Thursday Thoughts – Memories From Last January

25 januari, 2018 / Leya / 13 kommentarer

Most photos this month were from the Galapagos Islands and our beautiful ship – Cachalote – Here are some of my favorites. In the header, me and my lovely mockingbird!

Our lovely crew…

…and our brilliant guide, Juan – planning the next day for us – excellent mapping!

Cachalote

Red-billed Tropicbird – a true beauty in its gracefulness

On our way exploring

Volcanic Islands all of them – and here at Sullivan Bay – strikingly beautiful.

The sealions were so adorable…

My absolute favorites on this trip were the iguanas – especially the land iguanas. We were so lucky to find an iguana up in the cacti – they love eating them, but rarely have any success in climbing them.

I would not mind going back one day – to see the other islands as well. Each island has its own specific flora and fauna. Mostly untouched by humans – and therefore, animal kingdoms.

Most well-known are these giants, of course

WPC: Variations on a Theme

24 januari, 2018 / Leya / 32 kommentarer

Variations on a theme – a school of fish!

Wordless Wednesday

24 januari, 2018 / Leya / 3 kommentarer

CFFC: Letter W

23 januari, 2018 / Leya / 9 kommentarer

Letter W – Needs to start with W and have two vowels in the word (window, wheel, wagon, working, weather, woodshed, woman)

In the header – Wisteria – a favorite flower in every respect!

Woman. One of my favorites -a collegue of mine, waiting for Heathcliff on the moors!

Window. From a silent, late evening walk in the old part of Riga.

Enchanted Forest

22 januari, 2018 / Leya / 11 kommentarer

Snowy Mist

21 januari, 201821 januari, 2018 / Leya / 20 kommentarer

Snow arrived during the night, and then the temperature rose above zero C. I had a lovely forest walk with Totti – light shifting and no wind.

The first half hour, there was not much mist, but …tangible silence.

Have you ever noticed how the colours – the few colours there are during winter –

seem to stand out in the mist?

With the fading light, you feel like walking inside a movie landscape. And you keep looking for a glimpse of the sky – just to stay real.

And for well known landmarks…

…to keep track of where you are.

In the open landscape, the sight is even worse – luckily the snow reveals my path.

As a farewell of this beautiful day- the light returns for my last 10 minutes of hiking.

Enhancing, Destroying – or Just For Fun?

19 januari, 2018 / Leya / 21 kommentarer

I have been playing around with Photoshop, and Nik filters. I wanted to show this little island, Tylö, in three different interpretations. In the first picture – in the header – it lies hidden in a haze, seen from the attic window of the hotel building.

In the second one, you see it in a B&W conversion, a bit old style, with only the sea in front and behind …

…and in the last picture, you see the island the way I did through my camera lens.

It is not the same picture, but the same island photographed. I would love to hear your thoughts and reflections: Which interpretation do you prefer? Why? What feeling/mood comes up when you look at one of these pictures?

Do you like to enhance/change your own pictures much before posting, or should they go as true and ”natural” as possible?

Wish you a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

17 januari, 2018 / Leya / 13 kommentarer

Tylösand Hotel – Per Gessle and Roxette

15 januari, 201815 januari, 2018 / Leya / 10 kommentarer

Tres Hombres Art exhibits Scandinavian and international art everywhere in the hotel. Mostly modern and photographic. Right now there is about 400 works of art here, and several of them you can buy.

Here is a short gallery with a few of them. Notes under the pictures.

The first thing you see – this is the view from the hotel

The entrance – the hotel is in most parts from the 19th and 20th century

Seen from the first floor

One of my favorites:”Obama in the Rain”, by Brooks Kraft

Another favorite: ”Michael Jackson” , by Albert Watson

Pavarotti in the stairway…

Per Gessle has really put his mark on the hotel design, and downstairs is the large bar with records and posters from his long career with Roxette (Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson) and Gyllene Tider.

Who does not remember Joyride, It must have been love, Dressed for success, The look etc.