Ritva is our host this week, and common objects are in focus – making them shine. Please visit Ritvas amazing site with some brilliant inspiration!
I will start in Japan – with Shinkansen and
some ordinary umbrella stands. The Japanese can give anything mundane a fascinating glow, so, no credit to my photography…
Next gallery was made from my home, indoors photos. I have used close-ups, fisheye lens, high key pictures and B&W.
Let’s go out in the garden to enjoy the little things! Clothes pegs in the evening light as well as caught by the vine, the top of my empty watering can, a spider’s web against the greenery, a tomato plant, a tiny orchid in the dark…and a Solomon’s Seal.
Many thanks to Anne for her brilliant hosting of last week’s Shorelines challenge. The beautiful shorelines washed away all our troubles and wrinkled foreheads! I hope you will join us next week too, when Egídio will be our guide. Until then, take care and enjoy life!
Anne is our host this week, and my choices for shorelines will all be the ones I have close to me, where I walk every year – or even every day.
Prize the natural spaces and shorelines most of all, because once they’re gone, with rare exceptions they’re gone forever.
– Richard Louv
Let’s start at our summerhouse – early mornings and evenings are always the most attractive times to go to the shore. For the light, for being alone, for…
My first choice is from an early morning paddle on the narrow canal up to the lake. Silent waters and the soft sound of munching horses. Peaceful and relaxing – I wish every morning could start like this.
By the sea, the light has many dimensions, so, only some minutes later…this view will not be the same. That, I find is the most fascinating thing with living by the sea.
The view from my window shows the little fishing harbour on the other side of the water. I never tire of looking at it – there is always a new colour, a new mood, a new feeling.
Standing at the very edge of the water, this is my view to the left: the Baltic Sea – Östersjön. Far over there, on the other side, lies Finland.
For many years, this little red boat was the sign that we had reached our part of the shore. I don’t know how many photos I have of this view, but they are many – I loved it. My children loved it too. But, as with everything in life, it must wither and die, and the red boat has been gone now for some years. But I have the photos – and our memories.
Now we will go closer to my home, and the shorelines here are no longer the sea, but small lakes, creeks, or ponds. The following two are in the same area – where I often walk. All seasons are beautiful here, but the golden autumnal scenery you see above, will soon no longer be there. Within a few months these waters will be drained – never to come back. A decision made by the authorities. We fought long and hard to keep it, but, unfortunately, in the end we lost.
Winter in the same area, but this little pond will still be there in years to come.
Swedish people, and I guess Nordic people in general, have a special love for early Spring with its light blue sky and clear air. The little yellow dots you see between the trees are the first daffodils of the year.
Here we are even closer to my home – this is a walk I often do with Milo. Along these marshland shores grows many orchids and other rare plants.
I will end with ”my” forest where I walk every day – and this was an autumn walk with the last leaves still on the trees. Strangely enough some where bright green, as if Spring had sent a soothing whisper of brighter times to come: ”Don’t worry, I’ll be back”.
Please go to Anne for more inspiration, and when you post for this challenge, please link to her original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
I greatly enjoyed seeing everyone’s cool colors last week. Thank you, John, for a splendid challenge! Next week Ritva will be our host. Please look for her post next Saturday. Until then, enjoy your week, take lots of pictures and be kind to yourself and others.
John is our host this week, and he wants us to concentrate on Cool Colours. Please visit his inspirational site for more about the challenge!
Cool colors have shorter wavelengths than warm colors (red, orange, yellow) and Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines ”cool” in seven ways. For this challenge, John has concentrated on hues in the range violet through blue to green, and I decided to stay with those hues too.
Going through my archives, I found an all time favourite image that has it all – cool colours from violet through blue and green. It is photographed in Lofoten, Norway. A magical place on this planet that has it all, in every respect.
A violet evening in Nice is indeed a soft and velvety dream. A gallery from Japan and the Wistera bloom in April adds to the fact that violet is named after the flower with the same name.
Violet is considered a creative colour and associated with energies and mindfulness, it represents the future, imagination and dreams. It is also one of my favourite colours.
Blue usually stands for serenity, stability, inspiration and wisdom – a calming colour. Personally, I never wear blue – except for jeans. But I love it in nature – the sky and the sea. Especially in summer mornings and late evenings.
I often walk along the sea at our summer house – and this was a magical night in June some years ago. A warm breeze and slow waves aganst the shore.
