LENS ARTIST CHALLENGE # 415 – MOVE YOUR BODY

/ Leya / 10 kommentarer

Anne‘s challenge this week, is designed to make us move – not use our zoom lens, if we have one. So, your challenge this week is to move your body up, down, forward and back.

I decided for some of my Netherland photos, as I remembered how much I had to move and squat to get them. A first look at Paul Kubics’ The Temptation of Saint Antony at Keukenhof, and then walking closer to see all the details – and there were many! This is a truly fascinating work of art.

The last temptation was the most difficult one to photograph…

In Norway there are many tunnels for drying fish. It’s easy to walk them and then get up close to see what the fish really looks like. No squatting needed. (Sorry, not much excercise!)

I do think I prefer the long shot…

When we visited the dahlia festival in Holland, we could stand close to the passing trailers and different participants.

After the parade, we walked to their parking place and could get up really close to see the meticulous work with the flowers.

In September 1922 I had a beautiful visitor in my garden – a hummingbird hawkmoth. He was so absorbed with my salvia, that I could get close and watch him working from every angle. I had a great experience and will never forget those moments.

Every summer since, I have been waiting for him, and I plant his favourite flowers…

– but he hasn’t come back. Maybe next sumnmer?

I cannot leave out Greenland, can I?

Traveling through the ice you look ahead all the time, but close to the boat things happen as well. You hear it!

I went down to a lower deck and had a look – fascinating!

Our guide was fishing ice for the drink…

When you post your response to this challenge, please link it to Anne’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. A huge thank you for your wonderful harmonies last week! My only wish is that they will stay with you too – they have surely stayed with me!

Next week, Ritva will be leading the challenge, so please visit her beautiful site and look out for her post. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient!

Thursday Thoughts – Cats, Cats, Cats

/ Leya / 13 kommentarer

Athens, Corfu, Mykonos and Montenegro – everywhere in the arhipelago.. Kotor is the real cat paradise and there are many legends about why they revere cats so much. Some years ago when we were there, one popular story was that the city once had been invaded by rats and the incoming ships let out their cats to clear the streets. People still say that the cats saved their city.

They were quite well taken care of. Food provided and vets checking up on them. Big smiles from the tourists as well!

Lens-Artist Challenge #414 – Looking Back to #44 -Harmony

/ Leya / 108 kommentarer

He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.

– Marcus Aurelius

Tina’s challenge back then, was about colour Harmony. Colour Harmonies are colours that look good together. If you have ever taken classes in painting, you should be familiar with the colour wheel. There are many different systems to create a colour harmony. You will find a useful, free tool, for it here.

For this challenge, this week, I want to give us more freedom by using a wider explanation of the concept: Harmony is the combination of separate but related parts in a way that uses their similarities to bring unity to a painting, drawing, or other art object.

Harmony can also be reached in a situation in which people are peaceful and agree with each other, or when things seem right or suitable together.

A maximum of seven pictures will still give you space to show a nice variety of Harmony.

Greenland is very harmonious in colours and shapes. The sky is a great moderator. Every day there, I felt I was in harmony with both nature and life. The lines, the curves and the colours were perfect.

It was not only soft sceneries, but despite the roughness and the difficult climbing, there was harmony in the landscape.

Harmony is often found with the help of details. Lines are prominent in this picture, but also the colour details in red – down to the left and up to the right. Maybe a not very harmoneus angle – but in this case interesting.

A cozy hut for the wanderer – built in the old way with stones, moss and wooden front. In harmony with its surroundings.

This scenery caught my eye in Nuuk, where shapes, colours – and the mastery of letting modern architecture mimic the landscape worked well together.

Natural materials are soothing to the eye – and to the soul. This picture is from a building in Ketchikan, Alaska, where they have managed to finish a beautiful, harmonious puzzle.



Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony
– Mahatma Gandhi

Thank you Beth, for unbelievable bridges, and please tune in to Anne’s challenge next week! Unfortunately I will not be able to comment until I am back from the cruize, but I’m looking forward to seeing you and your responses on the 21 of September!

Lens-Artists Challenge #413 – Bridges

/ Leya / 60 kommentarer

This week, Beth is leading us through, over and under bridges. Any kind of bridge is allowed, and it should be our favourites!

I find it difficult to separate places and experiences from the actual views of the bridges, and of course you don’t have to be beautiful to be loved…memories and feelings show up to colour your eyes…

Peace Bridge in Tblisi, Georgia.


– or ”Always Ultra”, beacause of its likeness to a sanitary towel…see above.

Porto in Portugal sends great memories from the city as well as its bridges. There were many of them!

Glorious Tessin in Italy and Roman Ponte dei Salti on the Verzasca river.

Two bridges near my home, one in Autumn and the other in Winter. I love the light giving away the season.

And talking about memories…I have hundreds of photos from these two, and there will be room for more.

Thank you, Beth, for a lovely prompt! Thank you John, for last week’s beautiful challenge and all participants for glorious posts! I will not be able to see them all now and comment, as I go for a cruize in the Mediterranean from tomorrow morning until September 21. On September 20. I, Leya, will be your host – so please stay tuned.