Weekly Challenge

Lens-Artists Challenge #418 – Memories

/ Leya / 23 kommentarer

Tina makes Memories our challenge this week – and they are very much alive to me and my family in October every year. This year, two of my best friends, and my husband, turned 75 and one dear friend turned 70. My mother’s husband turned 93 and his younger brother turns 90 next Wednesday. So, a lot of celebrations – and many memories of days gone by.

I remember when I started blogging, and I was supposed to name my first blog in 2011. ( 15th anniversary this year!) Lagottocattleya is its full name because of my two great love affairs – the one with the Lagotto breed and the one with Cattleya orchids.

One of the first pictures I used on this blog, was the header one with my first two lovely lagottos, Mille and Totti. So much love and so much fun we had! I even had a weekly post with my dogs writing… I can still see how Totti trotted in Mille’s footsteps, trying to keep up. He wasn’t a grown lad there. Mille didn’t like Totti from the start…but they soon became best friends. My daughter also had a special bond to Mille – she even saved his life once. Searching her contacts for the right medicine – and she found it. In the gallery it’s Totti being cuddled.

Mille was a one of a kind dog – chasing the autumn leaves for hours, bubbles in the water the whole summer. Catching snow balls and pine cones…My husband used to say he had ADHD – never a dull moment and always full speed. In our summer house for the first time, he jumped into the fridge when I opened it for a bottle of milk. Dragged the bottle through the kitchen with the milk running. Then he pulled down a table cloth from a little table, smashing the vase, crushing the flowers and finished it off with tackling grandmothers walking stick. I can tell you I wasn’t happy that day…

He always got into trubble – drank water with algae and ended up in hospital, rolled in a hayfield and got bitten by a viper. He recovered much thanks to Emma and her medicine, but never became fully fit again.

Totti was a laid back lover of life. He always felt like a proper elderly gentleman in no hurry…Viveka (of Myguilty pleasures) loved him, and he loved her back. I have a wonderful series of 5-6 photos when he struggled to climb up in our hammock – and finally succeeded. You can see him smiling, I am sure!

And I have always loved orchids, and grown many of them. After some years, Cattleyas became my favourites – a perfect combination of grace and beauty. Not too rounded and soft, not too spiky. The first two here were my favourites for many years.

Iwanagaara, appleblossom

Cattleya hybrid, Little Prince

Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.

– L.M.Montgomery

All of these precious ones are gone since long, but the memories will last forever. I take care of flowers and animals the same way. With love. With people, I hope, the same.

I hope you enjoyed following my best friends over the years, even if you have seen them many times. We look forward to your sharing your own memories in response to this week’s challenge. Be sure to link to Tina’s original post and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you.

Many warm thanks to Egidio for last week’s “Where Does It Lead” challenge, and to all of you who shared your paths with us. Hope you’ll join us next week when John leads us once again on his Journeys With Johnbo. Until then as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy every day.

Lens-Artists Challenge #417- Where does it Lead?

/ Leya / 24 kommentarer

Egidio asks us where does it lead…an adequate question in today’s world. But the World is not the same anymore, so, the answer is that we don’t know. To feel safe, I will stay with answers I have and know right now.

This first beautiful road leads to a library in the forest – or what once was intended to become a library. The second road is an alley that leads to Hovdala Castle – my favourite castle close to us. The third road, a path only, used to lead to a magnificent lake area – especially in the Autumn. Hammarmölle damm. Last spring it was emptied and made into a trickling flow only. We all miss its beauty, its many birds and its clear water surface.

Milo always knows where a path leads to, at least he seems very sure about it. Clearly he knows his way back home when we are hiking or just strolling in new areas. I can rely on him. I do.

Thanks to everyone who responded so beautifully to Ritva’s challenge last week. I was amazed at how many of you were sincere music lovers and collectors! Remember to tag your entry with Lens-Artists and connect it to Egidio’s original post.

