Lens-Artists – Page 8 – Wandering Dawgs

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #350 – Zooming

May 28, 2025Posted in PhotographyTagged Intentional Camera Movement, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, zoom effect, zoom technique, Zooming29 Comments

Anne has challenged us to create images using a zooming technique. She tells us “Zooming is part of the Intentional Camera Movement family, but instead of moving the camera, you are just moving the lens back and forth.”

I had never heard of this before reading Anne’s post so I spent a lot of time experimenting with different subjects. I had a lot of fun even though I ended up deleting more photos than I kept.

The featured image is of an oleander bush in my back yard. It was one of my final attempts at zooming.

I started out taking night photos of the lights on my neighbors docks. I didn’t use a tripod and I tried many different settings on the camera. Most were epic fails but I liked the way this next photo turned out.

My next images were taken during the day looking up at trees in the woods of rural Georgia.

Last week Tina challenged us to add captions to our photos that would make us smile. Thanks to everyone who rose to the challenge and not only made me smile but sometimes made me laugh out loud!

Ritva will be leading next weeks challenge so be sure to look for her post on Saturday.

Many thanks to Anne for introducing me to Zooming with this fun challenge Lens-Artists #350 – Zooming

Are you interested in joining the Lens-Artists challenges? Click here to learn how.

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #349 – The First Thing I Thought Of ..

May 17, 2025Posted in PhotographyTagged Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, The First Thing I Thought Of..31 Comments

What are You Looking At?

Tina wants us to have a little fun this week. She has challenged us to create captions for our photos that will hopefully make you smile. I still laugh whenever I see the bird in the above featured image.

We were in a small tour bus in Alaska looking for brown bears when we stopped to observe a mama and her cubs. When this curious cub got close to the bus and stood up our guide started up the engine and we got out of there in a hurry.

I was photographing Roseate Spoonbills that were nesting in the trees at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm when this Sponbill looked right at me.

You can take my picture now!

As we were driving along a remote road in Alaska this moose decided to cross the road in front of us. We slowed down and followed him until he ran back into the forest.

The Laurel and Hardy Museum in Harlem, Georgia had many great displays featuring this famous comedy duo.

*Here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into!*

The sky was filled with hot air balloons soaring above me at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

*Up, Up and Away in my beautiful balloon!*

Cheers!

I am excited to announce that I am joining the Lens-Artists team as one of the weekly hosts. I am honored to join this group of incredibly talented photographers who bring you these challenges every week. I’ve had fun participating in these challenges for several years and now I’m looking forward to hosting and seeing all of your responses. A huge thank you goes out to all of the Lens-Artists team for inviting me to join them.

I hope some of these made you smile! Many thanks to Tina for this fun challenge Lens-Artists #349 – The first thing I thought of

Learn how to join the Len-Artists challenge by clicking here.

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #348 – Serenity

May 12, 2025Posted in Nature, PhotographyTagged Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, Serenity33 Comments

Egidio has challenged is to find serenity in our photos. He asks us to “look for serenity to lift our spirits and calm our minds”. In the featured image above I find serenity when I stop to enjoy the beauty of flowers.

Here are a few of my favorite things that bring me serenity.

Watching the birds at my back yard bird feeder

Spotting a fawn on a morning walk in the woods

I learned a long time ago that life can change in the blink of an eye and none of us know what the future will bring. I have learned the importance of making the most of every moment. Taking the time to enjoy the simple things in life brings me peace and serenity. Every day is a gift.

Many thanks to Egidio for this challenge Lens-Artists #348 – Serenity

Learn how to join the Len-Artists challenge by clicking here.

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #347 – Break the Rules

May 9, 2025Posted in PhotographyTagged Breaking Rules, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge29 Comments

Ritva’s challenge is to break the rules of photography. She tells us “The carefree spirit of snapping images without overthinking allows for spontaneity to shine through, infusing each shot with authenticity.”

When I first got interested in photography I had no idea there were rules. I just took photos of things that were interesting and fun. Today I still take most of my photos without thinking too much about the settings and photography rules.

The Rule of Thirds is one I frequently break. Even though I know this rule I sometimes can’t help myself from centering the main subject when I take a photo. The bird on the grill in the header image was begging for food as we sat an a picnic table eating our lunch. I couldn’t resist taking his picture.

I recently was introduced to the rule of odds which suggests using an odd number of elements in a photograph. I seem to frequently break this rule.

This pair of White Pelicans breaks the rule of odds

When I am photographing motion I often don’t have time to adjust the settings on my camera so I just aim the camera and hope for the best.

This image captures the motion but the entire image is a little out of focus breaking the rule of focus.

The lighting was wrong and I couldn’t find a good place to stand in order to capture these musicians performing in an Irish Pub. I was having so much fun I wanted to capture the moment anyway.

The lighting is wrong and two of the musicians are out of focus but I can still remember tapping my feet to their music.

Many thanks to Ritva for this challenge Lens-Artists #347 – Break the Rules

Learn how to join the Len-Artists challenge by clicking here.

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #346 – Cinematic

May 1, 2025Posted in PhotographyTagged Cinematic, Films, Lens-Artists, Movies, Photo Challenge22 Comments

Sofia has challenged us to feature cinematic photos. She tells us “There are a few things that give a photo that cinematic feel: camera angles, bold and high-contrast colors, light, locations, just to name a few. The main objective is to take a shot that is part of a story, there’s mood and a sense of location; our image is but a snapshot of a much wider situation.”

I love movies and I’m a big fan of old black and white films. My first two images are my attempts at getting a cinematic feel in the photos. The header image could be the opening scene in a horror movie. Will there be zombies, vampires, ghosts, or werewolves to terrorize the world? Will a corpse rise up from one of the graves? Perhaps we’ll see Bela Lugosi or Frankenstein in the next scene.

This reminds me of a scene from an old spy thriller. Is this person going to a secret meeting? What is waiting outside in the light?

I decided to have a little bit of fun with the rest of my images. These final images were taken at actual filming locations. Can you guess what movies they are from?