Tag: Lens-Artists

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #382 – Rejected

Posted in Nature, PhotographyTagged , , 38 Comments

For this challenge Egidio is asking us find some photos that we have rejected because for whatever reason we have not previously published them. Maybe the lighting is wrong, they are out of focus, they are too busy or they just don’t look right.

Egidio gave us some great examples and ideas on how to improve a photo that didn’t turn out the way we hoped. I chose a few photos to work with and had fun using some of his suggestions to edit them to create a better image.

A year ago we took a boat tour through the swamp in a Louisiana Bayou. The conditions were terrible for photographs. It was winter and pouring down rain. I used my cell phone because I didn’t want to have my camera get soaked. As our guide was telling us stories about witches and ghosts in the swamp we passed by an old cemetery. In the photos below the first photo is the original unedited version I took as we went by the cemetery. It is out of focus and doesn’t have the creepy feeling I wanted. I started the editing process by cropping the photo. I then added an old paper filter and added texture to get the effect I wanted.

In the next pair the unedited version in the first photo was taken a few years ago on a jaunting tour through Killarney National Park in Ireland. I wanted the person in the blue shirt to stand out more so I cropped out the horse’s head and added some texture to the finished photo.

I took the original photo of the Devil’s Tower in Wyoming as we were driving towards the park entrance. I thought the original was kind of boring so I converted it to sepia tones and added texture to give the feeling of an old photograph.

My final edit is of a herd of bison in Custer State Park, South Dakota. The unedited original on the top is ok, but not great. For my edited version I started out by cropping for a closer image. Next I adjusted the color a little and added a texture to give the effect of a painting.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Ritva’s Minimalism in Black and White last week. I really enjoyed seeing all of your great responses.

Many thanks to Egidio for his challenge Lens-Artists #382: Rejected. I hope you will join us for the challenge. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and link back to Egidio’s post.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, January 24 at noon eastern time when Egidio will be hosting our next challenge.

You can learn more about how to join the Lens-Artists challenges here.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #381 – Minimalism in Black and White photography

Posted in Flowers, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , 42 Comments

Ritva has challenged us to combine minimalism and black and white photography. She tells us “This week, I encourage you to embrace this artistic fusion and challenge yourself to capture images that marry minimalism and black and white.” To help us get started she says to “Aim for simplicity by eliminating unnecessary elements. Harsh light reveals structure while soft light creates mood, and contrasting blacks and whites deliver a striking visual impact.”

This is my first try at using minimalism in my photos. I had fun creating these images and hope that I succeeded in meeting the challenge.

Sometimes colorful flowers look better when converted to black and white. Removing distractions by replacing the background with pure black allows the viewer to focus on the details of the flowers.

The next two images were found on the sand at the beach. I removed the sandy background with solid colors to create the minimalist images.

Single shell
Starfish

The final image uses negative space to focus on the surfer in the water.

Waiting for the perfect wave.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Anne’s challenge last week. I enjoyed all the places you took us as you showed us your walks around the corner.

Many thanks to Ritva for her challenge Lens-Artists #381: Minimalism in Black and White. I hope you will join us for her challenge. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and link back to Ritva’s post.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, January 24 at noon eastern time when Egidio will be hosting our next challenge.

You can learn more about how to join the Lens-Artists challenges here.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #380 – What’s around the Corner

Posted in PhotographyTagged , , , , , 34 Comments

It’s Anne’s turn to lead us in the challenge. She explains the challenge like this: “I encourage you to take the block less traveled—with your camera. Look around, and using your imagination, what do you see? Please keep this to the same walk and the same block—that’s the challenge.”

I’m so grateful for Anne’s challenge this week. My husband and I needed to get out of the house after both being sick with the flu. Anne inspired me to grab my camera and go for a walk looking for things to photograph. I didn’t really walk around a block or turn a corner but I did have fun.

The beach is my happy place so on Sunday we drove to the Tybee Island Pier and Pavillion to see the ocean and breathe the fresh salt air. The pier is a great place to view the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. It can get crowded in the summer but on a chilly January day there were only a few others on the pier and on the beach.

One of the things I like about walking on the pier is the great view of the beach. In the following gallery, from left to right, is the view looking south, the view looking north, looking down at footprints in the sand, and looking at our shadows in the sand.

There are always pigeons hoping for a handout.

