And I guess you need that too! Enjoy some harmonies from Gothenburg Palm House (built in the 19th C), modelled from the Crystal Palace Exhibition in Hyde Park, London,1851.
A ”winter rocket” from South Africa
Water beauties with adianthum –
and in the opener, what could be more appropriate than an air plant?
I wanted [photography] to be more than a document, to be something that is as close as you could possibly be to the subject. – Chris Killip
A famous quote from Robert Capa goes: If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough. And
surely you win some things by getting closer – but at the same time you lose things too… For LAPC #190, Patti’s challenge is about moving closer to your subject. Post one photo or a series of photos showing what happened when you got closer to your subject!
So, get closer by moving your feet, by using a zoom or macro lens, or by cropping the photo. In my images I have zoomed in or cropped – no macro lens in these.
My inspiration was an interesting design museum in Gothenburg, which made our stay last weekend really worth while. The museum grew from a family with deep interest in oriental art into a versatile collection. We spent some hours enjoying and learning some really new things to us.
A netsuke is an artistically carved button-like toggle that was used to fasten cases for medicine and tobacco onto the belt of a kimono. From originally having been a simple piece of wood, the designs, motifs and materials changed and developed over the centuries. Ivory and wood, but also metal, horn and porcelain was used by the skilled artists.
Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. – Frank Lloyd Wright
The motifs are from Japanese and Chinese mythology, and from the plant and animal worlds. Clearly it wasn’t enough with overall pictures – you had to get closer. An average sized netsuke is not bigger than 2-4 cm. The details are exquisite.
The word ”netsuke” means ”root to hang from”. Notice the opener with a snake in the pumpkin (?).
One of the rooms contained beautiful tapestries – this one from our famous Swedish artist, Märta Måås Fjetterström.
Her Swedish forest is a gem – and if you crop the image you will get either the canopy in cooler colours, or the forest floor in golden light. I find them all beautiful. Three artworks in one! Not all art will tolerate a good cropping, but this one does.
Finally, a hydrangea in winter costume – I had to have a flower too of course… The soft colours and the close-up make the skeleton petals a special treat.
Thank you, Patti, for helping us discover new things in our images! Do visit her site for more inspiration!
A special thanks to Tina for encouraging us to post our wonderful, odd, and eclectic photos. Next week, it’s my turn to inspire, so hopefully we will soon meet again!
Who can resist a camellia? Enjoy some more beauties from the Palm House in Gothenburg!
We are always curious, always inquisitive, always picking up odds and ends for our patchwork minds, since there is no knowing when and where they may fit into some corner.
Charles Dickens
Well, now Tina provided us with that corner, and here are my offerings…
Leonard Cohen
This Cohen quote is one of my own favourites, and I loved it for this crack in a building in Lodz, Poland. It was the last warm rays of sun (October), and this beautiful Peacock butterfly used the light and the protecting walls of the crack to make it through another day.
A street market in Madrid, and one of my students spotted these – I had never seen anything like it before. Angelica just had to touch it to understand the structure.
I don’t remember how this happened, but I remember the feeling I had on turning around in the queue – I thought it was a real baby sticking out of that bag.
My opener/header is one of my absolute favourites – and I believe I found him too in Spain.
Last week we visited many special places when Karina was our Guest Host, and what wondrous places there were! This week is all about odds and ends and I’m looking forward to all the possibly also whimsical things you’ll show us. Make sure you link to Tina’s incredible post and also tag Lens-Artists so we can easily find you.
Want to know more about Lens-Artists Challenges and how to join us? Click here!
As March is here, maybe winter is letting go of its grip. A sunny walk by the lakes was envigorating and I found that the ice was almost gone. At least out in the open spaces. Not many birds around, but – they will soon arrive.
The leaves frozen in ice, reflecting the blue sky – there’s hope for a spring to arrive.
Karina of Murtaghs Meadow is our lovely guest host this week, and she wants us to show something of our special place. She writes: ”Many of us have a special place; maybe it is a place you like to escape to when you need a break from the ups and downs of the everyday; or it may be just a place you enjoy spending time. Your special place may be a certain room in your house, it may be a place you like to visit, or it may be a building such as a library, museum, or church.”
Today I chose my own room – left to me when my daughter, Emma, moved out. I have all my hobby materials here, and the window is facing south, so it is always sunny and warm. A welcoming space!
More than me love this room, and last week we had Milo’s girlfriend, Esther, here. Both sweeties kept me company every day when they had got tired of playing outdoors. Reading was not easy though…as the young lady liked to sprawl her longlegged body all over my chair. I had to put a blanket there.
In this chair, I do my knitting and crocheting too, so that had to be paused for some days… I also keep my dried and pressed plants in this room , ready to be put into frames or fit into a card or a book.
The light makes it perfect for my scribbling, painting and doodling as well, as I try to find the old me again with watercolours, pencils and pens. In the yellow box to the right, new little plants find this sunny spot a nice place to start life, or restart it. I think we somehow share this feeling…
Finally, special thanks to Anne Sandler for her Water challenge. We all love water, and your variety of beautiful photographs and posts made the importance of water really shine!
We hope you will join us this week, and we look forward to seeing what makes a place special for you. Get inspired by visiting Karinas post from beautiful Ireland, and link to her original post with the Lens-Artists tag to help us find you.
Next week, Tina will lead LAPC #189, on the subject ”Odds and Ends”.
Leya 
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