Lens-Artists Challenge #36: – Around the Neighborhood

10 mars, 201921 februari, 2020 / Leya / 77 kommentarer

Tinas challenge this week is to take us Around the Neighborhood. Your own, someone else’s or maybe from where you stayed on one of your travels. I have chosen our summer paradise in Blekinge, Sweden.

We have a tiny cottage there, where we spend some lovely summer weeks every year.

Our summer house is small, but the area is known for its big and beautiful old buildings.

The park, Ronneby Brunn, is a famous, prize winning beauty, but in the neighborhood you will also find old mansions – some abandoned- but their gardens are kept alive.

So, what more will you find here? Harmony…

and the sea. Quiet mornings you can take the canoe and paddle along the little stream reaching from the sea to a lake nearby.

Or, you can walk or bike along the country roads and listen to the birds singing and the cattle munching away. You will soon get used to the strange looks you get…

Blekinge is also renowned for its many old oak trees. This giant stands at Gökalv, where we spend much time hiking and watching the sunset. Estimated age – several hundred years old.

When dinner is finished, we walk or bike along the shore to see the horses and the swans showing off their young.

And when sunset is approaching, we return to Gökalv for the glorious ending of the day.

Maybe a final swim before going to bed – if it is a warm night…

The longest day of the year, darkness will never fall, so, we walk along the water line and listen to the swallows chasing mosquitos. Being grateful to just exist.

Thank you, Tina, for an inspiring challenge and the opportunity to visit so many neighborhoods around the world!

Today it is…

8 mars, 2019 / Leya / 10 kommentarer

International Women’s Day 2019

Even if she is far too young to be called a woman, Greta Thunberg is the first name on the list from a poll made by one of our most important evening papers:

Rent allmänt, vilken svensk kvinna tycker du har utmärkt sig särskilt positivt under de senaste 12 månaderna? Generally speaking, what Swedish woman do you believe excelled in the most positive way during the last 12 months?

https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/ddxJn1?refpartner=link_copy_app_share

Keep up the good work, Great, Greta ♥ And mother, going on 84, having forest fika –

I love you ♥!

Thursday Thoughts – Oaks and Hazel in All Directions

7 mars, 201921 februari, 2020 / Leya / 17 kommentarer

Have you ever stopped to look at a view from all directions – tried to memorize it and then photographed it? I think it makes me more firmly rooted. In the header – North.

An unknown country road on a sunny February day – no wind. East.

Three sides photographed now – West.

When I walked out in the middle of the road here, I felt I had at least three thoughts, besides how beautiful the oaks were: I hope there are no cars coming… I wonder when this road lost its gravel? I wonder how many farms were connected by it from the start? – Now I wonder what your thoughts might be? I love country roads – they hold a special place in my heart, so, how about you?

And finally, South.

How I love the naked winter trees against the blue sky.

Friendly Friday: Dreamy

24 februari, 201924 februari, 2019 / Leya / 24 kommentarer

Snow asks us to feel Dreamy this Friendly Friday. To me, mountains are irresistible, they hold my dreams of faraway countries and endless, secret paths beyond every peak.

And then…lying on my back in the grass, looking at the summer clouds. As a child I used to imagine and fantasize around their figures and shapes. A lovely way of dreaming.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #34: Close-Up

23 februari, 201921 februari, 2020 / Leya / 173 kommentarer

The light is returning to the northern hemisphere, but we still have winter –

– which means the opportunities are less for us who love photography – or?

A great solution to the problem is close-ups or macro photography. Your own home is an endless source of motifs – and maybe a look into new worlds. So, this week’s challenge is Close-ups. Looking forward to your creative answers to this prompt!

You certainly don’t have to buy a macro lens – most cameras are good at close-ups. If you have a smartphone/android/iPhone – you will be surprised how easily you get good results.

But, last year I finally bought a macro lens – after a lecture by one of our best Swedish macro photographers. She recommended a TAMRON SP 90mm F/2.8. In this post, you are looking through that macro lens. (All photos except one – I guess you see which one…) As usual, click on the images to enlarge.

Let us see what I found when I ventured out into my flower pot, abandoned for the winter in my garden. Have a look down its frozen interior!

This is something of what I found:

And they are not only droplets – but frozen ones, lovingly held by the tiny plants.

Have fun with your close-ups and hope to see you soon –

Before you go, thank you to Patti for a marvelous Nature challenge!