Next week, Tina will feature a new challenge. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in then to her lovely site and learn more about the challenge. Please see this page for more information about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history.

Lens-Artists Challenge #416 – Music

/ Leya / 41 kommentarer

The main thing is to let your creativity loose and capture a moment that really shows the spirit of the music, Ritva says. Well, my music is mostly played in my house – and from an ordinary cd-player. Concerts are very seldom on the agenda. It’s not easy to get a dog- sitter Saturday nights…So, I knew I would have to struggle with this challenge, but I finally came up with these old photos.




Music and concerts offer a great escape to many of us. At least for a moment. This is Camelot and its brilliant singer, Roy Cahn. The group was a favourite with our two younsters for some years, (I liked them too) and we took the car up to Norway to listen to them live.

Lodz Light Move Festival in 2018 – (and a ghost to the left…) was a real treat both visually and orally.

Every Midsummer’s Eve in Sweden, old and young dance around the maypole to traditional music from the violin and the accordion. The youngest are the happiest ones!

Some of the ABBA gold and platina collection in Stockholm at the ABBA museum. Thank you for the Music!

More festivals abroad – they can be quite genuine and lovely. Old musicians are usually the best. I totally love the Edinburgh Tattoo but have no pictures because it was raining too much.

Some music can be hard to really appreciate – Chinese opera is one of those and Bhutanese festival music is another. If you didn’t grow up with this kind of music, it takes time and effort to understand it.

Music can be a passion – and it is – for those musicians who make their livelihood from it.

Happy energy on the Dahlia festival in Holland!

One of the first experiences with making music was by filling glasses of water and playing with my hands – I am still impressed every time I come across it! It can be so easy…my children used to do it too.

Many thanks to Anne for her wonderful theme! I think we all liked it – which was evident in the posts I saw. And for this week’s challenge, please don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag in your posts so people can find you in the WP Reader.

Next week, Egídio is giving us a new challenge that I am sure you do not want to miss. Check out his site and the WP reader at noon EST in the USA.

LENS ARTIST CHALLENGE # 415 – MOVE YOUR BODY

/ Leya / 40 kommentarer

Anne‘s challenge this week, is designed to make us move – not use our zoom lens, if we have one. So, your challenge this week is to move your body up, down, forward and back.

I decided for some of my Netherland photos, as I remembered how much I had to move and squat to get them. A first look at Paul Kubics’ The Temptation of Saint Antony at Keukenhof, and then walking closer to see all the details – and there were many! This is a truly fascinating work of art.

The last temptation was the most difficult one to photograph…

In Norway there are many tunnels for drying fish. It’s easy to walk them and then get up close to see what the fish really looks like. No squatting needed. (Sorry, not much excercise!)

I do think I prefer the long shot…

When we visited the dahlia festival in Holland, we could stand close to the passing trailers and different participants.

After the parade, we walked to their parking place and could get up really close to see the meticulous work with the flowers.

In September 2022 I had a beautiful visitor in my garden – a hummingbird hawkmoth. He was so absorbed with my salvia, that I could get close and watch him working from every angle. I had a great experience and will never forget those moments.

Every summer since, I have been waiting for him, and I plant his favourite flowers…

– but he hasn’t come back. Maybe next sumnmer?

I cannot leave out Greenland, can I?

Traveling through the ice you look ahead all the time, but close to the boat things happen as well. You hear it!

I went down to a lower deck and had a look – fascinating!

Our guide was fishing ice for the drink…

When you post your response to this challenge, please link it to Anne’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. A huge thank you for your wonderful harmonies last week! My only wish is that they will stay with you too – they have surely stayed with me!

Next week, Ritva will be leading the challenge, so please visit her beautiful site and look out for her post. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient!

Lens-Artist Challenge #414 – Looking Back to #44 -Harmony

/ Leya / 108 kommentarer

He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.

