For many years we have kept an eye on the ice festival in Harbin, China, but oooh…the cold (-25) is just too much. This year we went for the small Ice Festival in Poznan – the Midieval beauty that once was the capital of Poland. Unfortunately no snow, but the festival is always held.
Poznan is a big city of about 1 miljon inhabitants, but we stayed in the old center with its typical architecture and beautifully decorated facades.
A festive feeling lit up the grand square, where they also had arranged a skating rink.
People of all ages enjoyed themselves – and treated the audience to lovely moves as well as spectacular falls…
The Christmas market was in full swing as well and we were still lucky with the weather. But, This was what we came for:
There were participants from all over the world, about 30 couples all in all. They circled the whole square. It was good to see great cooperation between people of different countries and nationalities. Iraq, Spain, Canada, the Philippines, Germany, Poland…The Ice Team worked hard to serve them all!
The artists were very skilled, and it was a treat to see them handling the ice. Some of them had made a sketch to follow, but some not. Their tools looked similar to those used for tree sculpting, but how do you work with a material like ice? We saw no big mistakes though, and the ice blocks seemed to tolerate almost any treatment…
The finished sculptures were fabulous works of art. Most of them rather small sized, but some the size of a grown human.
They were put on pedestals and lit up in different colours. We didn’t stay to see the winner, but these two were my favourites.
Art is a wonderful thing, it makes your heart glow and your mind grow. Thank you for walking with me, I hope you enjoyed!
I hope you all had some Happy Holidays and are now ready for posting your favourites of 2025! As has become our custom, we are asking our followers to select their favorite images of the last year – whether they’ve been included in previous posts or not. This week, no single host will present the challenge. The entire team will share the challenge topic.
Here are mine – difficult to choose, and, of course I could have chosen other ones. But, with some for the beauty, some for the fun, some for the surprise and some for Love – I hope you will find something for yourself too!
This picture is my absolute favourite of the year – an endemic chaffinch sitting in a young girl’s hand in the forest in Madeira. A moment of peace and total connection with Nature. It fills my heart with gratefulness just looking at it.
I think I wrote in another post, that this year I didn’t do much photography – because I have started painting again. That is why one of my paintings is here in the gallery too.
Spring is the starter of Life – and everything…also my joy in photography. But it must be Spring at home, in Sweden.
In June we returned to Madeira, our hiking paradise for many years in the 70’s and 80’s. It was a joy to come back to the lush and beautiful nature there, but in the city so much had changed that I hardly recognized it. Despite the changes of time though, the country feeling remains – suddenly close-up cows in the middle of the road. Loved it!
Back home to Autumn, Winter and bird feeding in the moonlight. I do love my sweet sheep meetings every day on my dog walks – Milo believes they are his cousins.
Finally, a trip to the ice festival in Midieval Poznan, Poland. This is Restaurant Ratuszova with its amazing paintings in the cellar vaults.
We thank all of our followers for continued support and look forward to seeing the images you choose as YOUR favorites of 2025. Please remember to link your post to any or all of the Lens-Artists team members. Also, remember to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you.
We offer our best wishes for a New Year filled with peace, happiness, love and friendship. Anne will lead us next week on her lovely Slow Shutter Speed blog. Until then, stay safe, be kind and and find joy in the simple things.
This week, Ritva wants us to reveal the often-hidden, magical world, of the details we never take the time to notice anymore. I knew I didn’t have that many small details – but some bigger ones…
A surprising detail on a church in Spain…
More of Spain – Toledo if I remember it right! He really frightened me…
I did not see the cat at first, but loved it as it blended in perfectly among the stones in the wall.
What station is this in London? Of course it had to be London! Love British humour.
Sitting under a parasol somewhere in the world – this little visitor decided to pause on top. I could follow him jumping around – a bird trampoline!
New Zealand street – of course! They are very aware of environmental issues, trying their best to convey important messages to us all.
