photo challenges

lens-artists: portraits

Ritva has invited photographers “to capture the essence and personality of your subjects. Whether you choose to ask a stranger, do a self-portrait, take the portrait of a friend, family member, or acquaintance, or photograph animals and birds, the goal is to connect with another person or subject and tell their story through your image.”

This past year has engulfed my family into intense grief with the passing of my husband and son-in-law. Both these two men, the bedrocks of the family, endured intense suffering and left us with a deeper understanding of acceptance, compassion, and suffering. There is also gratitude … gratitude for the grounding companionship of emergency response teams, doctors, nurses, support staff, military personnel.

Over the past year, the beauty of the dawn has been a source of encouragement to begin each day anew. An important part of welcoming each new day … its challenges and unknowns … has been photography.

Thank you Rita for this challenge as it invited me to spend a few minutes to play as I explored new ways to perceive life.

lens-artists: 5 elements

In Chinese Medicine, the Five Elements represent the five unique energies that are present in all things throughout nature. These include Metal, Water, Wood, Fire, and Earth. Each element expresses itself differently depending on where it’s found and also manifests in our body organs, emotions, and personalities.

When Qi is moving through our body freely, the Five Elements are said to be in balance, as Qi needs to be moving constantly for optimum health. But imbalances between the Five Elements and their corresponding energetic channels (meridians) can cause the Qi to either stagnate, or become excessive, affecting our wellbeing.*

Everything relies on everything else in the cosmos in order to manifest—whether a star, a cloud, a flower, a tree, or you and me.~Thich Nhat Hanh

metal

If there was no earth there would be no metal. If there was no metal this photograph would not be.

fire

If there was no wood there would be no fire. If there were no fires there would be no prairie, savanna, chaparral and coniferous forests.

wood

If there was no earth there would be no wood. If there was no wood there would be no carpenters.

water

If there were no hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms there would be no water. If there was no water there would be no fish.

earth

Without the Milky Way there would be on earth. Without our earth there would be no us.

This week Sofia (photographs) invites photographers to focus on one of the elements…and to try to get as many in one photo as possible…

*cited: poweryogaaco.com

lens-artists: behind

This color street image was created by using the reflection of a retail window. The buildings create the background while the foreground is created by both the man holding a phone and the tables/chairs. The three figures offers us a mid-ground. It is my thinking that the composition of this image is an example of using layers within a photograph.

The first image demonstrates the use of light and shadow to create a background. Where as in the second the foreground defines the background.

I hope you enjoyed these variations of layering in photography.

This week’s lens-artists challenge is hosted by Ritva

lens-artists: music to my eyes

The child claps his hands

playing alone, happily,

under a festive tree ~Issa*

artist: R. B. AH**
artist: A. H-A**

Egidio invites photographers to share photographs that are associated with songs. That is, “what music do you hear in your photos?”

I thought to share this masterpiece of abstract art created by a very quiet and thoughtful artist.

While photographs do not bring to mind music, they often speak to me either through haiku or a haiku accompanies me during a photo walk. There are associations with images and scent as well as music and memory.

Music seems more abstract than other art forms because it represents emotional states, symmetry and repetition, and other intangibles. But just because you can’t see or touch these things, doesn’t make them any less real. In preliterate societies, music was probably one of the best methods for storing and conveying complex stories and information.***

One of the best ways to understand how the over-all space of creative expression reflects its parts is to imagine yourself inside the space of the artwork…select a place within the composition where you would like to locate yourself for a few minutes of contemplation. …imagine…passing through different areas of the artwork…feel…energetic patterns. (152)****

*cited: The Spring of My life

Trans: Sam Hamill

**used with permission by the artist

***The Ethan Hein Blog (www.ethanhein,com)

**** McNiff, Shawn

Trust the Process

lens-artists: circles

There was a time when the words an instructor interrupted my wondering mind, “there is no perfect justice and, then later, no perfect circle.” Again, a world view punctured.

Photo challenges that encourage a photo walk in search of a particular color (red is an easy color as it is often used within advertisement) or a particular composition element in photography are heaps of fun.

Circles, I find, are like the color red…they are everywhere.

street

circled by a hedge
of wild roses…
mountain home ~Issa (www.haikuguy.com)

Thank you Leya for this invitation to open my eyes to the world of circles.

lens-artists: window shopping

Hum … window shopping. It has been a long time. I do miss those days walking about Old Town, watching people stroll about, listening to a shopper play a public piano (Piano About Town art project), governing the impulse to buy, sitting out doors with a cappuccino, and most of all, walking about with camera in hand.

Why not join The World as I see it’s lens-artists challenge: window shopping