Lens Artists Photo Challenge #335 – Exploring Color vs Black and White

For this challenge Patti has asked us to show pairs of the same image in color and black and white. She also asks us to compare the differences in mood, texture and light and which version we prefer.

I have featured this bright yellow house in St. Kitts before so I decided to see what it would look like in black and white. The color version looks like a happy place while the black and white version feels like a scene from an old movie set in the tropics. I like the color version better.

The next image is of an old gold mine along the San Juan Skyway in Colorado. The color image shows the details of the aged wood contrasted with the green trees. The black and white image brings out the texture of the wood and trees. I prefer the black and white image because it reminds me of an old photograph.

The following image was taken on a sunny day at Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island, Georgia. In the color version the blue of the sky and ocean give me a feeling of a beautiful day at the beach. In the black and white version the dark sky and shadows give me the feeling of a storm coming. I prefer the color version of this pair.

Many thanks to Patti for this challenge Lens-Artists #334 – Exploring Color vs Black and White

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #334 – Cats and Dogs

Tina brings us the fun challenge of cats and dogs. I’ve always been a dog person. When I was growing up we had dogs but never had a cat.

Family Dogs

Shortly after Henry and I married we became Labrador Retriever owners. Through the years we have had two different black Labs, a chocolate Lab named Blue, and Blondie. Blondie was our best friend and traveling companion for many years. She traveled thousands of miles with us in the back seat of our truck as we towed our RV around the U.S. and Canada. She chased tennis balls and swam in great lakes, oceans, creeks, ponds, and rivers.

We lost her in 2017. I still miss her today.

Working Sled Dogs in Alaska

During our Alaska travels we enjoyed meeting some of the working sled dogs in Denali National Park and visited the Iditerod Headquarters to meet some of those beautiful dogs.

Working Sheep Dogs

When we traveled to Ireland we enjoyed a demonstration of sheep dogs herding sheep.

The University of Georgia mascot Uga (pronounced “ug-a”)

The University of Georgia Mascot is a pure white English Bulldog named Uga. There have been eleven Ugas through the years. UGA IV attended the Heisman Trophy banquet in 1982 with Herschel Walker who won the Heisman Trophy that year. UGA V was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the number one college mascot in 1997 and had a part in the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”

Below, in the image on the left Uga VII is walking on the sidelines in front of his air conditioned dog house during a home game in Athens, Georgia. On the right is Uga X at an event in Savannah. The latest mascot is Uga XI who’s real name is “Boom”.

A Cat who was a Mayor

In 2013 we met a famous cat named Stubbs who was the Mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska. He passed away in 2017 after serving as Mayor for 20 years.

Stubbs, the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska in July, 2013

Many thanks to Tina for this fun challenge Lens-Artists #333 – Cats and Dogs

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #333 – Complementary Colors

Egidio has asked us to showcase complementary colors from the color wheel. Complementary colors such as blue and yellow, red and green, and purple and yellow are opposite each other on the color wheel.

My header image from Ireland features a red car on a curvy road with green foliage all around.

The rest of the images show complementary colors found in nature.

Blue and Yellow Angel Fish

Next is a gallery of Purple and Yellow Flowers.

The final gallery features red and green in the garden.

Many thanks to Egidio for the challenge Lens-Artists #333 – Complementary Colors

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #332 – Shoot from Above

Ritva has challenged us to feature images that were shot from above. In our travels I have had many opportunities to capture scenes from above the subject. The header image shows an Alaskan glacier from an airplane.

The first gallery features images around lighthouses. Clockwise from left to right: Diamond Head Lighthouse, Hawaii taken from the top of Diamond Head; the view from the base of North Head Lighthouse, Washington; looking down the stairs of Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Oregon; the view of the beach and the Atlantic Ocean from the top of Tybee Island Lighthouse, Georgia.

The next gallery features images taken from above steep stairs at Tallulah Gorge, Georgia and from above the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge in Northern Ireland.

The final gallery features views looking down from hotel rooms in Belfast, Northern Ireland; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and New York City.

Many thanks to Ritva for her challenge Lens-Artists #332 – Shoot from Above

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #331 – Resilience

Anne of slow shutter speed has asked us to show resilience in our photos. She describes resilience this way: “Resilience refers to the ability to successfully adapt to stressors, maintaining psychological well-being in the face of adversity. It’s the ability to “bounce back” from difficult experiences.”

Resilience in Nature

One of my favorite examples of resilience in nature is the life cycle of a butterfly. The following gallery illustrates the phases of a Monarch butterfly. They must be resilient in each phase of their life in order to survive. After a female Monarch lays her eggs on milkweed, caterpillars emerge from the hatched eggs and eat the leaves of a milkweed plant. The caterpillar then crawls to a place to form a chrysalis and transforms into a butterfly inside the chrysalis. A new Monarch butterfly emerges from the chrysalis to begin the cycle again.

Resilience of Humans

Cancer Survivors are some of the most resilient people I’ve ever met. Their life is changed forever when they hear the diagnosis of “you have cancer.” Meeting other cancer survivors and hearing their stories of strength and courage can bring hope to others going through cancer. Many survivors participate in walks or meet in support groups in order to help each other and bring awareness to their disease.

Many thanks to Anne for her challenge Lens-Artists #331 – Resilience