This week John asks us to show our Go-To Places – where you go or what you do to help lift those spirits when you are feeling low? So, here are some places close to my heart that helps me rest and reload.
People who wonder if the glass is half empty or full miss the point. The glass is refillable!
The forest fills my heart and soul with everything I need.
Every season it brings harmony and helps me shut out the troubles of the world.
My dog(s) are a constant source of happiness and energy. They are my best companions, and they never fail in their efforts to make me smile.
My garden is right at my doorstep…and its inhabitants, big or small, are a joy to follow in their daily life. Every morning and evening I walk slowly through the garden to see who’s in, what’s growing and what or who needs me.
Right now, I need to fill the drinking places for birds and hedgehogs twice a day – it is very dry in Skane, and in the whole country.
Summertime, the old cottage lifts me up to manage life when it is too warm outside and I think too much. Early mornings and late evenings bring solace and time for contemplation.
Last week, Anne brought us the “Abandoned” challenge – and we got loads of wonderful responses. Many of us do love abandoned things to photograph! Next week, Sofia will be our host. Be sure to follow her here so you don’t miss her post, which will go live next Saturday at noon Eastern time. If you’d like to join in with your own challenge responses, but aren’t sure how to get started, check here.
Did you ever wonder Why abandoned houses looked so sad Much like the people Their exterior was only for the function
We would not feel so sad If we recognized That the spirit of the house Had already moved on
The dream remained” ― Maria Lehtman, The Dreaming Doors: Through the Soul Gateways
Anne has sent us one of my – and many others’ I know – favourite themes, Abandoned things! Personally I love abandoned houses and places, and for some time I joined my son in searching and photographing our finds.
My thoughts on Abandonement? A great theme it is, and an opportunity to dig out precious things from the archives – thank you, Anne! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, with only a short title on each of them. I don’t want to think of abandoned people though…that feels too sad. And, I have never photographed anyone in that kind of situation.
Tjernobyl
The saddest photograph in the gallery is of the Jewish cemetary in Warsaw. Walking in the silence there, knowing what happened to all these people and that there are no relatives left to remember or to tend to the graves… It is hard to fathom all the sadness and tragedy, but somehow there was a comforting feeling in walking alone in the silence, reading on the gravestones. Many of them still so beautiful.
Two homes – one in Norway, Lofoten, and a little bird’s nest in my forest
The stray dogs in Tblisi, Georgia, were many, but in a way they were not totally abandoned. Every dog had a tag in their ear, emitting medicine, so they were all castrated and friendly. They could also find food at a special place built for them in the city centre.
Sweden. A library in the forest – unfortunately an abandoned, unfinished octagon building
Agricultural machinery from an abandoned farm
Two abandoned factories that I visited with my son when he too was into photographing
The challenge is to tell and show our thoughts on abandonment. Please visit Anne’s beautiful site for more inspiration. I enjoy being alone, but that is my own choice – being abandoned does not sound that positive… When you respond, please link back to Anne’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
Last week, I had the pleasure of being your host – thank you for so many fun and original responses of your last outings! I enjoyed seeing the varied places you visited and things you saw. Next week, look for John’s post as he will be leading our challenge.
Until then, stay safe and be kind. To yourself as well.
What happened on Your last outing? Did you meet a friend or did you go shopping? Or maybe you just took a walk in the beautiful weather? What made you take out your camera? We’d love to know!
For a couple of days now, Spring has taken giant steps forward, and we see cranes and starlings – even the little wagtail is here. She used to come punctually on the 4th of April – but nature runs faster and faster… and well – she is already here. And she’s welcome.
Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.
– Rainer Maria Rilke
Spring is of course the main inspirer to take out my camera these days, but little outings can bring new and different things to tempt your lens – even things you did not expect when you left home!
The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.
– Gertrude S. Wister
This time I was looking for the little anemone hepatica – and I know where to find her. These anemonies are the harbingers of Spring, and their colours vary from indigo over light purple to very light blue. I love taking photos of them as they are reaching for the sunlight. In fact I almost take the same photos every year… maybe you recognise doing something like that too?
I feel a physical happiness when spring is coming. – Halldor Laxness
Milo is not that intrigued when I bring my camera, and he is not interested in either posing or the flowers. Rather a roll or two in the leaves – Not on the anemonies, Milo!!!
