LENS-ARTISTS

Lens-Artists Challenge #264 – Primary Colours

/ Leya / 60 kommentarer

Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.

– Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Sofia challenges us with primary colours. I realise that I seldom – or never – use these colours. Not in my home, not in my clothes or presents. Not much in my paintings, but in photos!

My first associations with primary colours are grounded in their old meanings. I know there is a whole science about this, but my grandmother taught me: Red for roses and love,…

…Yellow for the sun and for Autumn to come.

Blue for the blue hour, the blue sky and sea.

A perfect combo for me would be a picture like this – in muted, soft primary colours. Because My greatest love lies in the seconday colours: orange, green and violet. A ”mixed” person? Maybe. And – who are you in colours?

In daily life, red and golden yellow is also significant for Christmas…

…and for old time fairs and celebrations.

In some countries red is the colour to get married in…

…come rain come shine.

In Prague I found this colourful and patterned couple. Not on their way to church…I think.

In China, yellow was only for the emperor, and still yellow, blue and red seem to be the preferably used colours in their art works. Yayoi Kusama, Japan, is an avid user of primary colours as well – but with dots.

Swedish summer means much of the colour blue – but not this year…rain and wind were the primary ”colours” for our three summer months, June, July and August.

And soon, the cold, blue winter nights are awaiting.

Finally, Ukraine and Sweden have the same colours in their flags. A fact we are reminded of every day. Freedom is the difference. May it come to all of us – to stay.

This week Sofia invites us to play with primary colours. Red, Yellow, Blue. You can pick one colour or show us examples of all 3, separately or together. Looking forward to seeing your replies! Please link back to Sofias original post and tag Lens-Artists so we can easily find you.

Last week it was all about Faces in the Crowd with John’s challenge. So many fun expressions and creative approaches for this theme. Next week, Anne will be our host with Black & White and Monochrome. Please visit her lovely site and be inspired to join us, Saturday 2nd of September. Until then, be nice and take care.

If you want to know more about the Lens-Artists Challenge, please click here.

Lens-Artists Challenge #263 – Faces in a Crowd

/ Leya / 35 kommentarer

John asks for faces in a crowd – not too easily done for a shy person like me. But, there are many alternatives for us too!

John points out that we might include examples from nature photography, pets, street photography, headshots, portraiture, fashion, sports, or wedding photography. And more.

To my surprise I found both old and new ones for this post. Here we go:

On Emma’s high school graduation day we finally spotted each other in the crowd!

Stockholm – at the market hall I spotted a happy young man running around with his sea creatures…

Jousting always gathers crowds of spectators, handsome horses and handsome men.

Good looking male lions…

Art… with legs, in Vilnius.

Mural art in Lodz, Poland.

Art in China – theatre and music along the Yangtse river.

Flower faces in Lund.

Animal faces – my Totti.

Strays in Thimpu, just outside our hotel. Very sweet and well behaved.

Lovely Bhutanese faces from the street, a famous traffic conductor and a family on pilgrimage.

– On their way to Tiger’s Nest.

Hungarian dolls in Budapest – faces in a crowd!

Your challenge this week is to share images featuring faces, in a crowd or standing alone, human or animal. Selfies are approved. We are looking forward to seeing your take on “Faces in the Crowd”. Don’t forget to link to John’s original post and be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists.

Sincere thanks to Amy for her challenge last week, “Frame your Photos.” Next week, Sofia will be our host. If you’d like to participate but aren’t sure how to get started, click here.

Lens-Artists Challenge #262 – Frame Your Photos

/ Leya / 42 kommentarer

Amy has chosen a fun challenge this week, we’ll explore Framing our Photos. She states that the purpose of framing a photo naturally is to create a pleasing composition, so we can direct the viewer’s attention to the subject of our photo.

You can frame a moment. But you can´t frame life.
― Armin Houman

In the opener, St George (Göran) and the Dragon are framed by the vaults in the cathedral. Some of my favourite ways to frame are:

Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame.
― G.K. Chesterton

– buildings, tunnels, vaults and gates

– windows and doors

All images made from the trip to Stockholm.

Like creating a masterpiece, quitting is an art: you have to decide what to keep within the frame and what to keep out.
― Richie Norton

But, the absolute best thing for me is searching for the natural frames – trees, hedges, stones etc.