Of course we must have some flowers too – and this Agapanthus is from my own garden. Blue and green in the setting sun made the flower glow a bit warmer, leaning towards the last rays.
Finally, peeping over my neighbours fence, I see the blue King Frog sitting in his violet flower parasol, enveloped in a green cloak. Now we have all the cool colours in one single picture again.
Green was my last colour, and a favourite one as well. It represents growth, harmony, fertility and freshness. It is restful and relaxing to the eye – cool – due to its spectral wavelength. I sleep in a green bedroom because of this – and it works well.
A big thank you to Sofia, for hosting last week’s Sense of Scale – an interesting and eye opening challenge. So many great examples that never had crossed my mind! Next week, Anne will be our host. Be sure to follow her here so you don’t miss out on it.
Want to join in and don’t know how? Here are the details.
Sofia challenges us to show how we give people a sense of scale in our pictures. This is sometimes quite essential… Please visit Sofia’s site to get more inspiring examples!
My take on this challenge must mainly be using people for scale, but also different perspectives as from below or above, from afar or from a frog’s perspective. Finishing with a macro, of course.
This was a waterfall in Alaska that I did not hike up to – but wow when I zoomed the lens! People walking there made it quite clear it was not as small as it seemed from where I was standing.
This picture is from a tour to the Space Needle in Seattle – where looking through the glass floor sets the scale properly…
The Nice Carnival with its many show wagons is also a way to celebrate the sense of scale and give you interesting surprises.
Some years ago we went to Barcelona under the construction of the great Sagrada Familia. The picture was taken from one of the towers. People and buildings giving you a hint of the size of this gigantic Cathedral.
Back home I was once fortunate enough to visit a statue of a harbour worker – when an elderly lady turned up and walked beside him. A sense of scale in more than one dimension.
This was the first time I visited Segovia, Spain, and I walked in awe up to the aqueduct running through the city, towering over the houses. I believe this is one of the more exciting and surprising moments during all my travels. The elderly gentlemen in front of me were very sweet, and I had no problems keeping the same pace as they did…
Next is an old favourite from the kite festival in Denmark. With kites you can easily use your camera from under their bellies… People and cars become tiny and the kites just as spectacular as they are. I think I’ll have to go there once more!
This one I have used before too – but I still love those legs sticking out of a rusty head in Riga.
Lying down on the stone floor in our apartment in Spain, I found the tiniest ants I had ever seen. A tea spoon became a valuable measurement of scale.
Then came the tiniest husband I had ever seen… In Alaska he jumped from a mountain – safely of course. If I remember it right, he is number two from the left. I let the tree tops stay in the corner of the picture to remember just how difficult this scale was to fathom.
Finally…
…in Weltfogelpark Walsrode in Germany, apart from the real birds, also the tree sculptures were greatly admired. In Bhutan the forest and trees set the scale for the golden Buddha statue. I had to finish with the tiniest of snails (5mm) in this withered flower.
A big thank you for all your garden displays last week, big and small, fancy and spectacular, creative and inspiring – and above all – Loved and Needed! It truly was a treat to read every comment and see every picture. I had a great week.
Don’t forget to tag Lens-Artists and link to Sofias original post. Next week is John’s turn to host so please visit his site for inspiration. Until then, stay well and enjoy every day.
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.”
– William Shakespeare
The quote is used to state that the names of things do not affect what they really are. There are so many ways to look at a garden, so, my idea is to see what You have found, what You see – at home or anywhere in the world. Everything from your window sill to a big park – to me they are all gardens. And what we have in them, is all up to us! I guess something that brings you harmony, makes you smile, makes your world a bit easier to live in. So – What’s in a Garden? Feel free to use any meaning of the word – or create your own!
You who follow me surely know, and will not be surprised, that I am a romantic and thus English gardens have got all the ingredients I dream of. Everything from lush flowers, plants, trees and hedges, to walled gardens, ponds, statues, old stones and ruins.
Much gardening to do in these, but tiny gardens like the next three ones are easily managed and still bringing much joy!
A canal boat and an atrium found in England, and a Hobbit house with a tiny garden found in New Zealand.
Fruit and insects are essential to a sustainable garden.