I also visited a newly found friend. I met her through an old friend of mine, and we have spent a couple of hours painting together. Now we were invited to her home, and the location of her house turned out to be a dream surprise.
If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.
– Loren Eiseley
As a child I always dreamt of having water running through my garden. It doesn’t have to be a river, a brook or creek would have been perfect. The pure harmony of the sound is soothing to every human ear – and I guess to nature itself.
Cats rule the world. – Jim Davis
Yes – I fell in love with her cat, Morris.
A real beauty – but a fast and cunning hunter as well, I learned. Cats are, of course, but he must have held some kind of record…
When my friend told me that Morris had caught five squirrels in a few days, and killed her garden robin and a wren… I was happy to have taken my photos before I knew about that. He was good at posing though –
Talking about posing nicely – the hectic love affairs going on in the pond made me sit down for a while to watch the multitude of frogs – I guess there where more than a hundred in that single spot. I caught this one smiling, while guarding its offspring… Who knows, one of them might be a prince? I can easily resort to fairy tales these days to forget about the craziness of this world.
So, what did I learn from my outing then? Good friends are priceless, Spring glory makes me happy and alive, I still love cats – and I agree with Cameron Diaz:
I’d kiss a frog even if there was no promise of a Prince Charming popping out of it. I love frogs.
Last week we had Egidio guiding us through Wild Life – thank you for all your exciting wild wonders, a treat every one of them!
Now I am looking forward to seeing your outings and what they brought! Link to my post and don’t forget the Lens-Artists tag. Next week Anne will be your host – please go to her site and get inspired!
The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.
– Charles Darwin
Egidio’s challenge this week is all about wildlife. My choices have to be mostly wild landscapes, and Iceland is one of them. Today I read about a new volcanic eruption near Grindavik – again. But people are used to it – being rather ”wild” themselves.
Another wild landscape is the jungle – in the Amazon there are still a multitude of creatures – even if human intrusions and atrocities are escalating. We should be very very anxious to keep these forests alive – if we want this planet to survive.
The Amazon was one of my greatest adventures. And the night walks were spectacular. The big spiders are not for me…to love, but it was a fantastic experience to see them too in real life. Clearly going by canoe is the perfect way to get close to the wildlife here.
The landscapes of the Galapagos islands are wild in another sense, there is almost no vegetation, but a multitude of animal species. Many of them are endemic, and if your read Darwin’s works you will realise that this is a veritable Paradise, where the animals have few enemies and you can come very close to many of them. I found the iguanas very interesting, both land iguanas and marine iguanas.
The land iguanas love the Opuntia cactus ( known as the prickly pear cactus), and eat it with relish. In the Galapagos islands it can grow up to 12 meters and the iguanas up to 1.30 meters length.
In Sweden, and in the other Nordic countries, the wildlife is of course different from that of a jungle…the biodiversity is not as big, but we do have big predators like bears, wolves and wolverines. The nearest wolf habitat is a forest only a kilometer away from my home.
I guess Sweden’s nature is most famous for Carl von Linne’ and his categorizing of it. So, here is his own wild flower – the tiny, delicate Linnaea borealis.
I would say one of the things carachterizing the wild life, is its resiliense and adaptability. But surely there is a limit… This bee sat frozen on a flower in my garden – representing my closest ”wild life”. It came alive again and started foraging with the warming sunlight.
It’s a wild life, Egidio says…and with dogs, at least my dogs – it really is!
The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
– Mahatma Gandhi
This past week, Tina’s challenge brought out many personal favorites. So beautiful responses! For this week, we’ll look forward to seeing what your wild imagination will focus on. Don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag for your post so we can easily find it in the Reader.
The first challenge for April will come from me, Leya/Ann-Christine. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in to find out more about the challenge then. Please see this page to learn more about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history.
You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again. You can also look at a picture for a second and think of it all your life. – Joan Miro
Tina has set the most difficult challenge ever… at least if you are a nature lover like me. Which five to choose from more than 100 000 pictures in Lightroom? Now I have chosen five pictures I often come back to – so I guess they are personal favourites. I was inspired by Tina to pick most of them from my own surroundings at home. That way I was automatically limited too.
So, this week our challenge is to choose no more than 5 images as our all-time personal favorites!
Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory. — Unknown
My favourite dog breed is Lagotto, and these two guys were my first ones. Always together, always playing or sleeping or eating together. This photo shows their different characters perfectly well. Mille is the brown and wild one, while Totti is the ”monitor” and supervisor. He was very laid back too.
We were fortunate to have them in our lives for 12 years each, and they will always stay close to my heart.
Only photograph what you love. – Tim Walker
The land of my dreams is Iceland, and we have visited several times – never disappointed in our favourite destination. Some years ago we went in winter instead of summer – the hot spring baths are at their best when there is snow and ice. One evening we went to the black beach in the south of Iceland to see the sunset. And like everything else in Iceland – it was magical.
Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like. — David Alan Harvey
In 2020 we went to an art exhibition some 20 kilometers from my home – which ended in me mostly taking photos of the entrance windows instead of the art…The window was overgrown with vines and an enigmatic golden light shining through.
I wish that all of nature’s magnificence, the emotion of the land, the living energy of place could be photographed. – Annie Leibovitz
I think many of you know how much I love winter and snow, and how climate change has deprived us of this in later years. Some days still have the old glory, and this photo was taken on such a day, when the light was perfect and the air crisp and clear. Bitter sweet memories.
Photography is a love affair with life. — Burk Uzzle
This aster I photographed in my garden, an autumn some years ago. I woke up to frost and a clear sky, and as I looked out of my bedroom window, I knew there would be a short photo option not to be missed.
The best images are the ones that retain their strength and impact over the years, regardless of the number of times they are viewed. – Anne Geddes
Thank you, Tina, for another challenging challenge!
So now it’s your turn. Share with us your five favorite images making sure to link them to Tina’s post and to use the Lens-Artists Tag. We so look forward to seeing your choices! Last week Ritva challenged us to focus on portraiture. As usual your responses were terrific. Many of us wondered how to manage such a challenge, but ended up more satisfied than expected! Finally, we hope you’ll join us next week at noon EST when Egidio once again leads us on his Through Brazilian Eyes post. Until then, be kind and enjoy the adventure.
Ritva really makes us work hard this week – Portraits! I don’t do portraits, I’m not comfortable with it… but after scrolling for half an hour to find something to post, I remembered my old students. I used to make portraits of them their last term. So, I’m using a couple of those taken so many years ago that they hardly will recognize themselves should they happen to read my blog. (I know they don’t…)
The art of freezing moments…and yes, I was so proud over my students that day!
There should be a selfie too I guess, Ritva sent one – but as I don’t do selfies either, this photo was taken by one of my students. And it’s a side portrait! The real side portraits though, all reside in ancient Egypt. (Last immersive visit in the header)
Knobbed hornbill – indeed an interesting side portrait!
In fact, my first thought reading the challenge was to use some of the bird portraits I have, or maybe my dogs? Ritva is the master of portraits, so I really had to try. Fortunately I found some more people, and in B&W, as I believe portraits are best made there.
This elderly man was sitting at the other end of my coffee table, (I remember him, but I no longer remember where it was…) reading about a Welcome into this world. I believe we all need more of this every day since this world is becoming less welcoming by the minute.
So, here comes some students I know wouldn’t mind me posting. They belonged to two of my most lovely classes from the science program. Then the distinguished, but very humourous, father of an old friend of mine when he turned 90. And, the last one – a colourful lady I met in Lodz – I have posted this photo a couple of times before.
Some years ago, I attended a gathering at a restaurant where I met this old biker that I totally loved! His white beard and expressive face just convinced me to ask for a photo – which he gladly let me take. The other biker posing with his vehicle was a happy guy, so for his portrait the bike itself was essential. These bikers were very easily approached and I felt at ease asking them – a big step forward for a shy person like me.
Every portrait tells a story...
The only person I really have some portraits of is my daughter. She always let me take her photo and loves posing for me. The left three of these were taken at Stora Hotellet in Umeå, when she graduated as a dentist. The first one through a very special mirror which made the portrait almost look broken. The right one was taken in my garden when Emma was going to one of the many masquerades she attended in her late teens.
Turning moments into eternal memories...
I am so glad I found more portraits than I knew I had, but I am afraid I haven’t followed one of Ritva’s main tips – concentrating on the eyes. I will better myself as soon as I get another opportunity! Thank you again for a great and challenging challenge!
Thank you also to Anne for Life’s Changes, that really let us know a great deal more about each other. Next week, Tina is back to host with a new inspiration. Go to her beautiful site to find another exciting challenge.
