John’s challenge is to find examples of photographs that feature compositional elements such as lines, patterns, or colors. I see these elements all around me in man made structures and in nature.
In the featured image the black walkway on this pedestrian bridge leads your eye to the figure dressed in red at the end of the walkway. The pattern of the green supports surrounding the walkway frame the walkway.
This wooden dock over the salt marsh is made with lines and interesting patterns that reflect in the water at high tide.
The Monarch Caterpillar is an example of colors and patterns in nature.
Vibrant colors and patterns in these hot air balloons.
Last week Tina’s challenge was Live and Learn. I learned some new things from your wonderful responses. Be sure to check back on Saturday, August 9 noon Eastern Time when Ann-Christine will be hosting the challenge.
Tina’s challenge is Live and Learn. Tina reminds us of the importance of continuing to learn new things as we age. Here is her challenge:“Show me some of the things you’ve learned about photography or any subject you choose. Do you learn by doing as I do, or are you one who learns from classes, or online, or through working with others?”
I’ve never taken a photography class. I learn by doing and by experimenting and by making plenty of mistakes.
Some of the most important things I’ve learned in my photography journey is to always be prepared with batteries charged, space on the memory card, and a clean camera and lenses.
One of the most important editing techniques I have learned is how to crop. When we spotted this bear on the side of the road I didn’t have much time to frame the shot. I cropped the photo and edited the colors to achieve the final image shown here.
One of the reasons I keep participating in the weekly Lens-Artists challenges is because it helps me to learn new things about photography. These photos illustrate some of the photography tips and techniques I’ve learned.
The featured image uses a Bokeh technique. I learned from one of Sofia’s challenges that In photography, a Bokeh is the blurred or out of focus background in a photo. I frequently use this effect when photographing flowers.
When photographing wildlife, always focus on the eyes
I learned about Zooming from one of Anne’s challenges.
Fill the Frame
Leading Lines
Rule of Thirds
Last week Egidio took us Into the Woods for some Forest Bathing. I enjoyed all of the wonderful responses. Be sure to check back on Saturday, August 2 at noon Eastern Time when John will be hosting our next challenge.
This week Egidio challenges us to go Into the Woods for some Forest Bathing. He tells us “Shinrin-yoku is a concept that was developed in Japan in the 1980s as a form of natural therapy and stress relief. In English, it is translated as “forest bathing” or immersing oneself in a forest atmosphere. It is a way to allow all your senses to experience nature mindfully.” His challenge is to show how we do forest bathing in our corner of the world.
I think I was “”forest bathing” before I knew what it was. I just know that I love the quiet of being in the woods. I feel peaceful and calm when I stand in the woods surrounded by trees.
I think that I shall never see, A poem lovely as a tree. – Joyce Kilmer
The trees in my home state of Georgia vary depending on where you are in the state. In coastal Georgia the common trees are pine trees, oaks, palmettos, and palm trees. The featured image is of a maritime forest on Jekyll Island. The following gallery was taken on a Georgia marsh hammock near my neighborhood. Wood Storks are one of the many wading birds that are seen on the trees here.
The Okefenokee Swamp in south Georgia is filled with Cypress trees. Seeing these ancient trees from a boat makes me feel like I have stepped back in time.
Cypress Trees in the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia
Sweet Gum, Winged Sumac, Maple, Sycamore, Pine, and Water Oaks are just a few of the trees that I see when walking in the woods of middle Georgia. The landscape changes with seasons. No matter what the season I feel a sense of serenity in these woods.
Early Spring in the Georgia woods
Wild Dogwoods bloom in the spring in the Georgia woods
Summertime in rural Georgia woods
Many thanks to last week’s guest host SH for his challenge of Quiet Hours. Your responses to the challenge took me to many beautiful quiet places. I hope you will join us next week as Tina leads us in our next Lens-Artists challenge on Saturday, July 26 at noon Eastern Time.
Our guest host SH has challenged us to show Quiet Hours. In his post he asks us “what makes for “Quiet Hours” to you. How do you see it in an image? How do you navigate the idea?”
My favorite quiet hours are early morning. These quiet times help me feel peaceful and calm before I start my day.
The featured image above was taken on a misty morning looking out at a field in rural Georgia. If you look closely you can see some deer at the far end of the field. The next three images were taken early in the morning when no one else was up yet.
Quiet morning in coastal Georgia
Early morning fog over the Santa Fe River, Florida
Sunrise at Burwash Landing, Yukon Territory
Another time I feel the quiet is when traveling on a lonely road with no other vehicles in sight.
We felt like the only people in the world on the Klondike Highway on the way to Skagway, Alaska
Back Country Road off the Blue Ridge Parkway
Our view out the front window of the truck as we drove south on the Parks Highway, Alaska
Many thanks to Ann-Christine for her challenge of Creativity and to all of you for your wonderful responses. I hope you’ll join us on Saturday, July 19 at noon Eastern Time as Egidio hosts the next challenge.
Ann-Christine is our host for the first “Looking Back” topic and she explains the challenge like this: “This week we are starting to look back… each month or maybe every 6 weeks, one of us in the LAPC – team will repeat a PREVIOUSLY USED subject for the week. We will share a link to the old post, and then create a new post on the same subject. This will also give us all a chance to address challenges we may not have done before.”
Ann-Christine is asking us to look back to the topic #42 Creativity from April, 2019. I didn’t start participating in the challenges until later that year so I don’t have a previous post to look back on. You can visit Ann-Christine’s #42 post here.
Tybee Island, Georgia is home to many creative artists. In 2006 a few residents came up with the idea to display turtle statues painted by local artists around the island. In 2007 I photographed most of the turtles that were here at that time. Sometime later some of the turtles were auctioned off to raise money for sea-turtle research and preservation. For more about the project please visit Public Art on Display – Tybee Island.
I’ve always thought I didn’t have a creative bone in my body. When I was in school I was terrible in art classes. I can’t draw, I can’t paint, I can’t sculpt. I got the idea for this challenge when I saw one of the turtle statues on a morning drive around Tybee Island.
The featured image is the turtle that greets everyone at the Welcome to Tybee Island sign. I photographed it and the following image this morning.
The following gallery are some of the turtles I photographed in 2007. Each turtle was done by a different artist and each turtle is unique. These statues show the creativity of the different artists who made them. A few are still located around the island.
Last week I enjoyed all of the great responses to Anne’s challenge Reflections. The Lens-Artists team is taking a break next weekend so be sure to check back on Saturday, July 12 at noon Eastern Time when our guest host SH will be hosting the challenge. And as always, please remember that Every Day is a Gift.
Wandering Dawgs 