead our challenge on his Journeys with Johnbo site. Until then as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.
Looking for more information on joining our challenge? Click here.
Note: today’s header is an image of a shop window for ladies’ clothing which was meant to honor the Queen’s love of corgis. I captured it to share with a friend who also adores them.
Lens-Artists Challenge #287 – Sound
“The hills are alive with the sound of music.”
Rodgers and Hammerstein
This week Donna challenges us to illustrate Sound – which I will admit threw me for a bit of a loop as I thought…how does one illustrate sound? But of course once I spent a few minutes with my archives it turned out there were many images from which to choose. My header this week features the roar of Victoria Falls captured from a helicopter during our visit to Zimbabwe. The opening image above includes a few musical sounds, all focused on fiddles. The woman on the left was entertaining only herself in an open field overlooking the Pacific in California. On the top right – I captured the leader of a musical parade in Boulbon, France, and the little frog at the bottom welcomes visitors at nearby Magnolia Plantation. The sound of music can soothe the soul, warm the heart, and cause even a metal frog to smile. What could be better? Well, perhaps the sound of a blackbird, singing simply for the love of the song.
“It’s possible that birds may sing just for the joy of it.”
Kyo Maclear
The sound of music is something we experience from our earliest days – whether sung by a loving parent, playing in an overhead mobile, or perhaps hummed by an adoring grandparent. As babies become children, their fascination with sound and music continues. I captured this little fellow in a shop in China, happily playing away on the little drums in an instrument display.
“Ah, music…A magic beyond all we do here!”
J.K. Rowling
Perhaps a bit less obvious, the sounds made by a worker hammering metal into shapes that may become jewelry, or a door latch, or just about anything one might imagine – including the image that follows this one.
“The greatest tool at our command is the very thing that is photography. Light.”
Laura Gilpin
We spotted the lovely wind chimes below in a shop we came across during our travels in the Far East. We’ve learned to bring home images of our favorite finds rather than purchases with very few exceptions. Otherwise, as they say, we’d be stuffing our 10 pounds of purchases into a 5 pound bag. In this case however, I wish I’d given in to the temptation. I hadn’t noticed the dragonfly etchings until I saw the image. They are quite common here on Kiawah and symbolize good luck and/or personal growth.
“The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.”
Matsuo Basho
Like many photographers, I find beauty in things that show their age, especially those created by craftspersons. The image that follows is one such object. Also from the Far East, the simplicity of the weathered door and its knocker drew my eye. I like to think it’s been in place for decades, perhaps even centuries. In any case, it surely has a distinctive sound.
“Knowledge unlocks the door to the mysteries of our mistakes; wisdom guides us away from repeating them”.
Evinda Lepins
Our thanks to Donna for such an interesting challenge, which after my initial reaction led to a fun exercise in searching for ways to illustrate sound through images. Be sure to visit and link to her wonderfully creative post here, and remember to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Thanks also to Anne for last week’s fun weather challenge. Your responses offered terrific variety and beautiful illustrations of the topic. Finally, we hope you’ll join us next Saturday at noon EST when Ritva takes the lead. Until then, as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.
Note: If you’ve ever encountered a great blue heron, you’ve probably heard the huge squawking sound it makes when disturbed. For those who followed her, I include my image above as a closing nod to Babsje. May she rest in peace.
Travels and Trifles 