Thoughts

Lens-Artists Challenge #253 – Fragments

/ Leya / 64 kommentarer

Fragments...yes, our lives are, the world is. Brian of Bushboy is our guest host this week, and he says: ”What has been happening recently is a bit of fragmentation around the world, a disconnect. But we always have been made up of pieces. What I would like to see is some of your fragments.”

I am late to the party, because my life right now is more than fragmentary, sometimes I feel I am dissolving totally. But once again I will try to scramble up the pieces of my self and act like a whole person.

Some thoughts of fragments from me on a warm summer’s day, sitting in my garden.

Fragments of lives lost, going down with the Titanic.

I love using fragments in my photography, it makes us look at the image with open senses, using our fantasy. Drawing our own conclusions, making pictures in our minds.

Not showing the whole picture, the whole background or the whole subject is beautiful and suggestive. I wish that would be used in clothing and model photography as well.

Fragments…can make poetry

Fragments talk to our senses. Early summer of wild orchids in evening light make my heart sing. What fragments make your heart sing?

Fragments put together make a clearer picture of what is happening. Like the words and chapters of a book. Or the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

A fragment of the facade is gone…but a butterfly made it ”whole” again – gave it a new meaning. One of life’s little wonders.

Fragments of beauty is still there while we are ageing…

Fragments of Love. A great deal of my time now goes to fitting together the fragments of my father’s life. Through photos, letters and talks with his only remaining sister. I kept some of his things to feel closer to him. Photos, his accordion, a shirt, his books, paintings… What are we humans – only fragments of life on earth, life in space, life in the universe.

But it is a good thing to think of our lives as tiny and insignificant. We tend to take ourselves too seriously.

Many thanks to Brian for this thoughtful challenge, and to Donna and her lovely “Bugs” challenge last week. Next week Tina will be hosting LAPC. So, look out for her exciting challenge!

Wordless Wednesday and Thursday Thoughts

/ Leya / 64 kommentarer

Such is my life right now, that much of it is chaotic. Illness and death, funerals and sorrows. Many tough things to deal with – but this too shall pass. I try to keep blogging, but some days I just don’t manage to do it. I guess many of you have been though such times in life too, but if I could choose, so many things should not happen simultaneously. It drains me, as I am the only person who can and must deal with it and make it work.

So, bear with me, please. I will be on the road to recover next week. Thank you for your patience and I wish you who celebrate it, a warm, Happy, sunny Easter.

The churches are in Karlsborg, Sweden.

LAPC #234 – Messages

/ Leya / 43 kommentarer

Welcome Donna! Hosting this week with Messages.

Enjoy your search for messages in photography this week. The options are endless. ”Does the message from your last fortune cookie resonate with you? Clouds? Is there street art, neon signs, or store fronts that grab your attention? What about the underlying messages from marketing logos, or the message you want to portray in your photography. Just have fun”. And then, please link your post back to Donna and use the Lens-Artists tag so we can find you.

Ever since life started on earth, messages have been essential for our communication. Every living creature depends on the ability to communicate. Here are some different messages that I have found…mostly they speak for themselves.

Who left this place, seemingly only some seconds ago…? A dear friend who used to love lying in frosty grass. Happy to have captured his message now that he is gone since long.

I was here! Territorial messages can be marked in many ways.

I have never driven one of these, but many youngsters around here have one…Good message for the police to know what kind of car this is…

You don’t have to know the language if there is a message like this on the building. Pictures delivering messages are essential. This one represents one of our oldest theater forms, a craft almost forgotten in many countries.

One of my dear students is a Swedish champion in Jousting…

– taking a break maybe? Or, did he lose or win? I am sure he will return though, for his coat of arms, sword, armour and mask.

Play of words gives me great pleasure – here at the newest aquarium in Denmark – The Blue Planet. I will come back in a year or two with my grandchild.

Art almost always carry messages for us. With open eyes and senses we will understand. The problem is – will we learn?

A special thank you to Anne as she inspired us to take a One Lens Walk last week. Your interpretations to the challenge were creative and inspiring. Hearing more about what lenses people prefer was also interesting. Not surprisingly a zoom lens was very popular.

Now we are looking forward to your messages! Next week, Patti will lead with Shadows & Reflections in Monochrome. Make sure to visit her at Pilotfish for more inspiration.

Interested in joining the Lens-Artists Community Challenges? Click here for more information. 

Thursday Thoughts

/ Leya / 11 kommentarer

What is happening to our world? It is upside down, we know that. And literally, …it is.

