Silent Sunday
Tankar
Thursday Thoughts – Magical Horses and Dragons
The visit to Gothenburg some weeks ago included ”Universeum”, a house for practical experiments and for animals and plants from all over the world.
Don’t we all love these little creatures? I remember from early childhood a series about the little seahorse. It was one of the first TV-animated series I really loved. I was glued to the screen.
According to Wikipedia, a seahorse is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus Hippocampus. Hippocampus comes from the Ancient Greek hippókampos, itself from híppos meaning ”horse” and kámpos meaning ”sea monster”.
Seahorses also feature segmented bony armour, an upright posture and a curled tail. Along with the pipefishes and seadragons (Phycodurus and Phyllopteryx) they form the family Syngnathidae. I am not that familiar with the names of sea creatures, but I do love these two. After some thinking, I remembered a visit to the Blue Planet in Denmark that Vivi and I did some years ago. I photographed a seadragon then, and – I found it after some searching. I hope you enjoy!
In the header – the cranes are here!
Lens-Artists Challenge #192 – Earth Story
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.
― Mahatma Gandhi
Earth Story. This week, we hope you will join us in sharing earth stories through your lens. As we share the natural world, we hope to share our understanding of planet Earth and the glory of her magic. Amy made me decide to celebrate Arbor Day, April 29, and in fact I think I celebrate it every day.
Let us start with an image of sky, mountains, water and trees – Earth seen from above.
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
― John Muir
And as we fly downwards, under the canopy, to the forest floor – we will find the tiniest creatures that need you to lie down on the ground to meet them. Their little world is filled with a special kind of magic.
It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.
― Rainer Maria Rilke
Trees bring us spring in soft showers…
― Khalil Gibran
Some trees are famous because of the way they grow, and because they have appeared in popular movies.
This old beech tree is one of my best friends. I talk to him every week and rest quietly in his shadow.
― David Brower
… and some live in them their whole lives. They eat, play, mate and raise their young.
― Henry David Thoreau
Finally, without trees the world would not exist. We are all dependent on them. Everywhere in art we find trees as well, and many of us have special ties to certain trees, or remember special trees from our childhood. So, treasure them and protect them, plant seedlings and make the forest and your garden grow!
The earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations.
― Pope John Paul II
Thank you for last week’s many curves from you! I must admit there were curves I had never even thought about – creative! Next week, John (Journeys with Johnbo) will host LAPC #193, and we should be thinking about what is special to us regarding birthdays or anniversaries… Be sure to visit John’s site for more!
Silent Sunday
Thursday Thoughts – Anemone hepatica
Little blue eyes among the winter leaves – not many yet, but still –
“Come with me into the woods where spring is
advancing, as it does, no matter what,
not being singular or particular, but one
of the forever gifts, and certainly visible.”
― Mary Oliver
Silent Sunday
Lens-Artists Challenge #191 – Curves
Magic lives in curves, not angles.– Mason Cooley
On a visit to Gothenburg last week, I was mesmerized by some intriguing curves, in nature and at a museum…so, this week, I thought we would find more examples of curves: funny, beautiful, unusual – roads, paths, art, architecture, animals, plants – anything that interests you. Because, curves are everywhere around us. In nature almost everything is – curves.
You will find them in small stones under your feet…
In water…
In trees…
Under and below the trees…
But mostly friendly…
Curves exist in every little creature on Earth…
In roads and manmade things too, like in this agricultural landscape.
Last weekend I found great curves in something called a Treillage – at Gunnebo there is a really big one – 7 meters high. There are three reconstructed ones in modern times (they were common in 1500-1800), and those are to be found at Hampton Court in England, Het Loo in Holland and Versailles in France. The trellis forms a kind of link between nature and architecture, and over time, the growing trees at its sides will form a bower.
Finally, in the opener is my favourite curve, a koru. And, I will close the circle of this ”curvy”post with an orb of a spider’s web in my garden.
In life, as in art, the beautiful moves in curves. – Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
Many thanks to Patti for the great Close and Closer challenge that gave us such a variety of interesting entries – thank you all for the treats!
We are now looking forward to seeing YOUR curves… pun intended! Be sure to link your responses to my original post, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Next week, Amy will be our host – until then, please stay safe and be kind.
If you would like to participate in our weekly Lens-Artists Challenge, we have easy to follow instructions. Just click this link and join us: https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/about-lens-artists/
Thursday Thoughts – I Need Light and Flowers!
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?
Lens-Artists Challenge #190- Close and Closer
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!
Silent Sunday
Leya 
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