Turn Right…in Lodz.
Loved this gate – somewhere in the Mediterranian. The vine was a perfect match.
An old hand painted gem seen in Switzerland.
Somewhere in Madeira on a seaside road.
Thank you for this great challenge, Ritva! Last week, Sofia took us around the world on a journey to ancient sites, as she explored the details of architectural marvels and let us all join in the fun.
Next week is Tina’s turn to host, please go and visit her lovely blog Saturday 1st November. Hope you will join us again. Until then, keep smiling and stay positive.
Important; link your post to Ritva’s original post and Remember to tag Lens-Artists so we can all easily find you.
If you’d like to know more about the Lens-Artists Challenge, please click here.
Tina asks us to post 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. (That is what Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz, famously said too)
I love visiting interesting big cities with all their possibilities for
culture
and architecture,
and thriving technology, like the Shinkansen in Japan.
But – as much as I love this, there are always crowds, all these busy people that never let you sit alone and contemplate. Each single person can make a wonderful meeting – but crowds…
So, after every trip to a big city, I am completely happy with coming home. Musing in my own little corner of the world. I guess this is what most of us feel. Balance is the word.
Crowds of flowers are OK with me – a morning in my garden makes my heart melt. The simple things are the best.
And a walk with Milo a silent Autumn evening, like today’s (exactly this minute when I am posting) Autumnal Equinox, has my heart as well.
Then, about the mouse… I could not find one, but maybe two very good mice catchers might do?
We hope you’ll join us this week, remembering to link to Tina’s post in addition to using the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Many thanks to all who participated in last week’s Longing challenge, by Egidio. We enjoyed all of your creative and very varied responses. Now we are excited to announce next week’s guest-host: Joanne of Joanne Mason Photography, we hope you’ll join us again then. Until then, stay safe and be kind.
Did you ever wonder Why abandoned houses looked so sad Much like the people Their exterior was only for the function
We would not feel so sad If we recognized That the spirit of the house Had already moved on
The dream remained” ― Maria Lehtman, The Dreaming Doors: Through the Soul Gateways
Anne has sent us one of my – and many others’ I know – favourite themes, Abandoned things! Personally I love abandoned houses and places, and for some time I joined my son in searching and photographing our finds.
My thoughts on Abandonement? A great theme it is, and an opportunity to dig out precious things from the archives – thank you, Anne! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, with only a short title on each of them. I don’t want to think of abandoned people though…that feels too sad. And, I have never photographed anyone in that kind of situation.
Tjernobyl
The saddest photograph in the gallery is of the Jewish cemetary in Warsaw. Walking in the silence there, knowing what happened to all these people and that there are no relatives left to remember or to tend to the graves… It is hard to fathom all the sadness and tragedy, but somehow there was a comforting feeling in walking alone in the silence, reading on the gravestones. Many of them still so beautiful.
Two homes – one in Norway, Lofoten, and a little bird’s nest in my forest
The stray dogs in Tblisi, Georgia, were many, but in a way they were not totally abandoned. Every dog had a tag in their ear, emitting medicine, so they were all castrated and friendly. They could also find food at a special place built for them in the city centre.
Sweden. A library in the forest – unfortunately an abandoned, unfinished octagon building
Agricultural machinery from an abandoned farm
Two abandoned factories that I visited with my son when he too was into photographing
The challenge is to tell and show our thoughts on abandonment. Please visit Anne’s beautiful site for more inspiration. I enjoy being alone, but that is my own choice – being abandoned does not sound that positive… When you respond, please link back to Anne’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
Last week, I had the pleasure of being your host – thank you for so many fun and original responses of your last outings! I enjoyed seeing the varied places you visited and things you saw. Next week, look for John’s post as he will be leading our challenge.
Until then, stay safe and be kind. To yourself as well.
John‘s challenge this week is called “Pick a Word.” You must choose a word that fits your topic and select three or four appropriate photos to share. Please visit his interesting site for more inspiration!