Strange magic…

…or is it

”only”…us

Happy New Year!

/ Leya / 31 kommentarer

We all wish for a happy, healthy, and better, New Year, 2023 – a peaceful year with more harmony in the world. Thank you for staying with me 2022, for our positive talks and engaging comments. It means much to me to see other perspectives and visit other countries and worlds, exchanging thoughts and dreams.

Hope to see you in 2023!

Ann-Christine

Lens-Artists Challenge #169 – The Ordinary

/ Leya / 63 kommentarer

As you get older, you want less from the world; you just want to experience it. Any barriers to feeling emotions get dismantled. And ordinary things become beautifully poetic. – Richard Linklater

Our theme this week is The Ordinary, hosted by I. J. Khanewala. There are many places, moments, things, etc. that we would say are ”ordinary”. But, we humans often use this word or concept differently. I find it interesting how easily ordinary things can become remarkable…In my examples, light is often the difference, and the combination of colours and an open mind. I guess many of us who photograph, write or paint – or are involved in similar activities, recognize the feeling and can easily appreciate the beauty of our ordinary surroundings.

Two days ago, we went to our summer house to close it down for the winter. It was an extremely foggy day, and I was walking Milo (our dog) back to continue packing. Unexpectedly, as from nowhere, the sun shone through the dull hedge on my right hand side, revealing the intense beauty of backlit leaves.
In my own garden, the mist and cold continued when we picked the last grapes, where some of them had ventured up on the roof. While climbing down with my basket full of grapes, I admired the red autumn vines clinging to the walls, windows and ladder.

Then, on my way up to the house again, my eyes followed the adventurous vine climbing along the laundry line. I believe I have one of the most intriguing and beautiful laundry lines in the neighbourhood… an ordinary Monday.

We hope you will join us this week for the interesting Photo Challenge #169: The Ordinary.  Please include a link to the original post from our guest host of Don’t Hold Your Breath, and use the Lens-Artists tag so we can all find you in the Reader.

A sincere thank you to all who responded to last week’s “Seen Better Days” challenge. It clearly shows that most photographers love to focus on the beauty lingering in old, worn or dilapidated places and things. Finally, we hope you’ll join us next week when Patti brings us challenge # 170. Until then, please stay safe and be kind.

Can a windmill sail without wind…?

/ Leya / 36 kommentarer

Six Word Saturday

After all this snow maybe you are hungry for a fresh Beach Walk with Frank? He’ll take you along with him every week, reflecting on life through what he sees and experiences: Moon, Dawn, Storm… and today it is Fog. I managed to find some fog and mist for him to illustrate his ponderings. His thoughts are peacefully reflective and refreshing: just the thing to brighten your morning.

Thursday Thoughts – Feeling Blue

/ Leya / 21 kommentarer

What’s in a word? “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” says Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.

I have never questioned blue or the phrase ”feeling blue” before. The connection just feels …right. But, when I look it up in various dictionaries, the association has got many explanations. Here are some:

In Greek mythology, blue is associated with rain. When Zeus was sad or crying, he would make it rain. Thus, the connection between the colour and the feeling.

The use of blue to mean “sad” dates from the late 1300s

Geoffrey Chaucer used ‘blewe’ in his poem ”The Complaint of Mars”. He writes: ”Wyth teres blewe and with a wounded herte.”

Which basically translates to: ”With tears blue and with a wounded heart”.

A naval explanation might be the old custom followed by deepwater sailing ships – If the ship lost the captain or any of the officers during its voyage, she would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along her entire hull when returning to home port.

A scientific explanation is the proximity of dark blue to black on the colour scale, and the results of two studies indicating that feeling sadness may actually change how we perceive colour.

But blue is beautiful. It is the colour of our planet Earth. The Blue Planet.

Thursday Thoughts – Thank You

/ Leya / 32 kommentarer

Since last Thursday, life has changed, the world has changed and will never be quite the same again.

Last Wednesday I walked by the sea, contemplating the beautiful sunset.

I stopped for some minutes at the boat house and found another soul, sitting alone in the still of the evening…

And the sun went down, for the last time in my quiet and ordinary life.

I want to thank you from the depth of my heart, from every vibrating fibre, for all your warm greetings, your sincere condolences and your concern. I will keep them in my heart – Thank You. This is a truly magical community… In the header is a magical bouquet of flowers sent to me all the way from Australia. I cannot thank you enough – no one mentioned no one forgotten. I Love You All.