This week Frank, at Dutch Goes the Photo, challenges us to find some layers.
The glaciers of New Zealand provide magnificent layers in stone, and as a contrast, colourful clothes can also be displayed in layers. A bit less sustainable though…
Weekly Challenge
Friendly Friday: Dreamy
Snow asks us to feel Dreamy this Friendly Friday. To me, mountains are irresistible, they hold my dreams of faraway countries and endless, secret paths beyond every peak.
And then…lying on my back in the grass, looking at the summer clouds. As a child I used to imagine and fantasize around their figures and shapes. A lovely way of dreaming.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #34: Close-Up
The light is returning to the northern hemisphere, but we still have winter –
– which means the opportunities are less for us who love photography – or?
A great solution to the problem is close-ups or macro photography. Your own home is an endless source of motifs – and maybe a look into new worlds. So, this week’s challenge is Close-ups. Looking forward to your creative answers to this prompt!
You certainly don’t have to buy a macro lens – most cameras are good at close-ups. If you have a smartphone/android/iPhone – you will be surprised how easily you get good results.
But, last year I finally bought a macro lens – after a lecture by one of our best Swedish macro photographers. She recommended a TAMRON SP 90mm F/2.8. In this post, you are looking through that macro lens. (All photos except one – I guess you see which one…) As usual, click on the images to enlarge.
Let us see what I found when I ventured out into my flower pot, abandoned for the winter in my garden. Have a look down its frozen interior!
This is something of what I found:
And they are not only droplets – but frozen ones, lovingly held by the tiny plants.
Have fun with your close-ups and hope to see you soon –
Before you go, thank you to Patti for a marvelous Nature challenge!
Friendly Friday – Contrasts
For Friendly Friday this week – a drink of contrasts!
Tuesday Photo Challenge – Surface
For Frank at Dutch Goes The Photo – Ripples on the Surface
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #33 – Nature
Patti’s challenge this week is Nature. I have spent most of my spare time in nature – and that is where I belong. The Galapagos Islands have been a dream ever since I was a child.
And in 2016 we went for Ecuador, the Amazon and Galapagos.
As all 19 islands are of volcanic origin, every island is different and many of their inhabitants are endemic to just that island. Harsh nature, but life thrives.
Among cacti and volcanic ground, birds and plants can live their lives without human interference. As a child I thought this must be a true Paradise.
In fact it is. Here you come close to nature and the animals, because they are not afraid of humans – they have no reason to be.
You can watch them hunt…like this Yellow -crowned night heron,
and fight – be it the giant land iguanas (stay clear here!)…
or the graceful Swallow-tailed Gulls.
Red-footed Boobies
The birds also allow you to watch them building their nests. I was 10 centimeters from the Red-footed Boobies – and they just kept courting and building without minding me.
The Marine Iguanas displayed their grandest costumes while sunbathing…
…and even let you get close-ups while lying on the ground, contemplating life.
It is the co-existing human – nature that fascinates me. It could be so easy…but we humans make it so difficult…
Why not walk the endless beaches together? There is room for us, if we only let there be…
If we are respectful,
and stay 2 meters away (the limit here on the islands),
then the animals might even come up to you. We are all curious creatures if we have nothing to fear. One of Nature’s little wonders – my favorite..
…the simple beauty of a Mockingbird
So, if you tread lightly and show respect…
we can live together, love together, and let Mother Nature thrive.
I will always love these islands – where Nature rules, and man is only a grateful guest.
Thank you to Patti for this wonderful challenge – and for the chance to present my view of Paradise.
Tuesday Photo Challenge – Crawl
Tuesday Photo Challenge – Crawl
For Dutch Goes the Photo this Tuesday – Crawl! I thought I had no photos of crawling creatures…but found these. I was looking for a snake shot of a Swedish viper. But No, did not find it…I hope a Galapagos Land Iguana is OK – at least when it is eating from a cactus. And the Swedish variety is a nice little spring frog.
And I could not refrain from giving you this human crawl as well…spotted in Switzerland some years ago…Enjoy!
Lens-Artists Challenge #32 – Shadows
In the header, the grand Aqueduct of Segovia, Spain. A picture where you cannot ignore the importance of shadows. For Tina’s challenge this week – Shadows.
Shadow owes its birth to light.
John Gay
Even the tiniest creature/ thing displays a delicate shadow when there is light enough
And as you move, your shadow moves with you…
In the late evening… the shadows make us a delightful pair – the cherry tree and me
The fence, in Riga, Latvia – one of my favorite pictures ever
Some flowers look their best in the shadows of other flowers in my garden
The golden browns of the dunes become enhanced by the shadows
…and the trees provide soothing shadow while they thrive and reach for the light
Thank you to Tina for a lovely challenge, and a homage to the importance of shadows.
Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.
Friendly Friday – Comfort Zone
This week the prompt is about staying in your comfort zone – or not. The easiest thing is of course to stay there, but…nowadays we often hear we have to come out of it – because it is good for us. But is it… always?
My comfort zone is nature: in the forest, among meadows of flowers, in the mountains – and preferably alone. Or with my dogs.
Stepping out of my comfort zone is to ask people for a photo, a close-up – but I very seldom do. I am still not good at it – and do I really want to become good at it? I admire people who do street photography and get people to pose for them. But…maybe that is not for me.
I do like people who look cool though…
And, I never do selfies – that is to leave my comfort zone completely. This is not a selfie – my husband and his camera were sitting opposite me and Totti in the boat…
Only once have I asked someone to take a photo with me and another person. That was last year, when I met the world’s oldest blogger, Dagny (106 years old).
Finally – the biggest step out of my natural comfort zone, was when I decided to become a teacher. Everyday standing in front of hundreds of students and colleagues, speaking, writing, communicating. That really went against all my intuition and common sense. But I came to love it. So, I came out of my comfort zone to grow, test my capability and learn for life. But please let me escape selfies…
Leya 
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