Lens-Artists Challenge #122 – The Sun will come out Tomorrow

8 november, 2020 / Leya / 100 kommentarer

Last week, you shared beautiful, creative, and interesting photos for Patti’s “Focus on the Subject.”I think we learned something new all of us! This week Ana of Anvica’s Gallery is our guest host – be sure to visit her inspiring blog and get even more inspired!

Where I live, in Sweden, winter is very dark, and for many months there will be a constant lack of light and energy. November is the starting month of this seemingly endless period. Some people even use light therapy, spending hours in a totally white room in order to cope with the everyday darkness. There has been more of this since the winters do not provide us with enough snow anymore.

One may not reach the dawn save by the path of the night.

– Germaine Greer

My own solution is spending time outdoors as much as possible during the few hours of light, soaking up sunrays for the pineal gland. But with the last leaves gone, so are the bright colours. ”How to survive November” is a common struggle for us Nordic people every year.

The evening sings in a voice of amber, the dawn is surely coming.

– Al Stewart

*If you have extra to spare, share some of your sunshine with others. Those who are in a dark place may just need that small break in the their clouds to see some sunlight again.*
― Christine E. Szymanski

”Just living isn’t enough”, said the butterfly, ”one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower”.

– Hans Christian Anderson

I believe this year, these days, this butterfly’s statement is more accurate than ever. So remember – the sun is still there, somewhere behind the clouds. And it will come out tomorrow.

Now we are looking forward to seeing Your part of the challenge! Don’t forget to include a link to Ana’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag so that everyone can find you in the WP Reader. Next week, I, Ann-Christine, will lead the challenge on Saturday, November 14th. Until then – stay safe and well.

Lens-Artists Challenge #121 – Focus on the Subject

2 november, 20202 november, 2020 / Leya / 85 kommentarer

In this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #121 Patti says : ” Focus on the Subject, we invite you show us an image that uses leading lines, patterns, color, contrast, selective focus, freezing the action, doorways or arches, or the eyes of humans or animals to draw our attention to the subject. ”

In Sweden we are at the end of the grand Autumn colours, and I just had to send you inviting lines into one of my beautiful forests.

Patti talks about colour defining/deciding focus – and below is a typical example – in fact many ingredients are demonstrated in this one: colour, light and lines co-operate to make me take out my camera here. The motif is not a spectacular one, but the silo stands out!

Doorways or arches are constant attention drawers. Last week’s countryside tour made me capture some very different subjects.

The first shot from the spectacular library building in the middle of a vast beech forest. The owner, Michael Ehrenborg, lived at Hovdala Castle in the 18th century, and wanted a library in the forest to study science in solitude. Sadly enough he died before the octagonal building was finished – and it was left to rest and return to nature.

The castle itself is still standing and very much alive. Here framed by chestnut glory.

On my way home again, I decided to visit an old friend of mine. Kaj-Arne, a farmer who has stayed true to his farm and animals all his life. Evening light is not the best photo light these grey days, but through the barn door I managed to catch a glimpse of his pretty goose in the company of one of his friendly cats.

This last image fascinates me, because it was the light and colours that caught my attention – but what is the subject? So many frames … but I end up looking at the lonely, ugly chair. I could have concentrated on the beauty of the window, but the chair interested me. I was just walking down the stairs, seeing the left side, ordinary, rather drab…and then this fantastic window. What is Your focus in this image? I believe this is one of the many magical things with photography – we can all look at things differently…

Next week, we’re thrilled to announce a new guest host – the talented and creative Ana of Anvica’s Gallery is going to lead LAPC #122, so be sure to visit her site on Saturday, November 7th.

Looking forward to seeing your creative answers! Please include a link to Patti’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag so that everyone can find your post in the WP Reader. Once again, special thanks to all of you in our creative community for your continued participation. Be sure to stay safe and well.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #113 – A Labor of Love

7 september, 20207 september, 2020 / Leya / 70 kommentarer

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #113: A Labor of Love

First of all – thank you for so many inventive, creative and fun interpretations of last week’s challenge – Pick a Word! Fabulous!

