Nature

Lens-Artists…Best ever

/ Leya / 15 kommentarer

A massive thank you to Steve for guest hosting the Lens-Artists Challenge this week. Please visit Steve’s brilliant site where you can find his best ever photos and so much more. I find his photography both unique and impressive, and extremely inspiring. We look forward to seeing your choices. Please remember to link to Steve’s original here and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you.

Well, I honestly cannot choose ”best ever” photos from my own archives, so I guess if you asked me next month, they would not be the same. The best I can do (!) is to choose some of my own favourites that I love, and try to tell you why. I am a very emotional person, so, first of all they must touch my heart.

Easy criteria would be prize-winning photos – as this one. But, this is the only picture that I have ever entered into a competition – and in fact – won. It was about very special trees in our life, and this old beech tree that stands in ”my forest” was not already in the book of trees. So, I was the one who filed it in the national site for old trees. I walk past it often and I report if anything has happened to it – like a storm making old branches fall. I do love it.

About the photo: Autumn is the most beautiful time up here, and as this beech is very big, I could see the smaller trees behind it from an interesting angle. Irresistible opportunity.

This caravan spotted in Morocco several years ago was exotic to me at that moment, but what more makes the photo one of my favourites are the lovely memories of that trip and everything about it. The food, the people, the desert itself and its animals.

About the photo: Sheer luck to be in the right place at the right time. This also goes for the next one.

How can I not choose this big yawn? I love cheetahs and had the camera ready when this happened – not a perfect shot, but such a beautiful animal and a fun surprise!

Greenland offered an abundance of spectacular moments and I came back with thousands of photos. The midnight sun among the icebergs was an unforgettable experience, and picking only one photo has been almost impossible. Finally I decided for this special iceberg, not because it is the best photo, but because it took me awhile to figure out that the brownish part on top of the ice must come from a frozen kayak that probably once was lost on the glacier. When? Amazing.

About the photo: I had seen this iceberg when we headed out in the late evening, and kept thinking about it the whole trip. Finally I took some photos because of its mysterious and intriguing history.

Finally, posted a couple of times – but still a favourite – is this family in Bhutan, sitting on the stone wall, looking at a cell phone. I am not sure who is the most fascinated one here, but clearly the thing was not new to them.

About the photo: I seldom take photos of people, but this family was so preoccupied by the phone, that I clicked without asking…

Last week, Egídio asked us for over-the-top photos, and I loved them all. It was great to see such variety and thinking outside the box. We hope you’ll join us next week when Ritva leads us once again. Until then, as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the adventure.

Thursday Thoughts – Contemplating the Beauty of Our World

/ Leya / 11 kommentarer

”Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”

— Rachel Carson

“I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.”

– Anne Frank

“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.”

– Gary Snyder

Lens-Artists Challenge #398 – Choose a Colour

/ Leya / 48 kommentarer

I want to paint the rest of my days with the best colors.

― Debasish Mridha

Ritva asks us to select one color (excluding black and white), and share a maximum of 6 photos where our chosen color is the prominent hue, or alternatively, you may share one photo featuring each of the following captivating colors in their various shades: red, blue, green, purple, orange, and yellow.

I am cheating…I hope Ritva forgives me for choosing my favourite colours only – but in 6 photos!

Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.

– Pedro Calderón de la Barca

There is no doubt that green is my favourite colour. To me, spring brings life back to us, revitalising, we are bathing in Mother Nature’s lush greenery. I am surrounded by green in my garden, in my home, in my daily forest walks.

In fact, I am beginning to wonder how I will survive a move to a place without a garden…Hopefully in the far future.

”How lovely yellow is! It stands for the sun.”

– Vincent van Gogh

Yellow and orange are lively and uplifting colours. If I tweak it a bit, there is a hint of red here as well. This yellow foxtail lily shines intensely in the shadow of a tree.

A certain blue enters your soul

– Henri Matisse

We have blue all around us on this planet Earth…every season has its own shade or tint. Ice on my glass house windows shows spectacular patterns.

