Tankar

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #87 – Reflections

/ Leya / 68 kommentarer

We welcome another guest blogger this week, Miriam of The Showers of Blessings.  She suggests we find reflections to share.

Believe it or not, but I found myself in some of mine…even though I never do selfies.

Reflect upon your present blessings — of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.
― Charles Dickens

Today, International Women’s Day, we might just change his quote a bit…and put in woman and women too.

Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?

― Charles Bukowski

Did you ever wonder if the person in the puddle is real, and you’re just a reflection of him?

― Bill Watterson 

Bewilderment increases in the presence of the mirrors.
― Tarjei Vesaas,

When do I see a photograph, when a reflection?
― Philip K. Dick,

A lake is a landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.
― Henry David Thoreau,

 

These images were made in Iceland, Stettin, Copenhagen, Bilbao, Norway and Switzerland. As usual, click to enlarge.

For the rest of March, we will follow the usual schedule – and stay tuned for next Saturday when the host is me, Leya!

 

Thursday Thoughts – Umeå Again!

/ Leya / 39 kommentarer

Last weekend I went to Umeå with my son – to visit the daughter/sister. We all love this city, and its famous white birches. We hoped to have some fun in each other’s company, and to finally get some winter. As you can understand we got more winter than down in Skåne – but not much snow. Usually they have 75 – 100 cm. Too much jumping temperatures this winter, rain and snow taking turns. We did some tough walking!

We were lucky with the weather though – sun and temperatures between – 14C and – 3C.

Naturally we had to go to the big game shop with every game you can think of – we bought some new ones with us home. The evenings were filled with laughter and fun while playing – or trying to understand the new rules…

And, we went to the movies to see Parasite. All of us agreed it was worthy of every Oscar it got. I do recommend watching it – clever and entertaining, thrilling and fun. Really Something Else! Be prepared – the ending is a Tarantino one.

As always we visited the famous book cafe’ from where our most prestigious TV program on cultural events is sent. As we all love this place – I could not resist getting the most out of the visit by merging two of the rooms into one…

…and the bicycle, standing in another window in another room!

I hope you had some fun too, reading about our adventures. Just being together is a great joy, and playing board games is a wonderful way of using your spare time!

 

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #86 – Change Your Perspective

/ Leya / 55 kommentarer

This week Patti shares some different perspectives to try in our photography – ”We invite you to break the habit of shooting photos at eye-level and change your perspective. […] show us your photographs taken from a variety of perspectives -”!

I believe the differences are clearly visible in flower photography –

In the opening photo of my ”Princess of the Night”, I am lying on the floor in the middle of the night to get a view of the inside of the flower.

Close-up – from a low position is one of my favorite perspectives.

Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph. – Matt Hardy

Eye level – front and side, often looks even better back lit.

The more pictures you see, the better you are as a photographer.
– Robert Mapplethorpe

Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like.– David Alan Harvey

Going low from a distance can sometimes create a more interesting picture.

A good photograph is knowing where to stand.
– Ansel Adams

Looking down is necessary to get the beauty of both the butterfly and the flower.

With tiny flowers, mass-effect can do the trick – and light and darkness of course.

Where light and shadow fall on your subject – that is the essence of expression and art through photography.
– Scott Bourne

Sheer Mass-effect

Thank you, Tina, and all participating bloggers, for last week’s Treasure Hunt – a success with many fun and interesting entries!

And here is a Special announcement:

At Lens-Artists are delighted to announce that the March 7th challenge (#87) will be hosted by our special guest host, Miriam Hurdle at The Showers of Blessings   Please be sure to visit Miriam’s site on Saturday, March 7th to view her challenge.  For the rest of March, we’ll follow our usual weekly schedule:

 

Thursday Thoughts – The Cats of Kotor

/ Leya / 19 kommentarer

Kotor has got one of the best preserved medieval Old Towns in the Adriatic and is a double Unesco World Heritage Site. No sun when we visited, but still beautiful –

Kroatien Bosnien Herzegovina 590-2

When you visit this old town, you will immediately notice how many cats there are… Lonely Planet even goes so far as featuring Kotor in their Top 10 destinations for cat lovers! So, the Venetian Lion, symbol of the city, has more or less been replaced by a smaller variety – a stray cat.

Today they have dedicated an open square to the cats, and made small houses for them to stay in the park. Even with free WiFi…

The attitude towards cats is said to have developed from folklore, with the Montenegrin people holding the belief that cats saved the town of Kotor. It is reported that in 1918, during the revolt from the Austro-Hungarian navy, the Slav sailors would bring their ships into The Bay of Kotor, and with them, also their cats.

Kotor in those days was plagued by lots of mice, rats and snakes, and the various diseases those animals brought. Thus it became a blessing to have the cats there, to protect the town. And that is why cats have become a symbol of good luck for Montenegro.

Walking through the narrow lanes, I did try to find a dog or two…but the only sign (!) of one was – MILO. My own dog – it’s just that this Milo was a restaurant…