As I visited Japan earlier this year, I know they have many kinds of gardens. Some of them are minimalist dry gardens – Zen gardens (with open areas of gravel and stones) -, others are walking gardens, flower gardens, bamboo gardens, bonsai gardens…All of them meticulously well kept. Their aesthetics are comprised of a set of ancient ideals (wabi sabi is one of them) and considered as an integral part of daily life.
Three of the essential elements used to create a Japanese garden, (and many of our western gardens too) are stone, which form the structure of the landscape; water, representing life-giving force; and plants, which provide the color and changes throughout the seasons. You also often find bridges, water falls and stepping stones.
We are looking forward to seeing what You have found, and don’t forget to tag your post Lens-Artists when you link to my original post.
Thank you to Patti for her wisely Zigzaging us through last week, and next week again, Sofia will be our host. Please visit her inspirational site for more!
We are back again – and a big thank you to all our guest hosts! Patti is hosting this week, and the topic is Zigzag. Let’s start with my favourite – Danish architecture – and more.
If you go looking for it, natural zigzag can also be interesting…
Beautiful European adder met on the path some years ago while hiking. I have never seen it rise like this one did – and we backed off…
Winter snow bending the straws in elegant zigzag.
In a Narnia Park, we found the broken stone table from the story of Narnia and Aslan by C.S.Lewis.
The sand dunes of the Sahara desert made me think of a soft zigzag pattern.
A walk in Porto is a great joy!
These are all from Tblisi, Georgia – a lot of zigzaging there. Buildings, construction sites and staircases. And fountains!
Have fun with the challenge and we are so looking forward to seeing your choices. Be sure your post includes the “Lens-Artists” tag and a link to Patti’s challenge post.
Next week, I, Ann-Christine, will take the lead for LAC #311, so be sure to visit next Saturday. Until then, stay safe, be curious, and be inspired!
PR of Flights of the Soul is our next lovely guest host, and she is inviting us to find Balconies – please visit her beautiful site for interesting facts and more inspiration!
PR talks about the many ways of using a balcony, and – some cities seem to have no balconies at all, while others have them in every building. In many countries I have seen a dog sitting or walking on the balcony of a house. Hopefully the door in is not closed!
So, we are looking for balconies… A good advise is going to Georgia (not in the US…) and Old Town Tblisi. In the header though, is a Bhutanese balcony for monks only.
For well kept, beautiful architecture and balconies, an impressive place to visit is Prague. This balcony is surely not intended only for a quiet, nice cup of coffee.
The second gallery is from around Europe – we do have some interesting balconies too!
These are from Denmark, Madrid, Barcelona, Bulgaria and Sweden. The ants at Wanås Castle is a work by Colombian Rafael Gómezbarros. And, of course you will recognise Gaudi’s spectacular architecture. PR, the last one is for you – an inside view of the largest balcony of Casa Battló.
Do you have a balcony of your own or are you thinking of some that impressed you? Do remember to use the Lens-Artists tag, and connect to PR’s original post.
Last week, we saw great responses to the challenge Perfect Pairs – a joy! Next week the Lens-Artists team will be back, with Patti starting off the challenge on her Pilotfish blog. Until then- stay nice, enjoy your vacation if you have one, travels if you do and above all – Life. A big Thank You to PR and all guest hosts!
This week Elizabeth of Albatz Travels is our guest host – and she has got an exciting task for us! Please visit her site for excellent guiding to diptychs:
A diptych is two images placed in proximity to one another, forming a pair. To make a successful pairing there should be several things in common, and something very different, contrasting.
How about using mirrors?
My natural(!) choice is flowers and trees. And flowers from English gardens this time.
And throughout the paths of flowery fireworks, there were Castles interspersed…
So, we will move over to totally manmade art, where wonderful wallpapers in the castles created indoor gardens as well, and a different dimension through mirrors.
Artworks are interesting, for pairings too. In Japan our visit to the teamLabs exhibition with mirroring ”eggs” was fascinating.
And finally, people. The Golden Week in Japan gives you endless opportunities to enjoy beautiful people and clothes. This lovely young couple is not the same as the couple in the carriage – but their outfits go so well together. In my eyes, they make the perfect pair – and pairs.
Thank you, Elizabeth for a great learning challenge!
Last week, Leanne lead us through wonderful and different “Tourist Attractions”, capturing the essence of a place. Next week, PR will explore “Balconies,” so be sure to visit Flights of the Soul next Saturday.
Leanne Cole is our fantastic host this week, and she invites us to show what the normal tourist wants to see – but in another way. ”You might go to the same place, but you are after something different.”