There are endless ways to frame your photos, and we hope to learn some new ones from this challenge! Please link to Amy’s original post and tag Lens-Artists, so we can find you in the reader. Many thanks for all of your creative Works in Progress and your beautiful photos. You are always inspiring us!

Next week, John (Journeys with Johnbo) will be our host, be sure to visit his site. Until then, stay creative and be kind.

Lens-Artists Challenge #261 – Work in Progress

/ Leya / 189 kommentarer

If you think about it, everything is a work in progress, isn’t it? So, this should be a challenge open to endless possibilities – I can’t wait to see what YOU think when you hear this phrase. Here are some things I came to think of – hopefully they will help refreshing your thinking cap…

Everybody’s a work in progress. I’m a work in progress. I mean, I’ve never arrived. I’m still learning all the time. – Renée Fleming

A work in progress…often we think we know the outcome – and other times we really have no idea. But, that is part of the fun. Planning, longing, guessing, following the project. I know though, that the work in progress in the opener/header, is one of my homegrown cucumbers.

No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying. – Tony Robbins,

The artist here is sculpting with a chainsaw and other, smaller electric tools.

The secret of making progress is to get started. – Mark Twain

Ladies making Churchkhela candy in the streets of Tblisi, Georgia. Smashingly tasty, I promise!

Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection. – Mark Twain

– Or?

The construction site in Barcelona as it looked in 2011. This famous project started in 1882, but Antoni Gaudí died in a tram accident before he could finish Sagrada Família. It is said to stand finished in 2026 – a rather long work in progress. We plan to visit then, or when…

Then I must add some examples of budding life – fascinating works in progress.

Failure is success in progress. – Albert Einstein

A new puppy means working on – becoming a sociable dog and hopefully a lifelong companion.

Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. – C.S. Lewis

A newlywed couple with their young daughter. Maybe one of the longest and most important works in progress we can embark upon – growing a harmonious family.

– Gaudi knew…

So, now it is your turn! A work in progress can be almost anything…can’t it? Looking forward to seeing your ideas and images! Don’t forget to link to this post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

Finally, sincerely thanks to Janet and her creative theme Overlooked – which it indeed wasn’t (overlooked) ! And thank you to all our fantastic guest hosts this July – we hope you enjoyed it just as much as we and the readers did! Now we are back to the ordinary hosting, and next week it is Amy’s turn to lead us. Until then, stay calm and be kind – also to yourself.

Oh, and one last, wise quote for all of us to remember:

Allow yourself to be proud of yourself and all the progress you’ve made. Especially the progress that no one else can see.– Anonymous



Lens-Artists Challenge #260 – Overlooked

/ Leya / 64 kommentarer

Janet of Sustainability is our host this week, the last week of guest hosts. Be sure to visit her amazing site for more inspiration!

She says: ”We all look, but do we see? Have you ever said “Look” to your spouse, only to hear “What?” after s/he looks? Saying “look” gives a direction; “seeing” gives insight and depth. It’s easy to look at a beautiful view, but do you see what makes up that view?”

I love looking at/in mirrors, wherever I find them – but not at myself… In mirrors you get another, sometimes enigmatic perspective of the surrounding world, and your photo gets naturally framed too.

Do you notice the little birds going about their business every day – I guess people often don’t pay much attention to them, unless they are very colourful – or stealing our food. This little white wagtail looks like he is overlooking his long shadow.

In this great globe-thistle in my garden, was a little secret hidden – passing by – would you have noticed?

Wild Dianthus deltoides – can also be found in my garden – but would you notice this less than 5mm flower? Maybe because of its intense colour you would. To be sure – I have enlarged it here!

Photographic ”overlooked” moments are precious. I love it when, for example, I open a photo in Lightroom, and there suddenly shows up an insect or something that arrived in the clicking moment! Overlooked. Until now.

Finally, an early morning find, and in the header a hidden gate. Overlooked – but if you are walking a dog or two …I am sure they will find these things for you. Nothing overlooked with my dog around!

This week we’d like you to share photos of something you normally overlook or something you think other people would overlook. Hope you will have fun seeing what’s out there. Don’t forget to add your link to Janet’s post and tag it “Lens-Artists” so we can find you in the Reader.