Please link your post to Ritva’s original post, and add the “lens-artists” hashtagso we can easily find you in the Reader. Until then – stay kind and creative.
Anne is our lovely guide this week, and she really made me think…a long time before deciding.
Let’s begin with the beginning…My grandmother is the person I owe maybe most of my interests to, and I loved her dearly. She worked hard on the land all her life, and she taught me everything about making things grow, and how to handle geraniums to make them thrive. I still have all her geraniums in my house, since 1988 when she left us. She loved everything living and loved to see me loving it too. I still miss her.
Anne made me think about the many things that have enriched my life. Nature, students, children, travel, art, painting, dogs and cats – and of course photography. Photography and blogging that have brought me so many friends from all over the world. You.
I could have picked any of these… but, what is here with me every day, making my life shine, making me useful? My plants!
Many of them comes from cuttings and seeds taken home and abroad, plants from faraway countries, from friends – living or long since gone. That is an important thing to me. Every time I water them or prune them or just look at them – I remember the friend who gave that plant to me. My plants are living memories keeping their former owner alive.
They are also my ”children” and I love watching them grow. It is about the same feeling with real children and students – making them thrive and grow makes me feel good. And whole.
My garden project is to make it a haven for flowers (especially wild flowers), plants, pollinators and birds. And my little hedgehog… Never is my smile bigger than when I see him walking around at dusk, drinking some water or poking his nose in the ground for a caterpillar or two.
These garden pictures are of course from another season, but I decided to take all the indoor photos yesterday – which means there are none of grandmothers’ geraniums as they are not flowering until April, May. But there are many others. (Text in the photos.)
Indoors I have more than 200 plants, and it takes a week every year to repot them. I usually do that in February – so they will make a good start when the sun goes higher in the sky.
I used to grow a lot of orchids, but have turned more into other species of interest, like Begonias, Hoya, Hibiscus and cacti. The ”bubbly” Begonia (begonia masoniana river) below the white Camellia is my newest and most rare one. Keeping flowers for their patterns is fun, dried flowers too. Of course I love to grow edible sprouts for the winter as well! And my granddaughter loves to see them grow that fast…
Upstairs is crammed with plants during winter when they have to reside indoors. I use special lamps to give them more hours of daylight, but I haven´t always used any extra light. I was surprised to see the difference though, and from now on my plants will have a better start the next Spring.
What has enriched and/or changed your life? That is your challenge this week. Please share with us your joys and passion of a hobby or life experience that helped you find your life’s passion! Remember to tag with Lens-Artists at Anne’s original post.
We really enjoyed your posts in response to John’s Pick A Word challenge last week. What a variety! Next week Ritva will present the challenge, so look for her post.
John‘s challenge this week is called “Pick a Word.” You must choose a word that fits your topic and select three or four appropriate photos to share. Please visit his interesting site for more inspiration!
I have chosen ”Double-Exposures” But if John doesn’t accept it (two words…) I will go for ”Double”.
During the pandemic years, I developed a love for double exposures. And swirls. But today I will pick only double exposures. I guess it became interesting because we could not travel very far and had to be very careful where and how we went. Doubles could easily be done at home or in the garden, with interesting results.
I tried many combinations, and these are some of those I found worked best. Flowers of course,
and flowers and text together.
Why not a library… we can never get enough of books!
Buildings make excellent photos – like these wooden houses in different colours.
Finally Stockholm railway station and City Hall – where the outcome is an old favourite of mine. In fact I think I want to try some new subjects for double exposures again!
So, John says the word you pick could be for example from photographic techniques like ”Backlit, Landscape, Portrait, Minimalist” or subject descriptions like “Mountain, River, Architecture, Wildlife.”
We are looking forward to seeing what word you pick to share in your challenge response! Be sure to tag your post with “Lens-Artists” and add a link to John’s original post.
Last week, Sofia challenged us to be BOLD, and we really were! Extraordinary answers to that one. Next week it’s Anne’s turn. To be sure you get a notice of her challenge when it goes live, follow her site here. If you’d like to join the challenge each week, but aren’t sure how to get started, check here.
Hope to see you soon – and until then, stay safe and be kind.
Your life is your canvas, and you are the masterpiece. There are a million ways to be kind, amazing, fabulous, creative, bold, and interesting.
