For Cee tonight – early morning and forest light.
It is the light that makes the subtle light shine…
Nature
On Leaving Summer
As we leave summer behind and enter Autumn, I want to express my gratefulness to the Swedish summer I experienced in Abisko.
Abisko is forever connected to my first hike on the King’s Trail when I was young
But now it will also be remembered for giving us the only real Swedish summer in 2018
For its lushness, colours and Linneas – and for the only raindrops for three months.
No one can deny the beauty of the mountain forest and its shy inhabitants…
…hiding their freshness in the cool air –
…and silently showing off their finery –
But Autumn is here now – hopefully with more colourful strokes from Nature’s palette
Thank you – Abisko – I am forever grateful!
Thursday’s Special: Traces of The Past Y4-07
Paula, at Lost in Translation, asks us again to find traces of the past.
In Lofoten this summer, we experienced what is said to be the oldest and most authentic fishing village (fiskevær) there is – Nusfjord.
Dating back to the 19th century…
the village is still alive with rorbuer and everything.
We spent some hours there just walking – enjoying the past – and the present.
We had our lunch overlooking the charming harbour. Contemplating the difference between our own comparatively easy lives and the every day struggle where the family’s breadwinner might be lost to the sea any day.
Thursday Thoughts – The Lonely House
Lonely houses have always fascinated me, but maybe you too have noticed, that some people have a downright obsession with them…?
A lonely house can have a very picturesque location…
– maybe not that easily accessible…
And, at a closer look, you might find it is only an old boat shed…
…or maybe a lonely barn. On the other hand – I could live in one of those as well.
Some newer loners enjoy spectacular seascape views…
…while others stand dilapidated, slowly falling apart.
And then, there are the abandoned houses just looking – eerie…
…while others, at the end of the road, see new guests arriving every year.
Where do you stand in this? Do you believe they are lonely, desolate, forlorn, solitary – or what word would you use? Is a house ”alive” in some ways? Could they hide/have memories? Do you ask yourself questions like: I wonder who once lived here? And, what did their lives look like? Why did they leave?
Are you constantly photographing them…or would never dream of doing it?
I find them enigmatic.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #7: Everyday Moments
Everyday moments – maybe it is easy to forget how important they are, because (I) we seldom succeed in living as mindful as we should… Thank you, Amy, for the opportunity of highlighting some of those precious moments.
Everyday I have to care for my best friends, Totti and Milo. Following their lives is a gift.
Even if I see to their daily needs, sometimes a professional grooming is necessary – especially if you want to win next competition!
Not yet….are they best friends, but it is coming. Milo is slowly learning what he can do… or not…Totti has an angel’s patience – he is really too kind and considerate for his own good.
So, I try to walk Totti alone, just him and me, once a day. Picking berries, finding wild animals – and apple trees – in the forest and meadows.
Some days we go to our summer house, or just to the sea, to relax, and only – exist…
…which is so important…Life is short – someone will soon grow out of those sandals.
Taking a boat to one of the small islands in the archipelago is always a treat.
Driving home to our ordinary house again, the farmers are usually busy in the fields, but this year there is not much left to harvest. The drought has taken its toll.
Every month – not every day – we usually visit some interesting exhibitions. It could be about almost anything. Here a fashion and theater theme by designer Camilla Thulin.
This summer there was no rain – but all the other summers there usually are everyday moments with umbrellas!
During summer, spring or autumn – or all of them – we sometimes get a bit tired of everyday life, and decide to hop on the train/ferry to our neighbor country, Denmark.
Somehow I love train stations…
…and ferries. Some guys are very, very tired of the everyday thing…but there is always room for a ferry feet stretching!
Strolling the streets of Copenhagen is always a treat. To us, Denmark means good food, fantastic exhibitions, lovely people and yellow houses with cosy corners!
To see how others interpreted the challenge, visit our Lens-Artists reader section, or click on Amy’s challenge here.
Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge: Mirror Images or Reflections
Thursday Thoughts – An Ordinary, Early Autumn Day
An early dog walk…in Autumn fogs, cool and soft.
There are occasional glimpses of sun – I brought my little point and shoot camera only…
It is difficult to walk two dogs and try to shoot with a heavy camera.
Resting after breakfast – Totti and Milo both love our summer house.