Many thanks to all of our guest hosts for interesting and innovative challenges! We hope you all enjoyed it and had just as much fun as we had.

Next week, back to usual, starting with me, Leya/Ann-Christine on Saturday, August 5. My theme will be “Work in Progress.”

Until then, stay calm and be nice – to yourself as well!

Lens-Artists Challenge #259 – Unbound

/ Leya / 53 kommentarer

We welcome Dan as our host this week, and the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this time is to capture moments that break the boundaries of our everyday life.

Today I have chosen to write about a Swedish prince who broke free from his life as a royal and from the conventions and norms he was expected to follow. To feel Unbound. I hope this twist is OK with you, Dan!

Prince Eugen of Sweden was the son of King Oscar II and Sophia of Nassau.

Showing early artistic promise, he studied in Paris, and went on to become one of Sweden’s most prominent landscape painters.

We visited his home in Stockholm, at the beautiful Waldemarsudde.

After finishing high school, Prince Eugen studied art history at Uppsala University. He did not make the decision to pursue a career in painting easily, not least because of his royal status.

Prince Eugen was very open-minded and never married, in an era when royal princes almost always found princesses to wed. His homosexual orientation was unknown to the general public.

In this gallery, we see the prince painting, and next to him another famous Swedish painter, Carl Larsson. His home Waldemarsudde, and pieces from his collections. The last painting was my favourite of his own paintings, The Blue Villa.

Prins Eugen loved Norway, and was also a prince of Norway before the union was dissolved in 1905. He loved flowers, and one of his famous designs is a flower pot – Waldemarsuddekrukan.

Throughout his life Prince Eugen was an art collector, a designer and a supporter of fellow artists. He was also involved in many cultural organisations and committees. He bequeathed his villa Waldemarsudde at Djurgården in Stockholm, and its collections, to the nation. It is now one of Sweden’s most popular museums.

Sincere thanks to Dan for this interesting challenge, “unbound”. Please be sure to visit and link to his amazing post here, and remember to use the Lens-Artists Tag. Thanks also to Dawn for last week’s Fences challenge, and to you for the incredible variety of responses. Finally, we hope you’ll join us next week when Janet of This, That and The Other Thing will join us as our final Guest Host of the month. Until then, please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.

Lens-Artists Challenge #258 – Fences

/ Leya / 53 kommentarer

This week we welcome Dawn Miller of The Day After as the Lens-Artists guest host. Please visit her place and enjoy her guidance for this weeks challenge: Fences. In addition to her stunning photography, her blog teaches us of the landscape, seasons, history, and culture of the Shenandoah Valley, her home.

If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need.

– William L. McKnight

The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out.

– J. R. R. Tolkien

These are some of my favourite or spectcular fences found during my travels – and at home. In fact, we have a fence in our garden too – to save us from Milo running out in the street.

I love stone fences, they are very common here in Sweden, and they speak loud of hard work in the old days. Ireland showed us some of the broadest stone fences I have ever seen – impressive.


And one of the most beautiful and ”wild” graveyards I have walked was in England, Yorkshire, where members of the Bronte family are buried.

A big Thank you to Philo of Philosophy Through Photography for last weeks challenge, Simplicity. I think we all learned more about the power of simplicity in photography – and in life.

Next week we continue with our July “Month of Guest Hosts”. Be sure to visit our hosts each week as they explore the following topics:

Interested in knowing more about the Lens-Artists challenge? Click here for more

Lens-Artists Challenge #257 – Simplicity

/ Leya / 78 kommentarer

Mr Philo of Philosophy Through Photography is our most welcome guest host this week, and he calls for Simplicity:

”I considered selecting simplicity since the modern world is so stressful and chaotic that we are losing the fundamental clarity and simplicity that allow us to concentrate on what is really important.” Please visit his site for more inspiration!

Hopefully this post will tell you why I too believe we need more simplicity.

As I grew older, I realized that it was much better to insist on the genuine forms of nature, for simplicity is the greatest adornment of art.

— Albrecht Durer

Simplicity can be reflected in so many ways…here are a few:

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

— Lao Tzu

Nature is pleased with simplicity.

— Isaac Newton

Enjoy the little things,

– for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

— Robert Brault

Beauty of style and harmony and grace and good rhythm depend on simplicity.