– Marcus Aurelius

Tina’s challenge back then, was about colour Harmony. Colour Harmonies are colours that look good together. If you have ever taken classes in painting, you should be familiar with the colour wheel. There are many different systems to create a colour harmony. You will find a useful, free tool, for it here.

For this challenge, this week, I want to give us more freedom by using a wider explanation of the concept: Harmony is the combination of separate but related parts in a way that uses their similarities to bring unity to a painting, drawing, or other art object.

Harmony can also be reached in a situation in which people are peaceful and agree with each other, or when things seem right or suitable together.

A maximum of seven pictures will still give you space to show a nice variety of Harmony.

Greenland is very harmonious in colours and shapes. The sky is a great moderator. Every day there, I felt I was in harmony with both nature and life. The lines, the curves and the colours were perfect.

It was not only soft sceneries, but despite the roughness and the difficult climbing, there was harmony in the landscape.

Harmony is often found with the help of details. Lines are prominent in this picture, but also the colour details in red – down to the left and up to the right. Maybe a not very harmoneus angle – but in this case interesting.

A cozy hut for the wanderer – built in the old way with stones, moss and wooden front. In harmony with its surroundings.

This scenery caught my eye in Nuuk, where shapes, colours – and the mastery of letting modern architecture mimic the landscape worked well together.

Natural materials are soothing to the eye – and to the soul. This picture is from a building in Ketchikan, Alaska, where they have managed to finish a beautiful, harmonious puzzle.



Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony
– Mahatma Gandhi

Thank you Beth, for unbelievable bridges, and please tune in to Anne’s challenge next week! Unfortunately I will not be able to comment until I am back from the cruize, but I’m looking forward to seeing you and your responses on the 21 of September!

Lens-Artists Challenge #413 – Bridges

/ Leya / 60 kommentarer

This week, Beth is leading us through, over and under bridges. Any kind of bridge is allowed, and it should be our favourites!

I find it difficult to separate places and experiences from the actual views of the bridges, and of course you don’t have to be beautiful to be loved…memories and feelings show up to colour your eyes…

Peace Bridge in Tblisi, Georgia.


– or ”Always Ultra”, beacause of its likeness to a sanitary towel…see above.

Porto in Portugal sends great memories from the city as well as its bridges. There were many of them!

Glorious Tessin in Italy and Roman Ponte dei Salti on the Verzasca river.

Two bridges near my home, one in Autumn and the other in Winter. I love the light giving away the season.

And talking about memories…I have hundreds of photos from these two, and there will be room for more.

Thank you, Beth, for a lovely prompt! Thank you John, for last week’s beautiful challenge and all participants for glorious posts! I will not be able to see them all now and comment, as I go for a cruize in the Mediterranean from tomorrow morning until September 21. On September 20. I, Leya, will be your host – so please stay tuned.

Lens-Artists Challenge #412 – Places Shaped by Water

/ Leya / 49 kommentarer

John leads this week, with a different kind of theme. Interesting, but it really had me thinking… Places shaped by water – in any form. The Challenge: Share up to six waterscapes—images where water shapes the scene. Choose your favorite places, your favorite photos, or a single location that inspires you. Natural or man‑made, peaceful or wild—if water helps tell the story, it’s fair game.

In the header, the Zambesi river forms the Victoria Falls as it cuts through a massive plateau of volcanic basalt. One of the most impressive sights I have ever seen. And the sound! Incredible. Now, let’s go!

Taking the train over to Norway, we reach coastal settlements shaped by the water into silent canals. But the fishermen are now mostly replaced by summer guests…

Even further north, we arrive by plane in Iceland. Iceland’s landscape is shaped by water and its volcanic geology. Basalt and Tholeiite are the most common rock types, forming lava fields, black sand beaches and hexagonal basalt columns. In short, a magical landscape.

Now let’s go south on another route – to beautiful Croatia. Plitvice is shaped by its many waterfalls through the karst. Limestone and dolomite – and gorgeously green water.

