This week Amy challenges us to show contrasts – please visit her inspirational site for more ideas!
My post was mostly made from our Alaska cruise, but a couple of images are from Prague. The first thing that comes to mind is black and white, here illustrated by the hanging man in Prague (…to me B&W also is connected to horror movies) and scyscrapers in Seattle.
Next up are some contrasting colours, black and white, blue and orange.
Over to Frank Gehry’s building and the Monorail built for the World Exhibition in 1962. Interesting to see it pass ”into” the building.
This is totally another kind of contrast. Architecture is fascinating, with contrasts and juxtapositions making us see, hate or appreciate.
On the road side of the same building the contrasts are in both colours, shapes and structures. The natural world/advanced architecture.
A collection of colours, silhouettes and textures. Close/sharp – faraway/blurred. Smooth water contrasting harsh cliffs – and framed/unframed is another contrast.
Finally, a before/after – colour/monochrome from Seattle harbour and seafront.
As you can see, contrasts in photography are not limited to black and white. There are architectual structures, colours/textures, daylight/nightlight – and many more. We hope you will join us sharing the contrasts you’ve captured through your lens. Please make a link to Amy’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag so we can find you in the WP Reader.
Many thanks for all your splendid and creative On Display – posts last week. We really enjoyed your beautiful displays. I still go back and look at them… Next week, John (Journeys with Johnbo) will host LAPC #272. Be sure to visit his site for inspiration.
The Royal Library is Sweden’s national library and it opened in 1661. Besides being just that, a library, the RL is tasked with preserving and storing everything that is published in Sweden, whether it’s a school book, fashion magazine, a DVD movie, or a news bulletin broadcast on the radio. Its vast collection includes well over 18 million items, of which the oldest are over a thousand years old. The RL has been housed in its current location, in the middle of Humlegården park, since 1877.
We seldom visit Stockholm, but now so many years had passed, that we felt it necessary to go in order to keep up with the city’s changes. And, of course the National Library was on our list.
In fact I had never been to the National Library, so I was very excited to finally go. And even if I have been to more beautiful libraries, this one was serene looking and strict in its design.
The reading hall was spacious and bright, just the way I love reading halls to be, and the scientists’ reading hall had a lower ceiling and more comfortable chairs (of course). They were both inviting.
Walking down to the basement we were in for a surprise …none of us had ever heard of this…As we walked down the last stairs, we were even more excited. Codex Gigas, or the Devil’s Bible, was waiting for us.
Not great that it was taken in a war, but those were the days when such things happened in wars. (In fact, they still seem to do so…) If there are grades in Hell, maybe it was better to take it than to burn it. Anyway, we greatly enjoyed seeing this gigantic Bible and reading about it. It is an impressive book where each page measures 89cmx49cm, and the total amount of parchment leaves are 310. It weighs almost 75 kilos.
Interesting too is that this Bible contains not only the Holy Bible, but also other popular works, like medical works and an Encyclopedia. They were all written in Latin. Fascinating. Click the link on Codex Gigas above if you want to read more about it.
Anne shows us some awesome buildings and structures, some from her trip to Australia. This is an interesting theme with already many responses too.
From me, there is a gallery from Prague – what caught my eye especially in this lovely city.
Ginger and Fred – On top!
Natural structures …too
Juxtapositions are always fascinating
Old and new.
In the middle stands a replica of the Eiffel Tower.
Old and famous
Strange and beautiful church interiors. To the left…figures peeping out from almost every pillar!
Libraries of course
Details details…
Anne asks us to find our own fascinating structures that capture your attention, tell a story or are just beautiful. Capture new scenes or take a trip down memory lane in our photo archives. Remember to link to her challenge when you post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Looking forward to seeing all your artful structures!
Winding beauty – a favourite building style
Many thanks to Amy and her challenge of Cloudscapes and Skyscapes last week. I love skies too, and enjoyed the beautiful images that you all posted. Next week Donna will be hosting LAPC. So, look for her special and exciting challenge.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
Being a teacher for so many years, I know Vincent Nichols’ statement is right: we’re losing social skills, the human interaction skills, how to read a person’s mood, to read their body language, how to be patient until the moment is right to make or press a point. Too much exclusive use of electronic information dehumanises what is a very, very important part of community life and living together.
Sofia leads us through different moods this week. A wonderful theme, very much needed in this world today. It will be interesting to see how we all react and feel – the same or differently?
The ups and downs in life, in a day, in an hour in a moment… I have tried to find some of those moods. they can change fast, we all know that. Some of them just happen…some of them we can create or change.