Rusha Sams of Oh the Places We See is our host this week, and she has chosen to highlight all those people who work for a better society and a better world. A Labor of Love.

As so many of us do these days, I think of the health care workers, police and firefighters – all those brave people helping us in this unruly world. But my thoughts also go to all those who work for a sustainable world and helping vulnerable species to survive – because biodiversity is essential to us all. Without biodiversity we will all perish and our planet is lost. Even if we are living in a pandemic now, we know that other problems will not go away – we have to fight them all, simultaneously. Tough. But, the pandemic is also a result of how humans have abused and misused Nature and our only home, planet Earth.

In the header, the dotterel beach in Coromandel.

My daughter voluntered in New Zealand in 2011, working in a Nature preserving program.
She worked mostly with inventory of traps and keeping the forest open. All voluntary work is of course unpaid (monetarily…) work – A Labour of Love for the planet.

Saving the NZ Dotterel was/is a project involving many volunteers. During hatching time there was a time table for those watching the birds 24/7. We saw some Dotterels running on the beach, but also some little ones dead.
A big threat to all endemic animals, maybe especially the NZ flightless birds (the kiwi is only one of them) are the invasive possums. Emma brought home several skulls and bones from roadkills.

In 2016 we went to Ecuador, the Amazon Basin and the Galapagos Islands. Threatened already then by the oil industry and new settlers burning down the rainforest, but little did we know of the many fires that would arrive through mismanagement and the pandemic.

A vast piece of jungle was once bought by a man from the Netherlands who wanted to save it from getting destroyed. We stayed at his eco-lodge with local people guiding and lecturing about herb medicine and Amazon plants and animals. These people were born and raised here, lived here and knew the jungle like the back of their hand.

They took us out on crystal clear waters…

…and if not out on the waters – then bird watching high above the Amazon jungle.

Luis was one of our skilled guides, helping us find essential plants for cuisine and health. This was certainly a Labour of Love for him – a way of helping his people, animals and plants survive. He could also recognize and identify several hundreds of different bird sounds.

For Andi, his Labor of Love meant that several villages could survive – and thrive.

This journey is the most highly treasured one of all my journeys through 47 years. To see these people’s loving faces in preserving and teaching about their natural environment was a great joy and to learn how deep their knowledge is of Nature’s secrets was truly humbling. Knowledge and skills of this kind can only be yours if you are born and raised here. I am forever grateful to have met them all.

”We hope you’ll join us in sharing your interpretations of “A Labor of Love” whether you showcase a person or a group or an object notable for the labor or laborer involved.” Publish your post and add your link to the Comments section at the bottom of Rusha’s post. Please don’t forget to add the tag Lens-Artists so you can be found in the Reader.

Next week we will be back on schedule, and Amy will be our host for challenge #114. Until then – stay well and be kind. To yourself as well.

Thursday Thoughts – Life Returning

30 juli, 202029 juli, 2020 / Leya / 22 kommentarer

A year after my hiking forest went down I thought I would return for a new photo documentation. What has happened since then – is life returning, what and how?

Memories of the old forest are obvious, tangible,

– but life is slowly returning.

Grasses mostly – moving waves in the wind – covering and discovering…

… roots

– still holding on to the soil.

But grasses are the masters here now – mostly wavy hair-grass.

And I feel happy and hopeful. New beginnings, new life.

Silent Sunday

28 juni, 202028 juni, 2020 / Leya / 24 kommentarer

Wordless Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

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Merry Christmas!

23 december, 201919 december, 2019 / Leya / 54 kommentarer

Thursday Thoughts – Before and After

3 oktober, 201920 februari, 2020 / Leya / 63 kommentarer

This Autumn my daily forest walk ended. Not the walk itself, but everything around me – was not anymore. So, while drying my tears, I decided to find some of all the lovely images from here over the years – and photograph from the same spots today. Not easily done, but I finally gave it a try. This forest and I have a long story together, more than 40 years. I am very grateful for all of these photos. Today I just wanted to give you a touch of how I feel about it. A piece of my life and soul is gone.