I have chosen ”Double-Exposures” But if John doesn’t accept it (two words…) I will go for ”Double”.
During the pandemic years, I developed a love for double exposures. And swirls. But today I will pick only double exposures. I guess it became interesting because we could not travel very far and had to be very careful where and how we went. Doubles could easily be done at home or in the garden, with interesting results.
I tried many combinations, and these are some of those I found worked best. Flowers of course,
and flowers and text together.
Why not a library… we can never get enough of books!
Buildings make excellent photos – like these wooden houses in different colours.
Finally Stockholm railway station and City Hall – where the outcome is an old favourite of mine. In fact I think I want to try some new subjects for double exposures again!
So, John says the word you pick could be for example from photographic techniques like ”Backlit, Landscape, Portrait, Minimalist” or subject descriptions like “Mountain, River, Architecture, Wildlife.”
We are looking forward to seeing what word you pick to share in your challenge response! Be sure to tag your post with “Lens-Artists” and add a link to John’s original post.
Last week, Sofia challenged us to be BOLD, and we really were! Extraordinary answers to that one. Next week it’s Anne’s turn. To be sure you get a notice of her challenge when it goes live, follow her site here. If you’d like to join the challenge each week, but aren’t sure how to get started, check here.
Hope to see you soon – and until then, stay safe and be kind.
Your life is your canvas, and you are the masterpiece. There are a million ways to be kind, amazing, fabulous, creative, bold, and interesting.
– Kerli
Sofia is our lovely guide this week, and she wants us to be Bold – or at least send pictures that speak bold. Please visit her beautiful site for more inspiration!
Colours and patterns in furniture – can indeed be bold. I like it, but maybe not in my own house…
Gaudi was one of the most bold architects according to me. I am looking forward to seeing a Sagrada Família fully fledged in 2026.
Last Tuesday we saw the immersive exhibition of Frida Kahlo in Malmoe. The Mexican painter and artist who was severely wounded in a bus accident at the age of 19, and lived with constant pain until her death in 1954, only 47 years old. Few people and artists were that bold and colourful as she was in both life and works.
Finally, In the true spirit of it, be bold and take us all somewhere new, Sofia says. How…? Well, you asked for it…it is rather bold of me, in this famous company, to show one of my wild paintings (I don’t call it art…)for my granddaughter. Creatures.
I am truly grateful for the many beautiful and thoughtful answers to last week’s challenge – and we all managed to post only ONE image! I guessed it would be difficult, but you really made it work – and work so well, that I had tears in my eyes more than once…
So now – welcome to this week and Sofia’s magic. Remember to link back to her post and to tag Lens-Artists so we can find you.
Stay well, keep calm and make the best of your week.
This week it is my turn to present a challenge – and I mean to give us all a real” test”. I tend to use several pictures in my posts, and some of us often do – so the challenge is to use only ONE picture. One that you find important, meaningful to you, maybe sending a message – and then explain why you picked just that picture. It is not meant to be a ”favourite” picture of yours, not at all…so…
– here is mine.
This is a 13 year old picture from Segovia, Spain. I was walking this city street, eagerly looking for the famous aqueduct… and suddenly it appeared in front of me, the impressive, Roman construction going right through Segovia. I was left standing in the middle of the street, gasping, filled with awe. How small the modern buildings seemed! After some 5-10 minutes, two men, old friends I guess, came slowly walking by. Three legged – but strong.
Two major thoughts entered my mind. The importance of knowledge – never stop learning – and stay open and curious. (I was a teacher…) Then my thoughts started wandering.
I have seen several aqueducts on my travels – but nothing like this one. My greatest love is Pont du Gard in France, from a trip in 1976. The old Romans were skilled architects and builders, and although they had better mortar than ours, the Segovia aqueduct was built without it, just stones on top of stones. It was built in the first century AD to carry water to the city from mountain springs 17 kilometers away. The complete archade consists of 167 arches – and it was in use until 1973! Incredible.