In Switzerland we find this enchanting place in Verzasca Valley, with ice cold water and spectacular views.


Finally we will go to the southernmost part in this world I have ever been – New Zealand. Hot springs have shaped these smooth stones. And, they have geisers too, but smaller than the Icelandic giants.

The northernmost part of this world then, Greenland, where my latest trip was, with calving glaciers making the most spectacular shapes. This iceberg, in midnight sun, was among many others lying at the mouth of a glacier river. The birds flying, will give you a hint of the size.

Huge thanks to Sofia for her innovative “What Is It?” challenge, where we sometimes guessed right as well… Next week, Beth will be ready with a new theme. Please follow her here so you don’t miss her challenge on Saturday, September 12, at noon Eastern Time. We look forward to seeing your responses. Be sure to link to John’s original post in the comments section and tag your entry with “Lens-Artists” so we can find it.

Lens-Artists Challenge #411- What is it?

/ Leya / 24 kommentarer
Lens-Artists Challenge #411 – What is it?

This truly is something we never had before … – and What is it? Sofia is the quiz leader, and now I try to jump in with more…

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

I know these are quite easy, but I hope you will have some fun with them anyway!

So, now it is your turn. Think of anything that looks ambiguous, difficult to understand or unusual, look for details instead of the whole thing, conceal what might give away what your subject is, but most of all, have fun! Please remember to link back to Sofia’s original post and to tag Lens-Artists so we can easily find you.

Last week Ritva was our host with a looking back challenge focusing on editing. It was a very interesting challenge with different ways of editing our shots and also to see the end results.

Next week is John’s turn to lead us, Saturday 5th September. Until then, take care and be kind.

Here is today’s facit:

  1. ICM at a pond with yellow lilies. Blekinge, Ronneby Brunn.
  2. A close-up of a big Allium ball from Keukenhof, Holland.
  3. My collection of foil balls, given to me by my daughter…A thing she had with that since she was very little. I took care of everything that should not be dropped on the ground. I still do.
  4. Hotel Hvide Falk, Ilulissat, Greenland. The evening lamp inside was reflected through the windows and moving outdoors!
  5. Close-up of a Van Gogh painting. Unfortunately I don’t remember the title.

The header? A male lion vanishing in the high grasses…

Lens-Artists Challenge #154/410 – One Photo Edited

/ Leya / 38 kommentarer
Lens-Artists Challenge #154 / 410 – One Photo Edited

Just like Ritva, I love editing – and this time I had some extra help…Please visit Ritva’s inspirational site for more different edits! Thank you, Ritva, for a great challenge – I hope you won’t mind some tweaking for my granddaughter…

I have chosen pictures from my Africa gallery, and I can assure you, I had some lovely hours editing! The first picture features one of all the icredibly beautiful skies in Zimbabwe, seen from the Zambesi river.

All the original pictures are on the left side, and the extra edited ones are on the right side. Usually, I enhance the light if needed, sometimes a light saturation, and sometimes a crop if the main object sits in the ”wrong” place. Here I felt free to use some more tricks for Ritva’s interesting challenge.

In this photo, I wanted to get back the warm, golden light before the sunset was complete. (I missed out on that one, so, in fact I saw both these sights, within a short amount of time. Each beautiful in its own way.

The above picture was taken from the easternmost part of Victoria Falls, on the border to Zambia. I fell in love with the little hut sitting just on the precipice – but had difficulties in showing the sight I saw inside my head and the feeling I had of Nature Magic. In the end I resorted to AI, which produced a kind of fantasy picture the looks of JRR Tolkien’s trilogy of the Ring – Rivendell. This result failed me in my own tries.