– Kerli
Sofia is our lovely guide this week, and she wants us to be Bold – or at least send pictures that speak bold. Please visit her beautiful site for more inspiration!
Colours and patterns in furniture – can indeed be bold. I like it, but maybe not in my own house…
Gaudi was one of the most bold architects according to me. I am looking forward to seeing a Sagrada Família fully fledged in 2026.
Last Tuesday we saw the immersive exhibition of Frida Kahlo in Malmoe. The Mexican painter and artist who was severely wounded in a bus accident at the age of 19, and lived with constant pain until her death in 1954, only 47 years old. Few people and artists were that bold and colourful as she was in both life and works.
Finally, In the true spirit of it, be bold and take us all somewhere new, Sofia says. How…? Well, you asked for it…it is rather bold of me, in this famous company, to show one of my wild paintings (I don’t call it art…)for my granddaughter. Creatures.
I am truly grateful for the many beautiful and thoughtful answers to last week’s challenge – and we all managed to post only ONE image! I guessed it would be difficult, but you really made it work – and work so well, that I had tears in my eyes more than once…
So now – welcome to this week and Sofia’s magic. Remember to link back to her post and to tag Lens-Artists so we can find you.
Stay well, keep calm and make the best of your week.
This week it is my turn to present a challenge – and I mean to give us all a real” test”. I tend to use several pictures in my posts, and some of us often do – so the challenge is to use only ONE picture. One that you find important, meaningful to you, maybe sending a message – and then explain why you picked just that picture. It is not meant to be a ”favourite” picture of yours, not at all…so…
– here is mine.
This is a 13 year old picture from Segovia, Spain. I was walking this city street, eagerly looking for the famous aqueduct… and suddenly it appeared in front of me, the impressive, Roman construction going right through Segovia. I was left standing in the middle of the street, gasping, filled with awe. How small the modern buildings seemed! After some 5-10 minutes, two men, old friends I guess, came slowly walking by. Three legged – but strong.
Two major thoughts entered my mind. The importance of knowledge – never stop learning – and stay open and curious. (I was a teacher…) Then my thoughts started wandering.
I have seen several aqueducts on my travels – but nothing like this one. My greatest love is Pont du Gard in France, from a trip in 1976. The old Romans were skilled architects and builders, and although they had better mortar than ours, the Segovia aqueduct was built without it, just stones on top of stones. It was built in the first century AD to carry water to the city from mountain springs 17 kilometers away. The complete archade consists of 167 arches – and it was in use until 1973! Incredible.
Nothing we build today has the strength to last for 2000 years… I am sure. It should trouble us that we are losing old knowledge every day, and one day, maybe there will be no computers to ask. – Someone or something, someday will surely pull the plug. During my last working years, many of my student’s turned to Google instead of learning from books. Sad. Critical reading is taught in every subject in school, but somehow young people seem to believe too many things found on the internet…and forward things without checking their credibility. I also think it is wise not to stop learning things by heart – even the smallest things – and you will be exercising your mind and brain, keeping them alert.
My eyes followed the two old friends – how I would have loved to ask them about their lives, their world and their thoughts about the future! But, unfortunately I don’t speak good enough Spanish. And that is another thing we are losing – languages. It’s a fact that, if we lose a language we lose the culture connected to it as well. That is the way cultures are lost – in Sweden we are losing the Sami culture, because not many people speak their language anymore – despite diversity treasures like having more than 100 words for describing snow, and words from their nomad life with reindeer.
I wish we would listen more to older, experienced people. There is so much collected knowledge to treasure. Instead, if we listen to what they have experienced and what history has to tell us, we don’t seem to care about it and we certainly don’t learn from it. We should try harder to change that.
I believe parents have a great responsibility. Please take care of the knowledge handed down orally, written and worked by hand! Don’t wait until it is too late. Once gone – forever gone.
A big thank you to Patti for last week’s challenge Colour vs B&W – a brilliant possibility to exchange thoughts and experiences of how to look at editing and photography! In fact I decided to use B&W in this post because of what I learned. Life long learning is essential not to wither and grow old too early!
Don’t forget to link to this post when you participate, and use the Lens-Artist tag. We are looking forward to seeing your choices! Next week Sofia will be our host – be sure to visit her inspirational site to find out what she is up to!
Leya 
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