Nothing we build today has the strength to last for 2000 years… I am sure. It should trouble us that we are losing old knowledge every day, and one day, maybe there will be no computers to ask. – Someone or something, someday will surely pull the plug. During my last working years, many of my student’s turned to Google instead of learning from books. Sad. Critical reading is taught in every subject in school, but somehow young people seem to believe too many things found on the internet…and forward things without checking their credibility. I also think it is wise not to stop learning things by heart – even the smallest things – and you will be exercising your mind and brain, keeping them alert.
My eyes followed the two old friends – how I would have loved to ask them about their lives, their world and their thoughts about the future! But, unfortunately I don’t speak good enough Spanish. And that is another thing we are losing – languages. It’s a fact that, if we lose a language we lose the culture connected to it as well. That is the way cultures are lost – in Sweden we are losing the Sami culture, because not many people speak their language anymore – despite diversity treasures like having more than 100 words for describing snow, and words from their nomad life with reindeer.
I wish we would listen more to older, experienced people. There is so much collected knowledge to treasure. Instead, if we listen to what they have experienced and what history has to tell us, we don’t seem to care about it and we certainly don’t learn from it. We should try harder to change that.
I believe parents have a great responsibility. Please take care of the knowledge handed down orally, written and worked by hand! Don’t wait until it is too late. Once gone – forever gone.
A big thank you to Patti for last week’s challenge Colour vs B&W – a brilliant possibility to exchange thoughts and experiences of how to look at editing and photography! In fact I decided to use B&W in this post because of what I learned. Life long learning is essential not to wither and grow old too early!
Don’t forget to link to this post when you participate, and use the Lens-Artist tag. We are looking forward to seeing your choices! Next week Sofia will be our host – be sure to visit her inspirational site to find out what she is up to!
Egidio works with colours this week – please visit his colourful site for more inspiration!
Complementary colors are those that sit opposite each other on the colour wheel. Using them in your photography or painting creates the best colour contrast, and your images will pop. For example, red and green, magenta and green, yellow and violet, orange and blue, and so on. And just like the color wheel transitions from one shade to another, you can use nearly opposite colors to make your images stand out. Naturally, the best results will be with the exact opposites.
Soft colours pop in their own soft way…
– and strong colours don’t need any further presentation. Then there is red and green, where red is THE chosen colour of Swedish old houses, farms and cottages –
– naturally with a different hue and intensity than in flowers. Green is not the most natural combination with red in our houses though, it is white.
Do you have favourite combos? I guess I have yellow and violet – especially as we can find those two in one single flower – melampyrum nemorosum – the Night and Day flower. When I saw her for the first time, in 1973, it was immediate love. Surely a Swedish, modest wild flower could not look like that? Ever since then she holds an honourable place in my Midsummer bouquet.
She often stands in the forest, in shadowy places but close to the sea. So I cannot find her in my own forest, only close to our summer house. A truly shy beauty.
These colours look great in abstracts as well as in carnival outfits. They simply cry out: SEE ME, here I am!
Walking home late, the sky above this beautiful boardwalk in Nice kept flashing its carnival colours hroughout the night.
Finally, I guess you know I love poppies! Meconopsis betonicifolia – the blue mountain poppy – is an old love of mine…but, I don’t have it in my own garden as I don’t think I will manage it. It is very expensive and fragile, so I would hate to see it die.
Last week, Ritva got us to shoot from above. I enjoyed it very much – just as I believe you did. There were so many interesting posts!
This week, Egidio asks us to share images with complementary colors that create interest and make your photos stand out. Don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag when creating your post so we can easily find it in the Reader. Looking forward to seeing you here!
Next week, Tina returns with her first new challenge for the year. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in to find out another exciting challenge. Please see this page to learn more about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history.
Leya 
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