In this indoor picture from our ”tent” at the camp in South Africa, I loved all the creases and the soft, golden light – but also saw a potential winter’s tale from Sweden. Taking down the highlight, I was still not happy with the window look, so I darkened the picture some, and found a Lightroom preset that both intensified the creases, and made a snowy-like look through the window. This might as well have been a winter stay up north in Sweden.

Often the bush would surprise us with a long neck suddenly peeping up over the trees. I found those moments hilarious, and thought I would make this shot a bit more movie – like. I found a Lightroom preset that fit my inner image, darkening the background and enhancing the giraffe almost into a comic strip figure.

Back to a short real life feeling again! Like many of us, I love water drops, and they often look amazing converted into B&W. Here done with Nik collection.

As my granddaughter of 4 1/2 was here today, and she is in a dragon-and-unicorn phase right now, I might have guessed her answer to my question about what more I should do with this picture … Of course a Dragon is the answer to everything!

Last week we featured a guest host, Steve Hyde (of Steve Hyde Photography Blog) and he provided us with a wonderful, but difficult, challenge. We loved all the fantastic, Best Ever Photos you shared!

Sofia will return next week, so we will see what she has in store for us. Tune in to find out more about the challenge then. 

Until then, please stay curious, positive and kind.

You can keep up with all of our challenges by subscribing to the Lens-Artists team members websites: Tina, Patti, Ann-Christine, John, Sofia, Anne, Egidio,  Beth. Ritva, 

For information on how to join the Lens-Artists challenge please click here.

Lens-Artists…Best ever

/ Leya / 46 kommentarer

A massive thank you to Steve for guest hosting the Lens-Artists Challenge this week. Please visit Steve’s brilliant site where you can find his best ever photos and so much more. I find his photography both unique and impressive, and extremely inspiring. We look forward to seeing your choices. Please remember to link to Steve’s original here and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you.

Well, I honestly cannot choose ”best ever” photos from my own archives, so I guess if you asked me next month, they would not be the same. The best I can do (!) is to choose some of my own favourites that I love, and try to tell you why. I am a very emotional person, so, first of all they must touch my heart.

Easy criteria would be prize-winning photos – as this one. But, this is the only picture that I have ever entered into a competition – and in fact – won. It was about very special trees in our life, and this old beech tree that stands in ”my forest” was not already in the book of trees. So, I was the one who filed it in the national site for old trees. I walk past it often and I report if anything has happened to it – like a storm making old branches fall. I do love it.

About the photo: Autumn is the most beautiful time up here, and as this beech is very big, I could see the smaller trees behind it from an interesting angle. Irresistible opportunity.

This caravan spotted in Morocco several years ago was exotic to me at that moment, but what more makes the photo one of my favourites are the lovely memories of that trip and everything about it. The food, the people, the desert itself and its animals.

About the photo: Sheer luck to be in the right place at the right time. This also goes for the next one.

How can I not choose this big yawn? I love cheetahs and had the camera ready when this happened – not a perfect shot, but such a beautiful animal and a fun surprise!

Greenland offered an abundance of spectacular moments and I came back with thousands of photos. The midnight sun among the icebergs was an unforgettable experience, and picking only one photo has been almost impossible. Finally I decided for this special iceberg, not because it is the best photo, but because it took me awhile to figure out that the brownish part on top of the ice must come from a frozen kayak that probably once was lost on the glacier. When? Amazing.

About the photo: I had seen this iceberg when we headed out in the late evening, and kept thinking about it the whole trip. Finally I took some photos because of its mysterious and intriguing history.

Finally, posted a couple of times – but still a favourite – is this family in Bhutan, sitting on the stone wall, looking at a cell phone. I am not sure who is the most fascinated one here, but clearly the thing was not new to them.

About the photo: I seldom take photos of people, but this family was so preoccupied by the phone, that I clicked without asking…

Last week, Egídio asked us for over-the-top photos, and I loved them all. It was great to see such variety and thinking outside the box. We hope you’ll join us next week when Ritva leads us once again. Until then, as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the adventure.