You never know what you’ll find that someone left behind. Henry spotting this fishing fly laying on the boards. He picked it up and put it up where no one could step on it.

On our way home after our walk we drove to the Sugar Shack for an ice cream cone. Technically it wasn’t part of our walk but we did turn a corner in our car to get there. Sorry, I was too busy enjoying my Blue Bell salted caramel brownie cone to take a picture.

Thank you to everyone who participated in last weeks favorite images from 2025. I enjoyed seeing all your favorites from the year.

We hope you will join us in responding to Anne’s fun challenge. If you do be sure to use the Lens-Artists tag in your post and include a link to Anne’s Lens-Artists #380 What’s around the Corner.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, January 17 at noon eastern time when Ritva will be hosting our next challenge.

You can learn more about how to join the Lens-Artists challenges here.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #379 – Favorite Images of 2025

Posted in Birds, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , 63 Comments

Happy New Year!

Once again the Lens-Artists team is starting the new year by asking our followers to share their favorite images of 2025. Your images can be from a previous post or ones you’ve never shared before but they must have been taken in 2025. There is no single host for this challenge. The entire team is sharing the challenge.

In 2025 we went on a Mississippi River cruise, took a few short road trips, and had fun in New Mexico at my nephew’s wedding. When we weren’t wandering we enjoyed being at home in Coastal Georgia. Here are a few of my favorite images from the year.

January

The year began with a rare coastal Georgia snow storm. The featured image of a cardinal in the snow is one my favorites from the year. Later in the month we made a short trip to Jekyll Island.

Sidney Lanier Bridge, Brunswick, Georgia
Sidney Lanier Bridge, Brunswick, Georgia

February

We flew to New Orleans to begin a Mississippi River cruise.

Twin bridges over the Mississippi River lit up for Mardi Gras

March, April and May at home

Spring Azaleas

Morning Marsh

May Magnolia blossoms

June

We celebrated my birthday with a boat trip to Daufuskie Island, South Carolina.

Bloody Point, Daufuskie Island, South Carolina

July

We celebrated our 55th anniversary in Darien, Georgia.

Shrimp boats in Darien, Georgia

August and September in the Garden

Gulf Fritillary

Green Anole

October

We had a fun trip to New Mexico for my nephew’s wedding and enjoyed seeing the beautiful Sandia Mountains.

Sandia Mountains, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Sandia Mountains, Albuquerque, New Mexico

November

The November morning skies were amazing.

November Morning

December

The holiday decorations always add to the fun of the season.

Festive Holiday lights

I hope you will join us in the challenge by sharing your favorite photos of 2025. I’m looking forward to seeing your responses. Be sure to use the Lens-Artists tag in your post and include a link to this post or any member of the Lens-Artists team.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, January 10 at noon eastern time when Anne will be hosting our next challenge.

You can learn more about how to join the Lens-Artists challenges here.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #378 – Last Chance 2025

Posted in Birds, Butterflies, Flowers, PhotographyTagged , , 56 Comments

All of the members of the Lens-Artists team have joined together to host this final.challenge of the year. The challenge is to feature any of our favorite images that never made it into of the Lens-Artists challenge. The images can be of any subject but they must have been created in 2025. Here are a few of my favorites from this year.

One of my favorite images of the year never fit into any of the Lens-Artists challenges. In early May I discovered a female Diamond Back Terrapin laying her eggs in my garden. I kept a close watch on the nest but sadly none of the eggs ever hatched.

Diamond Back Terrapin
Diamond Back Terrapin laying her eggs

Butterflies, flowers and bees

Birds

I rushed out to the beach when I heard there was a marker buoy weighing around 13,900 pounds that had washed up on the beach at Tybee Island, Georgia. When I got there I found a mermaid, too!

Thanks for sharing lots of Holiday Fun last week for Ann-Christine’s challenge. I enjoyed all of the festive holiday images.

We hope you will join us in posting images from this year that never made it to a Lens-Artists challenge. Please remember to use the Lens-Artists tag and to include a link to this post or any of the Lens-Artists team member’s post.

Many thanks to everyone who participated in our Lens-Artists challenge this year. The Lens-Artists team will be taking a break until the end of the year so we can enjoy celebrating the holidays. We will return on January 3 with our annual end of the year Favorite Photos of 2025 challenge.

Wishing you a joyous holiday season and a very happy new year!

Every Day is a Gift