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Thursday Thoughts – Glacier Bay and the Mendenhall Glacier

/ Leya / 32 kommentarer

On the ship again – towards Glacier Bay. Lovely views of the skies and mountains.

It was of course cold close to the glacier, but well dressed it was no problem. It felt just like home.

When we reached the edge of the receding glacier, there was no clear sight, but it was ok. We don’t know, but maybe this was the last time for us coming close to a glacier – they are all receding and many are already lost. I am grateful to have walked quite some glaciers in my younger days. They are beautiful. I cannot bear the thought of my grandchildren never seeing one or walking one. It is unfathomable.

The beauty of snowcapped mountains – is still there though.

The Mendenhall is obviously a famous glacier, and we took the local bus in Juneau and walked the last miles to see it. The landscape is beautiful, but was almost invisible when we reached the glacier. We waited for some 15 minutes, and there it appeared through the fog. That’s the way of glacier areas. But, it is worth the waiting!

I love the bluish ice and the edges like melted chocolate. The exhibition inside the visitor center showed just how much the glacier has receded over the years – and now almost over the months…

The shining Nugget falls were quite spectacular and the stillness in the air was remarkable. Walking back again to catch the last bus, we realised that the Mendenhall maybe looked its best from a distance.

Thank you for joining me on the glacier tour!

Lens-Artists Challenge # 272 – Billboards and Signs

/ Leya / 56 kommentarer

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.

– Albert Einstein

John asks us to look for signs or billboards, they are everywhere. And, if you don’t capture images of physical signs, consider any photographs of metaphorical signs. Thank you, I will try a mix!

Let’s start with the season – not many colours yet, but enough to know autumn is coming..

Then some signs of power: a wall in Split, showing the old city map, and who built the city.

Another sign of power – a jaguar sitting on a Jaguar.

A gallery of different signs from our travels would be a good idea, but I haven’t got that many. Here are some signs I remember well though…

Signs from Madeira, China, Italy, Sweden, England, Scotland, New Zealand, Iceland, Alaska and Canada. Wondering about the toilet? It’s in The Elephant House in Edinburgh – the birthplace of the Harry Potter novels. (Not the toilets…) J. K. Rowling first wrote about him from a table in this café. The signs are from fans all over the world…And here is one of her own:

Hearing voices no one else can hear isn’t a good sign, even in the wizarding world.

– J. K. Rowling

I cannot leave you without two favourites from Tblisi, Georgia, a city with a warm heart for its stray cats and dogs. The dog house has got a feeding automat where you can put in some money and there will fall down dog food for the strays to munch.

We are looking forward to seeing your challenge response this week. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists so we can find you in the reader, and link to John’s original post.

Many thanks to Amy for hosting last week’s challenge, “Contrasts”, and thanks to you for creative and interesting posts! Next week, it’s Sofia’s turn. If you want to join in the challenge, but aren’t sure how to get started, check here.

Thursday Thoughts – Cruising

/ Leya / 26 kommentarer

We left a sunny Seattle and sailed north to Ketchikan. A town with only 8000 inhabitants, but

– The Salmon Capital of the World.

And indeed we saw salmon…lots of salmon. The river was teeming with life, but fishing bears were not in sight, in fact that tour was cancelled due to heavy fog.

Instead we watched seals catching salmon when we walked along the charming Creek Streat.

The lovely old bus was a must photo.

And, of course we left the harbour in sunshine – we hadn’t seen a single ray earlier that day.

Lens-Artists Challenge #271 – Contrasts

/ Leya / 50 kommentarer

Contrast is what makes photography interesting.

– Conrad Hall

This week Amy challenges us to show contrasts – please visit her inspirational site for more ideas!

My post was mostly made from our Alaska cruise, but a couple of images are from Prague. The first thing that comes to mind is black and white, here illustrated by the hanging man in Prague (…to me B&W also is connected to horror movies) and scyscrapers in Seattle.

Next up are some contrasting colours, black and white, blue and orange.

Over to Frank Gehry’s building and the Monorail built for the World Exhibition in 1962. Interesting to see it pass ”into” the building.

This is totally another kind of contrast. Architecture is fascinating, with contrasts and juxtapositions making us see, hate or appreciate.