– Plato

Everything is both simpler than we can imagine, and more complicated that we can conceive.

– Goethe

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

– Confucius

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

— Leonardo da Vinci

We are looking forward to seeing your Simplicity posts, and remember to link to Philo’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

Sincere thanks to Ritva Sillanmäki for hosting last week’s Inspiration Found In The Kitchen, a challenge with immensely creative answers! Thank you for sharing your talent and passion with us.

Next week, Dawn Miller of The Day After will be hosting LAPC # – 258 Fences. And, if you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists challenge, click here for more information.

Lens-Artists Challenge #256… – Inspiration found in the Kitchen

/ Leya / 55 kommentarer

A big Thank You to Ritva for encouraging us to look for inspiration in the kitchen. Great fun! I have mostly chosen old and new utensils and kitchen herbs, but also good light in a kitchen is essential.

My grandmother’s old funnel is still in use…while her almond grinder is just there for memories. Flowers? I have flowers everywhere, and many in my kitchen windows as well. For inspiration! My favourite mug is from my daughter’s trip to Japan some years ago.

Finally…some sallad from my other kitchen in our summerhouse. A very old photo, but I loved that table cloth as well…

Thank you again, Ritva, this was a fun challenge with many possibilities! I look forward to seeing everyone’s kitchens, and coffee or tea cups. Remember to link to her post here and include the Lens-artists Tag so we can find you.

Thank you also to Patti for inspiration and encouragement to tell stories with our photography last week. I think we all agree that every photo has a story…to us.

July’s Guest Hosts and Challenges are:

Interested in knowing more about the Lens-Artists challenge? Click here for more information.

Lens-Artists Challenge 255#- Telling a Story

/ Leya / 38 kommentarer

This week, we’re focusing on telling a story with photos. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, we can convey a story in one image; other times we need several. For this challenge, there is a limit of 5 photos per story.

My two stories are both from last weekend. Midsummer Eve and Midsummer Day.

I believe they speak for themselves – without pictures of the young couple. Of all the games we played that day, the most precious one is catching the bridal bouquet. I don’t know about the custom in other countries, but in Sweden, catching it means you are the next one to get married!

Dancing around the maypole and playing games is always a treat for both young and old.

These pictures show Björnen sover, a singing game, used both as a round dance and a children’s song. The tune is a simplified version of the one used for Gubben Noak, published by Carl Michael Bellman, published in Songs of Fredman in 1792. According to Wikipedia, still today research hasn’t proved if Bellman wrote the tune or not. Since it became famous, the tune has been used for several different lyrics in the centuries since Bellman, including many children’s songs.

The game

  1. One person is appointed bear, taking cover and pretending to sleep (in the middle).
  2. Other participants walk around the ”bear” in a ring, singing Björnen sover (”the bear is sleeping”).
  3. At the end of the song, the bear ”wakes up”, and begins to chase the other participants.
  4. When someone is caught, he or she will become the ”bear” the next time. (as you can understand, in the end they will all be bears)

Because Russia and the USSR sometimes have been called the Russian Bear the term björnen sover (”the bear sleeps”) has in Swedish sometimes referred to times in international politics when Russia has attracted less attention, but not everyone is trusting them.

So, now it is your turn to tell a story in 1 to 5 photos. The story you tell is totally up to you. Document for example an event you liked, a meal you enjoyed or a visit to a favorite place. Share a photo that conveys an emotion, and show us a memory of a place, time or person. In your post, be sure to include the Lens-Artists tag and a link to Patti’s original post.

Last week Tina invited us to share photos of Spiritual Places. A special thanks to Tina for her inspiring theme, which generated your marvelous posts. I was especially touched by the images that honored Bren, a wonderful creative artist who recently died from cancer.

Now, a special announcement. We’re very pleased to tell you that once again 5 very talented photographers have accepted our invitation to host our July “Month of Guest Hosts” here at Lens-Artists. Be sure to visit their unique sites each week as they explore the following topics:

In August, the Lens-Artists team will be back.  I, Ann-Christine, will be your host on Saturday, August 5. Look for my post on Leya at noon ET.  And by then, this hectic time will be over and I am free to do some inspired blogging again. In the meantime, I am hoping that your July is relaxing and filled with inspiration for the July topics!

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