So her challenge is to look for those photos that are of tourist attractions, but where we have tried to get the untypical image of it. They can be near or far away in other countries.
I have just returned from a trip to England, so I am a bit late, but here we go…with Japan! Japan was a delightful country to visit this spring, and the first gallery shows some famous attractions – my way:
The superfast Shinkansen train, Fushimi Inari-taisha in Kyoto (Inari is the god of rice and sake and the messenger is a fox), Kawachi Fujien (The world famous wisteria garden in Kitakyushu), the Shibuya crossing in rain (- the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world with about 2300 crossings every 3,3 minute) and lastly, Tokyo Sky Tree.
From Sweden then, not that many:
Stockholm in double exposure (City Hall and Central Station). The Doll Museum was closed, but my shot was taken through the window.
Thank you to Tina for her beautiful and thought provoking challenge on Habitats two weeks ago, and I hope you all had a lovely week off too! Thank you again to Leanne Cole for leading us this week – please visit her site for always amazing photography.
I hope you want to join in next week when our next guest host, Elizabeth of Albatz Travel Adventures, challenges us to share Pairs.
The reality today is that we are all interdependent and have to co-exist on this small planet.
– The Dalai Lama
Tina is our host this week, and she has chosen the theme Habitat. A theme close to my heart. Without habitat, there is no wildlife, and in fact, no real life. What affects a habitat are mainly two factors: biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors are living things within an ecosystem, (and how different species interact and work together, which decides the number of each species) and abiotic are non-living components (mainly geology and climate).
We all know what is happening to our planet and to us and our fellow inhabitants. So, What can we do…what Do we do?
The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.
– E. O. Wilson
As ordinary humans, we might think we cannot do much, but personally I support several nature organisations, and I try to keep my footprint as small as possible. (With a bad conscience everytime I fly…) Our pollinators are crucial to our planet, and the bee is considered our most valuable species. In my little world, I strive to plant only bee and pollinator – friendly plants in the garden. About half of it is never cut down and left wild. It thrives.
Dead trees are left were they fall – and I plant climbers for them.
This is my small contribution for increasing the habitats for insects and birds. A great outcome was my find of a leopard moth here. Dead, but a rare species with gardens and orchards as their habitats. Dead trees are home to many insects.
The only way we can reduce the number of these endangered species is to improve and provide additional habitat where they can live and reproduce.
– Lorne Greene
I hope my garden will steadily become an even better habitat for many plants, insects and birds. I believe we all can do something – following the old saying ”Small streams make great rivers”. To me, this thinking makes my habitat in this world much more alive and useful.
Outside my own garden, a country that comes to mind for having sustainable habitats, is Bhutan. Bhutan is the world’s first carbon negative country. Mainly because of its extensive forests, covering 70% of the land, the Kingdom is able to absorb more carbon dioxide than it produces. How did Bhutan get here and how can the country be an example for the rest of the world? Listen to Bhutan’s Prime Minister in a TED talk on youtube .
In Bhutan, the forest is protected by law, they use their rivers to get clean energy and they subsidise the more eco-friendly LED lamps. To me maybe the most impressive thing is their biological corridors connecting protected areas with each other. Thus, the vast diversity of animals is free to roam around the country. It helps them better adapt to climate change and increase their population naturally. When we were there, we were informed that some tigers were tagged and could be followed from the south part bordering to India, and through corridors up to the snowy Himalayas. In only a few days.
It seems in Bhutan everything living coexist in a smoother way – maybe because of their faith and because of their government’s decisions on the importance of biodiversity. In the cities too, we found space was gladly shared among different species. A comfortable, common habitat.
I hope you’ll join us this week to explore the habitats of both human and animal ”residents”. Be sure to link to Tina’s post, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Also, our big thanks to Egidio whose 2 Rectangles challenge gave us a chance to learn something new, and proved that many of us did not know about this, but were often using it anyway.
As in previous years, the Lens-Artists team will be on hiatus for the month of July. There will be no challenge on the 6th, but the rest of the month will be led by several amazing Guest Hosts. They include:
July 13: Leanne of Leanne Cole explores TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
The Lens-Artist team will be back on August 3 when Patti once again leads us on her Pilotfish Blog. Until then as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the adventure.
Looking for more information on joining our challenge? Click here.
Leya 
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