On the road side of the same building the contrasts are in both colours, shapes and structures. The natural world/advanced architecture.

A collection of colours, silhouettes and textures. Close/sharp – faraway/blurred. Smooth water contrasting harsh cliffs – and framed/unframed is another contrast.

Finally, a before/after – colour/monochrome from Seattle harbour and seafront.

As you can see, contrasts in photography are not limited to black and white. There are architectual structures, colours/textures, daylight/nightlight – and many more. We hope you will join us sharing the contrasts you’ve captured through your lens. Please make a link to Amy’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag so we can find you in the WP Reader.
Many thanks for all your splendid and creative On Display – posts last week. We really enjoyed your beautiful displays. I still go back and look at them… Next week, John (Journeys with Johnbo) will host LAPC #272. Be sure to visit his site for inspiration.

Thursday Thoughts – Chihuly II

/ Leya / 34 kommentarer

I hope you are prepared for more? Here we go, with his magical pavillion and garden in Seattle.

His chandeliers are glorious. We also enjoyed seeing the film on how he and his team works, and how they manage to transport his art for new exhibitions all over the world. Those magical chandeliers made me almost hear Sia Furler’s Chandelier (her great hit from 2014) dancing through the room.

The garden during daylight is of course not the same as the brightly lit night garden. But, that was the only option for us.

And his art speaks for itself. We had a much longed for visit – and we were not disappointed. It matched all our dreams.

Lens- Artists Challenge #270 – On Display

/ Leya / 217 kommentarer

This week I thought we would reuse an old theme – On Display. And it could almost be about anything… from a shoe shop to a garden party. Maybe you passed a lovely market with an amazing display of fruit and vegetables, or a fancy shopping center with striking design in the windows, or maybe a garden with surprising ideas.

Luckily I was visiting Sofiero Palace because of its gardening days some weeks ago. ( With Viveka, the lovely lady in one of my Thursday posts )

You attract people with the qualities you display. You keep them by the qualities you possess.

– Unknown

The royal gardens of Sofiero has its own story, and is renowned for its extensive park with 500 different varieties of Rhododendrons. King Gustaf VI and his wife, Louise Mountbatten, designed the gardens. On our visit, the display was according to the season, autumnal, with vegetables, fruit and berries, zinnias and dahlias.

We were lucky with the weather as well, so everything still looked fresh and appealing.

The dahlias were overwhelming – still growing or already picked and on display.

It’s not our art, but our heart that’s on display.

– Gary Holland

A gigantic apple tree, decorated for lunch – like a romantic painting. I wished I could have had such a lush display in my own garden. Sitting at this table with happy friends and good food – the very thought of it made my imagination swoon. I would ask all of you to be my guest!

Karl Fredrik is a florist, gardener and interior designer who often is seen in different programs on Swedish TV. At Sofiero, he used a glasshouse to display his art, wine bottles, fruits and plants. And – as is his trade mark – there was MUCH of everything. I haven’t been to his home, Eklaholm, in Scania, so I was looking forward to seeing his arrangements here.

I hope you enjoy!

Let your personality and passions shine through in the objects you choose to display in your home.

– Jeremiah Brent

I was lucky to meet the busy artist himself in the doorway to the glass house – there he was with a new load of bottles! I just had to ask…and he gladly let me take a snapshot of him.

Many thanks to Patti for the fantastic On the Edge challenge – a joy to see all your inspiring posts! I hope you will join us this week too, and please use the Lens-Artists tag and link your post to mine – because now we are looking forward to seeing what You have found on display! At home or anywhere in the world.

Have fun and stay inspired – I cannot wait to see your displays!

Thursday Thoughts – Finally, Chihuly

/ Leya / 41 kommentarer

Many of you have featured works of Dale Chihuly, and I have longed to see them with my own eyes. In Seattle I finally did. So, I guess he needs no introduction – just enjoy!

Starting with the ceiling:

Floor – Ikebana boat and Niijima Floats.

Both his own boats.

Glorious displays everywhere in the rooms.

Next week I will post some more, chandeliers, from his pavillion and from the garden too. He is an extraordinary artist. They showed a movie on his life, work and exhibitions. I needed that to understand how spontaneous his ideas come up, and how it is possible to transport these enormous glassworks all over the world.