Mornings are the best time to enjoy the stillness – no summer guests anymore. Paths are empty, and the fields belong to geese and horses only. Milo found that dwarfed opening gate in the hedge…I always wonder who once lived there – given that Milo is about 30 cm high now…
Forest walk in the evening – some birds chirping low and softly muted. There is no wind so the flies are on the hunt.
This area, Lindö, is a nature reserve, so you have to be kind to those flies and mosquitoes as well…
Have you ever had a puppy? Sometimes my toes wish they hadn’t…
I know Milo is a good guy, and that Totti is slowly adjusting. But I can read Totti’s thoughts by the look of his eyes – just when is that ”thing” going home again...
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Patterns
This spring, I visited Bhutan, and met so many fantastic people and a landscape so different from ours in Scandinavia. Harmony – this is the word describing it best.
I eagerly noticed all the patterns in people’s lives – in clothes, buildings, decorations, religious paintings and habits…as well as patterns in Nature herself. Like the pattern in the header – the mules and horses trotting in a row – while the lines of the landscape, the roads, paths and fences, create natural frames.
I often try to find and capture the less obvious patterns, noticing that colours are not that important to make you see the pattern or structure itself.
But in most cases colours make an obvious difference, natural colours as well as man made ones.
Either you can find patterns in a sweeping landscape or cityscape or you can look at the little details. Any way, you will find that almost everything consists of just – patterns. Moreover, in our human society, they often have a ritual or symbolic meaning.
Among the most interesting patterns must be languages. When a language is written in beautiful pictures or letters – their special patterns will give them yet another meaning. Magical, isn’t it?
Life is beautiful in so many ways – and patterns are a big part of it. So, for this week’s challenge, share your interpretation of patterns— open your eyes and find new ones! In you own home, outdoors, man made or natural… Use your curiosity and creativity!
- In your post, include a link to this challenge.
- Use the tag “Lens-Artists” in your post. If you use a different tag, other bloggers won’t find your post in the Reader! Also keep in mind that you should use fewer than 15 tags for your post to appear in the Reader. For more information on how to tag, click here.
- Amy will post the next challenge on Saturday, August 18th.
- Missed our initial Lens-Artists challenge announcement? Click here for details.
Have you seen these?
Great diversity, from Abrie Joubert of Abrie Dink Hardop
Henry Lee of Fotoeins Fotografie
Storm coming in from the sea, from Suzanne of Being in Nature
Thank you for joining the challenge and have an inspiring week!
Thursday Thoughts – On Beauty
According to Wikipedia, Beauty is ”a characteristic of an animal, idea, object, person or place that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure or satisfaction.”
The experience of ”beauty” is also connected to being in balance and harmony with nature, which may lead to feelings of attraction and emotional well-being.
Philosopher and novelist Umberto Eco wrote On Beauty: A history of a Western idea (2004) and On Ugliness (2007). A character in his novel The Name of the Rose declares: ”three things concur in creating beauty: first of all integrity or perfection, and for this reason we consider ugly all incomplete things; then proper proportion or consonance; and finally clarity and light”, before going on to say ”the sight of the beautiful implies peace”. (Wikipedia)
The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express
Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Margaret Wolfe Hungerford
(The first person to use it in the form we know today.)
It is unknown exactly where or how this idiom originated but it has been used in different forms since 3rd century BC when it first appeared in Greek.
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not
Lofoten – Going South, to Å
It takes a whole day to drive down from Narvik to Å, 380 kilometres, and you have to stop several times just to walk out in all that beauty…
Not far from Svolvær, we reached Kabelvåg, and stopped to admire the grand Lofoten Cathedral (1898) – all in wood – that takes impressive 1200 visitors. Very beautifully built, but in need of restoration and painting now.
Lofotr Viking Museum in Borg is the place where the grandest house ever from the Viking Era was found, and a copy of it was built in natural size.
As the roads grew more narrow and winding, the sun went behind the clouds and was mostly veiled in the soft fog. This, of course, sometimes made the landscape even more interesting.
Looking behind us, the clear skies were still there though.
Winding roads among the small islands, and
grass clad roofs everywhere. A landscape reminding of a Tolkien story.
Finally, after being mistaken several times – we reached Å, where we were going to spend the night. Meet more of Å in the next post!
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