We welcome Egídio of Through Brazilian Eyes as our guest host this week! He challenges us to show how we recharge our batteries when we need more energy.
As long as I can remember, walking, hiking with family to beautiful places has been my medicine.
One of the best ways to recharge is by simply being in the presence of art. No thoughts, no critiques. Just full-on absorption mode. ― Dean Francis Alfar
– Listening to the sounds of nature
– maybe alone in the forest
– or with Milo (and all of my dogs…)
Soft, clear light is a magical recharger, walking along the shore, listening to the waves.
Not to talk about the levada hikes in Madeira, they are the ultimate rechargers. Enjoying the fantastic views, the heavenly scent and listening to the rippling water – the stillness. Your senses filled to the brim. But unfortunately Madeira is not that close to home…
At home I go to my secret garden to easily recharge my batteries. Just walking, pruning, planting – or sitting in a comfortable chair watching everything grow. To follow the birds nesting and the seasons glow fills my heart.
Another way of recharging is photography, playing with my photos in different software, making double exposures or looking at macro worlds. Then, like a tree in spring, I will feel elevated, lifting my eyes again, towards a new day with new promises.
Many thanks to Donna for last week’s wonderful Time challenge. We truly enjoyed your many different interpretations, and hope you’ll join us for this week’s challenge too. Please remember to link to Egídio’s original post, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag for our Reader section. Finally, Tina will lead us next week, so, be sure to check her out next Saturday at noon, EST.
Donna has chosen Time as her theme. And Time can indeed be looked upon in many ways. We humans invented Time. Wikipedia explains it, in short, like this:
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future.
Sometimes I think about how much my husband’s grandmother and my own grandmother had seen and experienced during their lifetime. Born at the end of the 19th century and died in the 1990’s. How did they cope with such gigantic changes during their lifespan? WWI, WWII, cars, TV, video, digital worlds, walking on the moon…Well, we do. We have to. We are made to. AI next.
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.
– Albert Einstein
The enigma of Time. My grandmother spent her whole life in the little village where I was born. She read poetry and worked the land. She loved John Lennon and Michael Jackson. At the same time her eldest son hosted the Swedish pavillion at the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle. He moved back to Sweden after 17 years, but he never even mentioned his working days or time over there. (When I asked, grandmother took out a photo of my uncle together with Robert Kennedy at the fair. A frozen piece of time.) Born and raised in a poor family, he knew you should never boast about what you had achieved. Today…..I feel it is very different. Time changes…and in many ways not for the better.
The older I get, the more I find the concept of Time strange. That I am living in it, cannot stop it and cannot go back to relive it. ( Maybe you too loved those movies about time travel. I remember Back to the Future for example. And the Time Lord, Doctor Who.) Maybe the worst thing is that feeling of not being able to take good enough care of the time we are given…That is the trap we all are stuck in. One possible reason for this could be that most of us see time linear; some people, in other civilizations, see it circular. If we could do that too, I believe the trap might dissolve.
In my first image, a Bhutanese woman is working the soil in the same way that my grandmother did as a young girl, about 100 years ago.
100 years later, the land is worked with modern machines into even furrows and the potatoes are set with exact precision on top.
Time –
They say Time is the most precious gift. As I am ageing,I am beginning to understand just how precious.
In pictures, my Time gallery over 20 years, are from life with my beloved Lagottos. Mille was born 2002, a wild one, then along came Totti in 2008 – quite the opposite to Mille. Calm, laid back – a bon vivant. We had so much fun together.
You know – opposites can go well together. My husband and I are opposites – and over the years we have learned to live well with each other. It takes time, but you have to give it that time too.
I lost Mille in 2014 and Totti in 2021. Milo arrived in 2018, and it took more than six months for Totti to even look at him…but they too, eventually, became the best friends. Milo is the sweetest dog I have ever had, and I have had six dogs all in all between 1970 and 2023. They have shared my precious time and made every day more positive and fun.
Now this post was a lot of rambling through Time – hope it still held together and you did not tire of my time travels!
Thank you to Anne for her inspiration with Black & White/Monochrome last week. Wonderful responses! Next week we are proud to have Egídio of Through Brazilian Eyes as our guest host and we are set to Recharge. Please check his stunning photography and post for more info.
I want to send a huge thank you to Donna, for such an interesting theme and for the inspirational post she presented to us. I’m more than curious where all your replies will take us. Remember to visit Donna’s beautiful post and link back to it. The Lens-Artists tag will help us find you.
Finally, I will be on the road for some weeks, start Monday, with less wifi than usual – but I will check you out as soon as I can! Until then – stay well and be kind.
Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.
Although humans see reality in colour, for me, black and white has always been connected to the image’s deeper truth, to its most hidden meaning.
– Peter Lindbergh
I have come to love monochrome almost as much as colour. I think mostly because you are more free to create another mood in the picture and to enhance features you would like to dominate. Thank you, Anne, for this interesting theme.
I believe details become clearer, and you can easier rest your eyes on a monochrome image.
There is of course another difference if and how you frame your picture…
…and if you go closer or keep a distance to your object.
You decide, depending on what your goal is with your image.
Some images I just love to have fun with in B&W – making them into abstracts…
– here are some favourites from the kite festival at Fanö, Denmark.
I use NIK Silver Efex for my B&W and monochromes. The option ”yellowed” in NIK is a favourite of mine. So is this crow, contemplating the waves, sitting on an abandoned jetty.
I don’t see the world completely in black and white. Sometimes I do.
– Benicio Del Toro
Sincere thank you to Sofia for her colourful challenge last week and for all your photos using amazing primary colours.
Thank you again to Anne for hosting this week, hope you are feeling better now, resting from the accident! I invite you to visit Anne’s amazing site and join us this week. Please tag Lens-Artists and link back to her original post.
Next week, Donna will be our host and that promises to be a treat so, please visit her beautiful site for more information. Keep well!
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.
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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:
Leya 
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