For this challenge John is asking us to look at tools that shape visual space: perspective, depth, and scale.
Perspective
The view of Mount Rushmore from in front of the monument.
This closeup of Georgie Washington shot from below shows a different perspective of the monument.
Scale
Scale: The tiny humans underneath Delicate Arch illustrate the size of the archScale: The two people standing on the overlook in the bottom right of the image illustrate the massive size of the Grand Canyon
Depth
Depth: Arches at Ft. Pickens
Last week your responses to Sofia’s challenge showed many amazing wonders from around the world. Thank you to everyone who joined the challenge..
Many thanks to John for this week’s challenge. If you would like to join the challenge please be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to his post Lens-Artists #403: Perspective, Dept and Scale.
Be sure to check back on Saturday, June 27 at noon eastern time when I will be hosting the challenge.
What have you seen or experienced that has astonished you? The challenge is to include photos about things that astonish you and tell us why you are astonished.
I got the inspiration for this challenge from these words by Mary Oliver from her poem “Sometimes”:
“Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention
Be astonished
Tell about it”
According to the Merrriam-Webster Dictionary the definition of astonished is “feeling or showing great surprise or wonder”.
There are so many astonishing places and things to experience in our world if we just take the time to pay attention to what is around us. Sometimes we can be surprised by something in our own backyard or neighborhood. It may be something in nature or it could be something created by humans like a piece of art or interesting architecture. We may want to travel to see astonishing wonders of nature or things created by humans. The challenge is to show us what astonishes you. What makes you go “WOW”?
I can find wonders all around my neighborhood and my own back yard when I slow down and look around me. It’s the little things like these that bring me joy. I’m astonished that this weird looking caterpillar on the left will become a beautiful Gulf Fritillary like the one on the right.
I plant flowers in my garden to attract hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators. During the warm months I keep my hummingbird feeder filled with fresh nectar. No matter how many times I have witnessed it I am always astonished when I see one of the huumers hovering in mid air.
I am always astonished at the vastness and power of the ocean. These waves were crashing on the beach as a tropical storm was approaching Tybee Island, Georgia.
Sometimes my husband and I travel long distances to see astonishing sights. When I pay attention I often find astonishing things I wasn’t expecting to see.
I was in awe of the ancient giant Redwoods in Redwoods National Park in California. I spent most of my time looking up, taking in their enormous size.
And then I looked down at the forest floor and was astonished to discover the beautiful trillium flowers were blooming.
My husband and I have traveled to Arizona twice to visit the Grand Canyon. The canyon is awe-inspiring and makes me feel how truly small I am in the grand scheme of things.
We spent two months in Alaska in 2013 and every day brought new things that astonished me. Seeing and hearing a glacier calving was one of those events that has always stayed with me.
Not only was observing Whooping Cranes in the wild an astonishing experience, knowing that they migrate 2,500 miles from Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge every fall was even more astonishing. After wintering in Texas, they begin their migration back north to Canada about mid March each year. We made a special trip to Texas to see these magnificent birds who once were on the brink of extinction.
I am always astonished when I see ancient structures built by humans that have survived for thousands of years. I’ve never seen the Pyramids or the Great Wall of China but I have seen the Cliff Dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park. How did they build these structures and how did the people survive in the harsh environment?
Last week I enjoyed all of your wonderful shapes and designs in response to Tina’s challenge. Thank you to everyone who joined the challenge..
I hope you will join in for this week’s challenge. I can’t wait to see what astonishes you. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to this post.
Be sure to check back on Saturday, February 14 at noon eastern time when Ritva will be hosting the challenge.
For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.
We are happy to have Joanne of Joanne Mason Photography as our guest host this week. She writes: “This week’s challenge is to share some photographs of things/people/places that are inspiring and that you want to share. Tell us the circumstances of your photograph and why you want everyone to see it.”
When I first read Joanne’s challenge the first thing I thought of was the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The majesty of the Grand Canyon must be seen in person to appreciate. Photos can’t portray the feeling of awe when seeing this natural wonder.
According to the Grand Canyon National Park website: “Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.”
I was 8 years old the first time I saw the Grand Canyon. I saw it again in 1985 when we took our children on a trip from Georgia to see it when they were 10 and 14. Both trips were to the south rim of the canyon. I don’t remember my feelings when I was 8 but I remember the feeling of wonder I had when seeing it as an adult.
The third time I saw the Grand Canyon was in 2006 when we were on our first RV trip in our fifth wheel. We camped just outside the National Park on the North Rim of the canyon and drove to the park to walk along a trail along the rim. Again I had that feeling of wonder when looking at the vastness of the canyon. All of these canyon images were taken on the North Rim. The Colorado River can be seen at the bottom of the canyon in the featured image.
Leeanne included a beautiful gallery of orchids in her post. She didn’t include any ladyslippers because she didn’t have any photos of them in nature. She asked us to feel free to post photos of ladyslippers in nature if we had any. Leeanne, these ladyslippers from a trail in Itasca State Park in Minnesota are for you!
Thank you to everyone who responded to Tina’s City Mouse/Country Mouse challenge last week. Be sure to check back on Saturday, October 4 at noon Eastern Time when John will be our host.
I hope you will join in for this week’s challenge. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to Joanne’s post Lens-Artists #367 – Everyone should see this
For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.
Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride! I will be featuring the states alphabetically and next up is
Arizona
Arizona, nicknamed “The Grand Canyon State”, became the 48th state on February 14, 1912. Phoenix is the capital and the state’s largest city.
I first saw the Grand Canyon back in the 1960’s when I was in the third grade. I sat in the back seat of our Ford station wagon with my two brothers as our family went on a cross country trip seeing some of our National Parks and of course the Grand Canyon was one of the highlights of our trip.
Henry and I made our first trip together to the Grand Canyon in 1985 when we loaded up our mini van with our kids and tent camping gear and made the trek from Georgia to the Grand Canyon South Rim. Henry returned the next year and backpacked into the canyon with three friends. Having done the South Rim, we decided to make the North Rim of the Grand Canyon our first major destination in our inaugural cross country RV trip in 2006.
Before we got to the North Rim we traveled across Arizona and took in the Meteor Crator, Petrified Forest National Park, Painted Desert and the Vermilion Cliffs .
Meteor Crater in Arizona
Petrified Forest National Park
Painted Desert
Painted Desert
Vermillian Cliffs on way to Jacob Lake
Our home base for exploring the North Rim was in the Kaibab National Forest. We saw evidence of recent wildfires and beautiful meadows each day as we drove to and from the canyon.
Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial
Grand Canyon North Rim Cape Royal Overlook
Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial
Grand Canyon North Rim Cape Royal Overlook
Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial
Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial
Burned section of Kaibab National Forest on the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
Meadow on the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
Later travels through Arizona found us at Monument Valley, Lake Havasu , and the Four Corners.
The Mittens at Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Lake Havasu in Cattail Cove State Park, Arizona
Cactus in Cattail Cove State Park, Arizona
London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Four Corners – the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada meet here. It is the only place in the U.S. shared by four states
To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska
America’s National Parks are some of the most beautiful places on earth. Our wandering has taken us to many of them over the years. These are a few of our favorite national parks.
The Grand Canyon, Arizona
Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial
Denali National Park, Alaska
Polychrome Overlook, Denali National Park, Alaska
Yosemite National Park, California
Overhanging Rock with Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Lower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Everglades National Park, Florida
Everglades National Park, Florida
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
Cataloochee Valley Overlook Great Smoky Mountains
This is my contribution to the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge. For more interpretations of earth visit WordPress Photo Challenge: Earth
Wandering Dawgs 