Lens-Artists Challenge #387 – Shadowed

/ Leya / 12 kommentarer

As twilight’s gentle fall descends, where shadows and wind play hide and seek, as day surrenders, the mountains whisper tales.

– David Passarelli

This week, John wants us to consider how shadows shape our photos. ”You can take a literal approach and photograph an actual shadow, or lean into contrast and mood—shapes, silhouettes, or scenes where darkness adds depth and character to your subject.” Please visit John’s site for brilliant examples.

All my pictures in this post are from Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls Hotel, the Zambesi River and a small village without name) and South Africa.

Well, shadow is the first thing I seek when it is hot – just like these beautiful kudus did. But I suspect they were hiding from predators as well.

There are two primary types of shadows: form shadows and cast shadows. Form shadows are the darker, shadowed side of a three-dimensional object itself (not receiving direct light), while cast shadows are the shapes projected onto another surface by an object blocking the light source.

For this challenge I will stick to John’s examples. In these two pictures I tried to show shadows looking from the outside of a house and in, and the reverse. In the third one, below, there are both ways.

Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.

– Junichiro Tanizaki

Find the light of beauty even in the shadows of darkness.

– Christina Casinom

All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.

– Leo Tolstoy

All shadows whisper of the sun.

– Emanuel Carnevali

Now, time to go to bed after a thorough help with the details…

Many thanks to Patti, Ritva and Beth for the last weeks’ inspiration. Unfortunately I could not participate due to travels in the wilderness without wifi – but now I am back on track. March is here, and next Saturday it’s my turn to host the challenge – hope to see you then!

To participate, simply create your own post responding to this week’s theme and include a link to the original post by John. Be sure to add the Lens‑Artists tag so your post appears in the WordPress Reader.

Thursday Thoughts – Cold Winds

/ Leya / 31 kommentarer

I know some of you are having tough weather – and so have we. Winds from the east are always icy and for some weeks now the cold has crept into the very marrow of our bones. Our birds are having a tough time so much feeding is needed – fat and healthy seeds. Some will still not make it even through the night. They have to take even bigger risks now, eating when it is almost dark.

I will soon be on my way to warmer places though – too warm for me I believe, but hopefully there will be much to see and enjoy – and easier to forget the troubles of this world. We are neither getting younger, nor healthier, my husband and I, so we had better make this trip now and stop postponing it. As there will be little possibilities for wifi, I will take a break until I am back home at the end of the month.

I wish you all a smooth February, stay well, take care – and see you again soon!

Ann-Christine

Lens-Artists #383, Looking back at #174 – Shapes and Designs

/ Leya / 37 kommentarer

Design is an opportunity to continue telling the story, not just to sum everything up.

― Tate Linden

Tina leads the challenge this week and she looks for shapes and designs. I believe the most common and the most used designs and shapes all originate from the natural world. If we manage well to copy them or be inspired by them, the results might be harmonious shapes and useful, beautiful designs.

Who hasn’t walked along a beach collecting beautiful shells? We admire their shape and structure and marvel at the power of nature.

This colourful tangle is intricate galls made by a gall wasp for its larvae – and Seattle offered a Chihuly version!

The urge for good design is the same as the urge to go on living.

– Harry Bertoia

Lotus and water lilies are important symbols and loved shapes in art ever since ancient times –

– here in the modern, immersive exhibition of Tutanchamon.

Be like a lotus. Let the beauty of your heart speak. Be grateful to the mud, water, air, and the light.

– Amit Ray

The structures beneath belongs to the very much used and loved ones in everyday life – originally designed by a spider. If you have walked into a spider web once, you know how incredibly strong it is.

Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.

– Albert Schweitzer

Wonderful, isn’t it? Mother Nature will always be our master; for beauty, for harmony, and for the durability of construction. Many great artists declare they are deeply influenced by Nature, and one of them is Gaudí – my favourite. In my book, I believe every artist owe his or her skills to the natural world.

Design is not for philosophy it’s for life.

– Issey Miyake

Thank you for a great challenge, Tina, and many thanks to those who joined us last week in response to Egidio’s “Rejected” challenge. Wonderful! Finally, we hope to see you next week when Beth will lead us once again on her Wandering Dawgs site. Until then, please stay safe, be kind and enjoy every new day. We look forward to seeing your responses, and remember to link to Tina’s post and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you.

Thursday Thoughts – 3D Painted House and a King

/ Leya / 9 kommentarer

Impressive mural by Radosław Barek, featuring a 1920’s scenery. We struggled to find it – and finally, there it was. Hidden behind a hideous Christmas lit house.

And outside the cathedral – the three kings. I caught one of them where the light was magical.

Lens-Artists Challenge #382 – Rejected

/ Leya / 31 kommentarer

Egidio‘s challenge this week is all about rejected photos. A bad photo can sometimes be “rescued” and made more presentable. Take a look again at a few of your ”rejected” photos and see what you can do to bring them out of the archives.

Honestly, I find it difficult to throw away most ”bad” photos, but I try… I just have too many photos. From our trip to Poland, I have chosen four photos, and let’s see what I did with them.

This fish had a wonderful pattern and the surrounding structures were great – the colours were striking. And when it emerged from of its cave, the contrasts looked great. I clicked, but at home I didn’t recognize the picture in my head. Shooting through glass is almost never a hit, and this glass was not very clean either…

I removed the shadow fish with AI, reduced the blur and hightened the contrast. It didn’t get absolutely clear, but still – here it looks more like I remember it.

I love the jungle, and I have created some of my own at home. I think you know I always visit the botanical garden and the palm house wherever I go, and Poznan was no exception. However, there were spotlights and strong light in some places, so I was not happy with the water in this picture. I photograph in RAW, but didn’t really manage to make this one presentable.

I started with cropping on top, and then using AI again – to take away parts of the water and the blue, disturbing net. I think it turned out quite OK in the end, even if I would have wanted the whole picture.

They had a marvellous cafe’ in the midst of the greenery. That is the way I want my home to look! I am not there yet, but on my way… Reviewing these pictures at home, I found the colour of the chairs took away some of the feeling because of their bright hue.

I cropped the picture on the left, muted the colours and let the lady shine. This reduced some of the busyness and enhanced the jungle cosiness and harmony.

My last choice is a big elkhorn fern, from the same palm house. I have always found them fascinating, and once owned a plant for many years. Unfortunately it outgrowed the room and I had to leave it.

This one seems a big dark blob though, because of the angle of the shot, should I keep it?

Well, my first love for this plant was all about its structure and the hint of ancient dinosaurs…So, I focused on structure and the unique form, left the green for monochrome and my old fascination. I think I still love this plant!

My sincere thanks to Egidio who challenged us to show some of the work it takes to create an image we’re willing to share. Be sure to visit his original here, and to use the Lens-Artist tag in your response to help us find you.

Many, many thanks to those who responded to last week’s B&W/Minimalism challenge hosted by the eminent Ritva. It was an amazing display of the power of simplicity. Finally, we hope you’ll join us next week when Tina will be our host from her beautiful Travels and Trifles. Until then, please stay safe, hope you managed the snow storm ok, and may life be good to you this week.