Lens-Artists Challenge #…There’s a Crack in Everything

/ Leya / 64 kommentarer

This week Ritva – inspired by Leonard Cohen’s lyrics and his characteristic blend of melancholy and optimism – offers a challenge based on these lines:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, in everything
That’s how the light gets in

This is a personal favourite quote, and I will try to show some feelings it arises within me. Light and thoughts of healing is the main focus. Your feelings might be very different.

Who lived in these rooms…and were they really happy?

Were children running and playing here or were they always restricted by strong rules and traditions, dressed up in impossible costumes?

Have you ever seen the ice breaking up? The special light and the sound it makes when you walk on it?

Never stop being a child within, because children help us see the light still shining in this world.

Nature is the helper and the answer to many of our human imperfections. When we cannot find beacons ourselves – nature can.

We struggle, like mankind always have done, to find a meaning – a light – in our lives. Some people find it in religion or from special and charismatic people. From Love.

People are like buildings, they can be dilapidated, but beauty still shines through those cracks, and we can try to accept them and find peace within through them.

The struggle for light is constant, but I always see the darkness first. I strive to share beauty and light in everything I do, because the walk of life will be easier, despite the cracked steps and roads we walk.

Ritva says it so well: ”By sharing these images, we not only showcase our individual stories, but also create an opportunity for dialogue and connection. Let each image tell a story, convey an emotion, or illustrate a moment of seeing light.” Thank you, Ritva, for a thoughtful and uplifting challenge. Don’t forget to link to Ritva’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

A big thank you to Anne, for the artistic approach to photography with ICM, it was so much fun to do and fun to see what we were able to do with this style. Next week Egídio leads us to something new again, please visit his inspirational blog to see more.

Until then, stay curious and creative.

Thursday Thoughts – Autumn Colours

/ Leya / 36 kommentarer

This morning I had an appointment for Milo – his annual big haircut, bath and spa (if I can call it that…). He has a love/hate thing with it. He rushes to his beloved Mia – and doesn’t want to have an ordinary walk before the ordeal. But after suffering a couple of hours at her hands, he then emerges as a RENEWED DOG.

While he is there, I take a long walk in my old surroundings, where I worked for about 20 years. This walk was always a pleasure, and now, with some colours still lingering – it’s a treat.

Please walk with me even if it is damp and foggy in the morning –

– it will get brighter when the sun has soaked up the mist.

And it’s on its way now…

I can feel it!

The forest is silent and the air crisp and clear. Autumn at its best.

Now when Milo was his loveliest self again, he happily jumped into the car to go home. But first another walk where I always used to stop after work – The Old Mill. See you there next time!

Lens-Artists Challenge #321 – Intentional Camera Movements (ICM)

/ Leya / 50 kommentarer

Anne is urging us to try ICM – and I agree with her – it is great fun once you give it a go!

In 2016, Sue of Wordsvisual taught me how to do when she was here in Sweden. I immediately fell in love – the results are close to impressionistic. I have had some fun with it maybe once a year – but now, I really wanted to give it a fair try. (What wouldn’t I do for Anne?) Please visit her beautiful site to find some great inspiration!

As I am closing down my garden and glass house for the winter – I took my inspiration from there. The colours are still alive and here are my results from a couple of hours’ joy!

No laundry – but vines! I let them climb there because I love them flaming, and the two following pictures are also from those lines.

In the left one I drew the camera sideways and down, trying to catch the colours in the clothes pins while they went towards the ground. The right one was made by making u-formes with the camera to get the feeling of yarn hanging out to dry.

These two pictures are from the open place under the trellis. I still have some trees standing there, but tomorrow they are moving inside. The left one is a Plumbago and the camera was moved upwards. The right one is the Ginkgo tree and some different leaves on the ground, and camera was moved downwards.

These two are from the last of my Asters. You can guess how I moved the camera. The diagonal lines on the left side are from straws leaning over the flowerbed.

This last pair is from my fiery Yellow Ginger Lily – the last flower standing, and to the right is the soft Acacia buds waiting to bloom in January.

I was so inspired by Anne’s trellis ICM, that I had to try catching the last grapes out there. I thought the thrush had eaten them all, but here they are!

I took all photos in evening light and at low shutter speed. Mostly 8.

I had a lot of fun preparing for this post, and I hope you do too. My biggest smile and thank you to Anne, who made me take this up again! Please share your thoughts and images. I took hundreds of photos, and it doesn’t have to be flowers…so count on it that you will have to throw away 90% of what you produce.

We all had a great time last week as Sofia had us looking back. I enjoyed experiencing all your thoughts and memories. When you share your post for this challenge, please link back to Anne’s original post and use the Lens-Artist tag. In the meantime have fun learning and experimenting with ICM.

Thursday Thoughts – What to Do with a Leftover Firestation

/ Leya / 17 kommentarer

Well, on our visit to Kent and Sussex we lived in the little town Tonbridge. Scouting one day, I came across the old fire station.

The fire station was no longer in use…or so I thought at first. But this is what they had made it into!

This grey day it still looked a bit abandoned – but soon arrived some chatting ladies. I talked to the girls at the bar, and they showed me the massive amount of dog photos on their wall. You should take a photo of your dog and hang it here – with the dog’s name on it. And there were many of them – I could swear there must be more dogs than people in this town. Never verified though.

A lovely place anyway, with excellent coffee.