Tag: Lens-Artists

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #384 – What Astonishes You?

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , , , 83 Comments

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.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #383 – Looking Back to Lens-Artists #174 – Shapes and Designs

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Tina is looking back to Patti’s post from 2021 – Lens-Artists challenge #174 – Shapes and Designs.

When I responded to Patti’s original challenge I featured shapes and designs found in nature. For Tina’s challenge I am focusing on things designed and created by humans.

My first two images are two of the many beautiful quilts handmade by my paternal grandmother. Some of her quilts have been passed down from her grandchildren to her great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. When I see her quilts I feel the love in every stitch.

The next two images are from historic Rosedown Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana. I wish I knew the history of the beautiful lace in the first image. I love the detail in the ceiling medallion in the second image.

This flower design is in the fence around Jackson Square in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Thank you to everyone who responded last week to Egidio’s Rejected challenge. I enjoyed all of your great edited final images.

Many thanks to Tina for her challenge Lens-Artists #383: Looking back to Lens-Artists #174 – Shapes and Designs. I hope you will join us for the challenge. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and link back to Tina’s post.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, February 7 at noon eastern time when I 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 #382 – Rejected

Posted in Nature, PhotographyTagged , , 42 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

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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