Tag: Lens-Artists

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #368 – Looking Back to Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #106: Autumn

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John is Looking Back to challenge #106 – Autumn. We don’t get fall colors in coastal Georgia so if I want to see the autumn leaves we have to take a trip north of here.

Autumn is also college football season. Some of you know that Henry and I are huge Georgia Bulldogs college football fans. We spent many falls attending the Bulldogs home football games in Athens, Georgia. We have also made several fall trips to see Georgia play in away games. It was fun taking trips to combine football with searching for autumn colors.

On our way to Lexington, Kentucky for a football game we searched for fall colors along the way. We stopped in Sevierville, Tennessee where the colorful autumn leaves wowed us on a drive in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In the following gallery the first three photos are from that drive in Cades Cove. The final image shows colorful leaves in Lexington.

Fall Colors Cades Cove
Fall Colors Cades Cove
Fall Colors Cades Cove
Lexington Kentucky Autumn Colors

One year we camped on West Point Lake in Georgia on our way to Auburn, Alabama for a football game. We were treated to some beautiful fall colors around the lake.

Autumn colors West Point Lake, Georgia
Autumn colors West Point Lake, Georgia

Another year we traveled to Columbia, Missouri and Little Rock, Arkansas to attend football games. The autumn colors were glorious in Tennessee and around Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.

Fall colors in Tennessee
Lake of the Ozarks

For Thanksgiving one year we spent the weekend in Athens, Georgia to attend a home game against instate rival Georgia Tech. The trees on the University of Georgia campus and in downtown Athens were showing their peak colors.

Last week our guest host Joanne’s challenge was “Everyone should see this”. I enjoyed seeing all of photos of many incredible places from around the world.

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 John’s post Lens-Artists #368 – Looking Back at #106 Autumn.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, October 11 at noon eastern time for Ann-Christine’s challenge.

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #367 – Everyone should see this

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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.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #366 – City Mouse/Country Mouse

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Tina’s challenge is City Mouse/Country Mouse. Her challenge is based on the “classic Aesop fable “City Mouse/Country Mouse”. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, its moral is that no matter how appealing someone else’s life may seem, there really is no place like home.”

Full disclosure: I am a country mouse. The closest I ever got to big city life was living in the Atlanta suburbs when I was first married in the early 1970’s. I rode the bus to work in downtown Atlanta. Even though the city wasn’t as big then as it is today I had my fill of big city living. I was thrilled when my husband’s job required a move to coastal Georgia.

Technically, where I live in coastal Georgia isn’t in the country. It’s not really even a suburb. I live in a small neighborhood with only two streets and friendly neighbors. I enjoy the peace and quiet that comes with being surrounded by nature. I also enjoy being a short ride from the Atlantic Ocean where I can see sunrises like the one in my featured image.

The nearest city is Savannah. Savannah was founded in 1733 and was Georgia’s first planned city. Today the population is around 148,000 and it has become a popular tourist destination. I enjoy an occasional trip to downtown Savannah to be a tourist for a day.

Talmadge Bridge
Lion Statue
Bonaventure Cemetary
River Street

My home is located about 30 minutes from downtown Savannah and a short drive to the Atlantic Ocean. When I am home I am surrounded by the beauty and quiet of the salt marsh and salt water creeks and rivers.

Early Morning Salt Marsh

Many of the trees in my neighborhood are covered with Spanish Moss

Georgia Salt Marsh

During our travels we have visited big cities like New York City, San Diego, Dublin, Glasgow and Edinborough. They were fun to see but my favorite places were all the small towns and rural areas. When we are on a road trip we go out of our way to avoid the traffic of the big cities. As much as I love travel, I am always happy when we cross the last bridge across the marsh on the way home. As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home.”

Thank you to everyone who responded to Egidio’s wonderful Longing challenge last week. Be sure to check back on Saturday, September 27 at noon Eastern Time when Joanne of Joanne Mason Photography will be our guest 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 Tina’s post Lens-Artists #356 – City Mouse/Country Mouse

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #365 – Longing

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For this challenge Egidio introduces us to the Portuguese word saudade. Wikipedia defines saudade as “an emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for a beloved yet absent someone or something. It is a recollection of feelings, experiences, places, or events, often elusive, that cause a sense of separation from the exciting, pleasant, or joyous sensations they once caused.“

The closest English word to describe saudade is longing. I had a hard time deciding how to approach this challenge. I finally came up with a few places that have special meaning for me.

Ireland will always be with me. Words can’t describe the beauty of the green landscapes, the friendly and kind people, and the feeling I had while there. I still think of Ireland often and long to return.

It’s been almost 20 years since we’ve been to Florida Keys. I long to return to those carefree days of boating, fishing, watching the sunset, and scuba diving although these days I wouldn’t be diving.

My father was in the United States Air Force. When I was 16 he was assigned to a small base in Italy. Whenever Dad had a few days off we would take trips to see the country. Dad always took his Minolta camera with him and took thousands of slides of our adventures. My younger brother spent many hours converting those slide to digital format (thank you Joe). The following gallery shows three of the many places we went – Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Coliseum in Rome, and Trulli houses in Alberobello. When I look at these photos all my happy memories of traveling with my family come rushing back. I long to return to Italy one day.

Thank you to all the beautiful quiet moments you shared for Ritva’s challenge last week. Be sure to check back on Saturday, September 20 Eastern Time when Tina will be hosting our next challenge.

Egidio, thank you for teaching me a new word. I hope you will join him for this week’s challenge Longing. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to his post Lens-Artists #365 – Longing

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #364 – Quiet Moment

Posted in Birds, Butterflies, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , 55 Comments

For this challenge Ritva asks us “Where is your serene sanctuary?” She challenges us to explore and connect with our own personal feelings.

After recent arthroscopic knee surgery I haven’t been able to go out to take many photos. Instead, I’ve had plenty of quiet moments in my own backyard. Watching the full moon rise from our back deck is a peaceful way to end the day. The featured image is of the August full moon.

I find peace sitting on our deck looking for hummingbirds at the feeder and butterflies in the garden. The hummingbirds will stay at the feeder for a while if I am very still and quiet.

Gulf Fritillary butterflies are frequent visitors to my garden this time of year. I love to watch them fly from flower to flower. Taking photos of them requires quiet and patience.

Last week Anne took us on a virtual scavenger hunt and the responses were very creative and fun. Be sure to check back on Saturday, September 13 at noon Eastern Time when Egidio will be hosting our next challenge.

Thanks Ritva for this beautiful challenge. 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 Ritva’s Lens-Artists #364 – Quiet Moment

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.