Lens Artists Photo Challenge #269 – On the Edge

Our host Patti has asked us to show images of people, places or things on “the edge”. The header image is of the West Quaddy Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine. The lighthouse is located on the easternmost point in the United States so it is on the edge of America.

Next are two more lighthouses. Each is located high above the water on the edge of a cliff.

Bass Harbor Head Light, Bass Harbor, Maine
Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior, Minnesota

Although I’m afraid of heights, my husband Henry isn’t. He loves to get close to the edge of a cliff while I stand back, far away from the edge.

Henry on the Edge

I’ll end with a few images of animals on ledges.

Iguana on the edge of a wall, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Alligators near the edge of the walking and bike path, Everglades National Park, Florida
Pair of doves on the edge of a railing, Georgia
Bluebird on the edge of our truck mirror

Many thanks to our host Patti for the challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #269 – On the Edge

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #268 – Tell Me Why

Our host Tina has asked us to choose up to 10 of our favorite photos and to explain why they are favorites. If we choose one for sentimental value they should still be strong from a technical perspective.

All of my photos have sentimental value. They bring back fond memories of a good experience. All have been featured on my blog before. The hardest part of this challenge was limiting it to 10 favorites!

My header image is my favorite sunset photo. I pass by this tree to get to my house and I’ve watched many beautiful sunsets there. This is my favorite sunset image because of the dramatic orange sky, the bird on one tree, and the sun framed between two trees just before sinking below the horizon.

This next image of a pair of Orcas in Alaska is one of my all time favorite wildlife photos. We saw plenty of wildlife on our RV trip to Alaska ten years ago but when we reached Valdez, our last coastal town before starting for home, we still had not seen any Orcas. We took a wildlife and glacier cruise on a fairly small vessel and witnessed many whales, seals, puffins and other wildlife before a pod of Orcas surfaced near the boat. I was able to stand by the railing of the boat with my telephoto lens and take a few shots. This is one of my favorites because I captured a moment I will never forget.

Pair of Orcas, near Valdez, Alaska

Another favorite wildlife photo is this one of a Green Sea Turtle on Oahu’s North Shore in Hawaii. We were surprised when we spotted the turtle as we were taking a walk along the beach after doing some snorkeling.

Green sea turtle on the beach at Turtle Cove, Oahu

I love taking bird pictures and I have many photos of Great Egrets. This is one of my favorites because he is showing off his breeding plumage and it shows the green color around his eyes.

Great Egret in breeding plumage, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Florida

This is my favorite hummingbird image. I was looking down on the garden when I captured this hummingbird drinking from a Mexican Sunflowers. I like the way the background is blurred and that the wings are in motion.

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

The next image just makes me happy. We were walking along Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island on a beautiful July day when I spotted the beach chairs set up underneath the colorful umbrellas in the middle of the driftwood.

Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia

One of the most memorable experiences of my life was taking a flight seeing trip to see Mt. Denali in Denali National Park from the air. This is one of my favorites from that exciting flight.

Mount Denali in Denali National Park, Alaska

The next image is one of my favorite landscape images. On my morning walk in a campground in Colorado I spotted this fisherman beside the lake with storm clouds over the mountains.

Storm over Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado

I chose my final two favorites for the reflections and fog. Both of these were featured in past challenges and based on the number of comments I received they were favorites of readers of my blog.

Crescent Lake, Washington
Foggy morning on West Point Lake, Georgia

Many thanks to our guest host Tina for the challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #268 – Tell Me Why

A Few Favorite Bridges

For this month’s Sunday Stills Challenge Terri asks us to explore bridges.

I live in an area with many creeks, rivers and large areas of salt marsh. Whenever I leave my neighborhood to go anywhere I have to cross several bridges. My header image is of the Talmadge Bridge in nearby Savannah, Georgia.

We’ve seen many bridges in our travels – highway bridges across wide rivers, walking bridges, covered bridges, and swinging bridges. The following images are of a few of my favorite bridges from around the United States.

Swinging bridge over the Santa Fe River in O’Leno State Park
Suspension Bridge over Tallulah Gorge, Georgia
Shadow of the Alaska Railroad train on the bridge over Hurricane Gulch, Alaska
Imes Covered Bridge, Madison County, Iowa
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, New Mexico
Two bridges crossing the mighty Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Mississippi
Bridge over Kentucky River at the Wild Turkey Distillery

Next up are a few favorite bridges from our travels in Ireland and Scotland.

Bridge at Eileen Donan Castle, Scottish Highlands
Ha’Penny Bridge across the River Liffey, Dublin, Ireland
Rope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede on the Causeway Coastal Route, Northern Ireland

Shared with Terri’s Sunday Stills Bridges

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #267 – Recharge

Our guest host Egidio of Through Brazilian Eyes asks us what activities we enjoy that allow us to recharge our batteries.

A change of scenery and being in nature always helps me to recharge my batteries.

We recently returned from a short getaway to middle Georgia where I enjoyed morning walks in the woods and watching white tail deer in an open field. The cool nighttime temperature was a welcome change from our sweltering summer.

Morning clouds
A morning walk in the woods
We call it the land of fallen trees because of all the downed trees in the woods.

Many thanks to our guest host Egidio for the challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #267 – Recharge

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #266 – Time

Our challenge from Donna is Time. The older I get the faster time seems to fly by. It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the new year 1997 in Key West, Florida.

Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see.

Jimmy Buffett
Take time to watch a sunrise.
Take time to watch a sunset
Stop and smell the roses

“Oh, yesterdays are over my shoulder, So I can’t look back for too long.
There’s just too much to see waiting in front of me, and I know that I just can’t go wrong.”

Jimmy Buffett
Don’t put off that trip you’ve always dreamed of
Go see a favorite artist in concert if you ever have the opportunity

It’s those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, nothing remains quite the same. With all of our running and all of our cunning, if we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.

Jimmy Buffett

Many thanks to our host Donna for the challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #266 – Time