I love abandoned places. Walking there I often feel the place wants to tell me something. It is the same mood when I am walking in cemeteries – and in libraries. You feel the prescence of those who were there before you, the prescense of thoughts, words and lives.
What do these images tell you?
I hope they tell stories…
…of those who once lived there or worked there.
Then, let’s try some moods in the rollercoaster of life. Scary, frightening…the mood can sneak upon you when it is getting darker in the forest or in the streets on your way home. For some of us – it’s about monsters hiding under the bed or in the wardrobe.
Mood has to be controlled. Otherwise, it’s your master. ― Toba Beta
Or, you can create a monochrome madness and play around with it – letting yourself go as dramatically as you want or dare to!
After all this tension, you will need some late evening bliss to calm you down.
But soon, back in the city’s frenzy… in order to survive, there is a need for slowing down again.
Over the years I have found that an artistic mood always makes me calm down and feel good…
… and a festive mood sometimes cheers me up – (but not too often…)
Feeling playful is a great mood for all creatures…
…and so is sheer happiness and love.
To join Sofia’s challenge this week, be sure to stop by her inspirational and beautiful Photographias site. In your own post, please include the lens-artists tag and link to her original post.
In my Backlit challenge last week you inspired me and many of us to use this type of photography more often. Thank you for opening our eyes to all creative possibilities! Next week, it’s John’s turn to lead us, so be sure to stop by Journeys with Johnbo next Saturday at noon EST for inspiration.
In the meantime, I’m hoping that your week is filled with light and creative inspiration. As spring has arrived here, there is much to do in my garden…
We went to Mosseberg spa resort for a couple of days. A charming area, and we had some snow too. Relaxing.
This resort was built around the middle of the 19th century, and still has those typical villas of those days. Some of the old houses are now private and not possible to visit. They still have their ”Carpenter’s joy” and built in tile stoves.
This is the main building, where we rented a beautiful room. Walking through the house we found several doors with famous people’s names on them. They had all lived here in periods of their lives. Our neighbours were the author Albert Engström and the next door had Madame Kollontaj’s name on it. She once was a Soviet ambassador, pacifist and feminist.
Mosseberg is a beautiful resort in any season, and I would love to see the park in Spring too.
Tina’s challenge this week is all about interesting architecture. As I guessed you would all have fantastic examples of modern buildings, I decided to focus on the birds and the bees…and only a little about human buildings. The opener shows weavers’ nests in the Amazon, Ecuador.
I am always impressed by magnificent woodpiles – and my grandfather was an excellent builder of these. But, while they often are set behind houses or hidden in a barn in Sweden, I found this special display in Switzerland. Elegantly leaning against the house and beautifully framing the window. One of a kind.
To me, one of the most interesting Nordic building is Hállgrimskirkja in Reykjavik, Island. It looks almost like a spaceship icicle with smaller icicles attached to it. Everytime I visit Iceland – it is a must see again.
In Sweden we only have one skyscraper – Turning Torso by the famous architect Calatrava. I never liked it – despite it being beautifully built, it doesn’t fit in among the older buildings in Malmoe. I believe storks have better ideas about how and where to build a high rise building…Modern too – electrified!
Magpies often build high as well, and their nests are very intricate. They are durable, domed structures made of sticks and twigs and contain an interior mud cup and lining. Every nest has got two entrances – one close to the top and one from the side or under – and it can reach more than 1 meter in height. Not the nest to the far right though, that is a small but sturdy bird’s nest found during a winter walk.
The three middle pictures show the enormous European hornet’s nest we had in our summer house last summer. A fantastic and elaborate construction. Finally, my last image is from Bhutan and a monestary covered in bees’ ”pouches”. As the Buddhist monks care for everything living, they were happy to have the bees and their nests hanging there.
We thank you for your beautiful responses to last week’s “A Day in My Week” challenge – what a terrific variety of amazing days you shared with us!
We hope you’ll join us this week with some interesting architecture from around the corner or around the world. Be sure to use the Lens-Artists tag to appear in our reader, and to link to Tina’s original post.
From the pictures I had seen before, it looked gorgeous, innovative and a must see.As we passed the first building, we admired the apartements close to the water.A modern Venice?
On reaching the Iceberg, we realised it clearly is best seen from the sea.
But, I just have to post on some of the area anyway.
No easy angles here… and I was a bit disappointed that they were building a high tower right next to this complex – see this in the first photo.
The area is well worth a visit – and I enjoyed walking there for an hour or two.
Leya 
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