Thursday Thoughts – from Umeå

21 februari, 201921 februari, 2020 / Leya / 39 kommentarer

I went to Umeå for a couple of days to visit my daughter – my son wanted to go as well.

Listen to Sara – the voice of Västerbotten!

Umeå is a student’s dream – and was the cultural capital of Europe in 2014.

Walking this passage we can both listen to and see the work of the author Sara Lidman – the voice of Västerbotten (this part of Sweden).

Umeå (ca 90 000 inhabitants) started in the 14th century, and is called the capital of Norrland and the City of Birches. I really should visit in spring to see the fragrant green.

Gammlia

Gammlia is an open air museum with many old buildings for people to visit and remember the olden days. Sami people have a special place here.

The sun has returned to Norrland as well – and sitting outdoors to catch the warmth is essential. Skiing and ice skating on the river is for every person, old and young. It is fun to watch three year olds racing like wild things – and are they skilled!

In the middle of the city they build ice playgrounds and a maze. And many roads have a built in heating coil to take away the snow.

After some 12 kilometers walking, we took a break at a lovely old book store.

And we had some delicious food as well…before walking back home – in the middle of the street like everyone else did. Too much snow and ice where we should have walked! But we did not slip or fall, despite the difficult weather.

Normally the temperature never rise above zero during winter, but now, due to climate change, it frequently jumps up and down. Last week -25 C and this weekend 5-6 plus and thaw. The Sami people and their reindeer suffer from these changes because when the temperature drops again, there will be a thick ice cover and the reindeer cannot reach the necessary food under the snow. The animals starve and the Sami people have to use state funds to survive.

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Surface

19 februari, 2019 / Leya / 20 kommentarer

For Frank at Dutch Goes The Photo – Ripples on the Surface

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #33 – Nature

19 februari, 20198 mars, 2020 / Leya / 73 kommentarer

Patti’s challenge this week is Nature. I have spent most of my spare time in nature – and that is where I belong. The Galapagos Islands have been a dream ever since I was a child.

And in 2016 we went for Ecuador, the Amazon and Galapagos.

As all 19 islands are of volcanic origin, every island is different and many of their inhabitants are endemic to just that island. Harsh nature, but life thrives.

Among cacti and volcanic ground, birds and plants can live their lives without human interference. As a child I thought this must be a true Paradise.

In fact it is. Here you come close to nature and the animals, because they are not afraid of humans – they have no reason to be.

You can watch them hunt…like this Yellow -crowned night heron,

and fight – be it the giant land iguanas (stay clear here!)…

or the graceful Swallow-tailed Gulls.

Red-footed Boobies

The birds also allow you to watch them building their nests. I was 10 centimeters from the Red-footed Boobies – and they just kept courting and building without minding me.

The Marine Iguanas displayed their grandest costumes while sunbathing…

…and even let you get close-ups while lying on the ground, contemplating life.

It is the co-existing human – nature that fascinates me. It could be so easy…but we humans make it so difficult…

Why not walk the endless beaches together? There is room for us, if we only let there be…

If we are respectful,

and stay 2 meters away (the limit here on the islands),

then the animals might even come up to you. We are all curious creatures if we have nothing to fear. One of Nature’s little wonders – my favorite..

…the simple beauty of a Mockingbird

So, if you tread lightly and show respect…

we can live together, love together, and let Mother Nature thrive.

I will always love these islands – where Nature rules, and man is only a grateful guest.

Thank you to Patti for this wonderful challenge – and for the chance to present my view of Paradise.

Macro Monday – From Soil to Ice

11 februari, 2019 / Leya / 25 kommentarer

My son found this little one when walking the path up to my door. Surely he is a bit too early on his way – the snail? February only.

He was so tiny, only about 3 millimeters, and still venturing out in this big world…on icy paths with an unwashed house. He ”looked” at me…

but, when I came too close with the camera, he silently steered away.

My son decided to pick him up and hide him under the garden bushes – out of sight from hungry little birds. Maybe we will meet again, on our way towards summer?

Lens-Artists Challenge #32 – Shadows

10 februari, 201921 februari, 2020 / Leya / 51 kommentarer

In the header, the grand Aqueduct of Segovia, Spain. A picture where you cannot ignore the importance of shadows. For Tina’s challenge this week – Shadows.

Shadow owes its birth to light.

John Gay