All the other colors are just colors, but purple seems to have a soul—when you look at it, it’s looking back at you.

— Uniek Swain

Purple – irresistible Wisteria! Our visit to Japan made me plant four new Wisterias in my garden.

A big thank you to Anne for the Texture challenge last week! The diversity in your posts provided us with both inspiration and awe – I felt like going out with my camera for even more textures… Next week, it will be Egídio’s turn to lead us, so be sure to visit his beautiful site for more creative ideas.

Until then – stay well and be kind.

Thursday Thoughts – Brothers

/ Leya / 26 kommentarer

I have no siblings, but as a child and young woman, this didn’t bother me. I loved being on my own – whether it was reading, sketching, painting, writing, collecting stones or walking in the forest or in my grandmother’s garden. But as a grown up, and now aging – I would have loved to have a sister or brother to share memories with and consult about our old parents.

So, where am I going with this? Well…in South Africa we met two beautiful brothers, cheetas, where the first photo is from our first meeting, the day we arrived.

The second meeting was three days later, and luckily we found them resting in the same place again.

Our ranger, Charles, told us their story, how they had lost two partners and also their cubs, to lion attacks.

This led to them being monitored – and the pack of lions as well, in an attempt to protect them. I read that 90% of all newborn cheetas are killed by other predators, such as lions. If they survive the first critical months, they can reach 15 years of age.

I wondered if the reserve was going to find new mates for these two and give breeding another try. Charles had no answer to that, and stated that nature works things in its own way.

In my opinion these cats are one of the most beautiful creations in nature – their agility, their speed, their beauty. They hunt daytime and cheetas are the fastest, now living land mammals, with a short distance record of 104.4km/h in 200m.

Charles clearly spoke with affection when he told us their story, because he had been following them since their first day. And, it was not only Charles who had tears in his eyes when we left them resting in the evening sun. Their story touched my heart, and I felt some comfort in knowing they at least had each other. I wish them good luck in the future – may they be lucky in hunting and may they find new mates and be blessed with little ones.

But, Nature decides.

LAPC #395 – Looking Back to Challenge #155 – On the Water

/ Leya / 33 kommentarer

Beth is looking back this week. Originally it was John´s post, and now Beth hands it over to us – please take a look at both posts!

I am just back from a trip to Croatia, a trip I have wanted to make for some years now, but life got in between. I hope you will enjoy following me along to some of its highlights!

I have never seen so many waterfalls in one day, or even a year – or maybe in my whole life. And they were all different, and all magnificent. The Plitvice Lakes National Park is the oldest and the largest national park in Croatia, and a UNESCO World Heritage. It covers an area of just under 300 km2 and the lake system is comprised of 16 named and several smaller unnamed lakes, cascading one into the next. There are twelve lakes in the Upper system and four in the Lower system.

Walking through a forest where water surrounds you – and every tree – imagine the sound! The biggest waterfall, Veliki Slap, is a wonder where you walk across the lower part and can truly enjoy its beauty, all the way from the top and down. You also walk on boardwalks, to come closer to the falls in every lake. So much magic. The exceptional beauty of this park makes it outstanding and something to put on your bucket list – if it is not already there.

I hope the pictures speak for themselves. The walk took 7 hours with photo stops and food. So be sure to give it a whole day. And if you can – go in low season, we had read about the masses of tourists during the high season and did not want that stress.

As we were driving from Zagreb to Plitvice, we happened upon a village we had never heard of before, Rastoke, on the Korana River. On the water! The houses were literally situated on the water and the village is renowned for its mills and waterfalls. A wonderful surprise!

Thank you, Beth, for a wonderful challenge – just right for me this week! Show anything on the water. You can choose to show watercraft, things floating, closeups of water, scenic water landscapes, or anything else you can think of. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to her original post.

Last week your responses to John’s “History Through the Lens” challenge were all inspiring. I enjoyed all of the images and learned a lot from your posts. Thank you to everyone who joined the challenge..

On Saturday, May 2 at noon eastern time it’s my turn to be your host – Ann-Christine/Leya.