lens-artists

lens-artists photo challenge: the letter A

PA Moed invites us to share images that feature a subject that begins with the letter A. Hum…can tone be a subject? Or am I being a bit of a rebel by featuring double exposure photography with “A” toned luminosity masks (amber, azure, and amethyst with their contrasting tones)?

Had I not seen erect in the river
These solid timbers of the olden time
How could I know, how could I feel
The story of that house? ~The Sarashina Diary (cited: Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan)

double exposure… amber tone

That moonless, flowerless winter night
It penetrates my thought and makes me dwell on it–
        I wonder why? ~The Sarashina Diary (cited: Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan)

double exposure…azure tone

Do you see that the little night opens 1
And on the ridge of the mountain, serenely bright,
Shines the moon of a night of Autumn? ~ Diary of Izumi Shikibu (cited: Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan)

double exposure…amethyst

Nikon D750 f/4.8 1/800s 65mm 100 ISO

Applying a subtle color to the highlights and shadows/ of your black and white photographs gives you a slice of the emotional qualities that color can offer, without disguising the depth and texture of your black and white photograph.

lens-artist photo challenge: you pick it!

After autumn winds have blown away the colors of fall, the wilting landscape left behind is a sleeping yellowish-brown hue that remains until spring winds travel across glaciered lands. Between the snowfalls of winter, it is wabi-sabi that greets me throughout each day. 

Words of old--
whispered today by wind
in the reeds. ~Shōhaku (cited: Trans: S Carter, Haiku before Haiku)
Nikon D750 f/5 1/1000s 48mm 100 ISO
From bare brush
along a mountain path--
the sound of frost ~Shinkei (cited: Trans: S Carter, Haiku before Haiku)
Nikon D750 f/5 1/250s 100 ISO
Fallen to the ground
like those words of old--
glowing leaves ~Inko (cited: Trans: S Carter, Haiku before Haiku)
Nikon D750 f/8 1/125s 250mm 100 ISO

Travels and Trifles invites photographers to share what they find interesting about a chosen subject. This post represents current work with double exposure as an avenue to open myself to the beauty of the imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete qualities of late autumn.

lens-artist’s photo challenge: found in the neighborhood

the neighborhood’s
relaxation spot…
the tree’s deep shade ~Issa (cited: haikuguy.com)

hazy night–
people listening
to heavenly music ~Issa (cited: haikuguy.com)

the mountain bees, too
yearn to live there…
town of people ~Issa (cited: haikuguy.com)

A historical journey through my neighborhood…images and haiku posted in response to this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge: Found in the Neighborhood.

lens-artists: the sun will come out tomorrow

O Sun that rose in the eastern corner of Earth,

Looking as though you came from under the ground,

When you crossed the sky and entered the deep sea,

Where did you stable your six dragon-steeds?

Now and of old your journeys have never ceased:

… ~Li Po (cited: gutenberg.org)

morning’s sun

I did not sleep, gazing at the moon all night 
But the dawning of the day 
Was in whiteness of hoar-frost. ~Izumi Shikibu (cited: Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan)

morning’s light

the early sun
reaches the valley…
roses of Sharon ~Issa (cited: haikuguy.com)

morning’s light

Anvica’s Gallery is hosting this week’s lens-artist’s photo challenge: the sun will come out tomorrow

lens-artists photo challenge: focus on the subject

This week Patti invites us to explore the various composition elements that invite viewers to focus on the subject : leading lines, patterns, color, contrast, selective focus, freezing the action, doorways or arches, or human/animal eyes.

leading lines & patterns
color & fame within a frame
contrast
selective focus & color
freezing action
eyes

Be safe. Be well. Be sage.

lens-artists photo challenge: what a treat

The quiet that follows a snowstorm.

looking delicious
the snow falling softly
softly ~Issa (cited: haikuguy.com)

Yesterday’s snowstorm blanketed the sphere of my world with 17.7 inches of snow…today feels calming, relaxing, and tranquil.

What a treat from Mother Nature.

Time to slow down…What a treat!

Travel and Trifles invites us to share “What a Treat”

lens-artist photo challenge: my hideaway

This week Ann-Christine (Leya) invites us to explore where or what is our hideaway.

What exactly is a hideaway?

North Park

Roger’s International Thesaurus (revised: Robert L Chapman, 1977) offers two understanding of Hideaway: 1) hiding place – secret place, corner, asylum, sanctuary, retreat, refuge, cubbyhole and 2) retreat – secret place, den, ivory tower, hideout, cell, lair, cloister, hermitage, ashram

Medicine Bow National Forest

Refuge synonyms include: sanctuary, harbor, safe haven, game sanctuary, safety zone, shelter, home, hospice, orphanage, retreat, secret place.

One may take refuge, claim sanctuary, throw oneself into the arms of, make port, reach safety.

Cameron Peak

My hideaway…retreat…sanctuary is my backyard where my family plays, camps, swims, hikes, photographs, share memories/hopes/fears, and laughs. These places where we sought sanctuary include Medicine Bow National Forest, Horsetooth Reservoir, Poudre Canyon, Cameron Peak, North Park.

Poudre Canyon

Today, all threatened within the Mulen Fire and the Cameron Peak Fire.

Horsetooth Reservoir

“…from another perspective, refuge is about how you relate to the experience of life itself. When you stop looking outside or inside for something to free you from your struggles, you take refuge in direct awareness. …When awareness and experience are not different, you stop struggling with what arises and you are taking refuge in clarity…when you experience life without grasping, opposing or ignoring what arises, you take refuge in unrestricted experience.” (cited: Ken McLeod, Reflections on Silver River)

An island of self….

lens-artist photo challenge: communication

Nonverbal communication: It is suggested that 50 to 75% of all communication is transmission through our eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture and the distance between people. We also understand messages through variations of body language, distance and physical environments.  

In the mountain depths,
Treading through the crimson leaves,
The wandering stag calls.
When I hear the lonely cry,
Sad–how sad!–the autumn is
~Sarumaru (cited: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu)

did others sit here too
waiting for spring?
old tatami mat ~Issa (haiku.guy)

blooming plum–
the voices of children
sound reverent ~Issa (haikuguy.com)

A haiku…is a way in which the cold winter rain, the swallows of evening, even the very day in its hotness, and the length of the night, become truly alive, share in our humanity, speak their own silent and expressive language. (cited: Haiku: Eastern Culture)

Symbols are objects that conveys agreed upon messages within a particular group of people.

Harry Nilsson, Every Body is Talking’

Ride and jump on over to HorseAddict to join in this week’s lens-artist’s photo challenge: communication

lens-artist photo challenge: photo walk

to the man walking
“Look behind you!”
windblown butterfly ~ Issa (cited: www.haikuguy.com)

Sony RX1003 f/3.5 1/30s 25.7mm 80 ISO

Spring has its hundred flowers,
Autumn its moon,
Summer has its cooling breezes,
Winter its snow.
If you allow no idle concerns
To weight on your heart,
Your whole life will be one
Perennial good season. ~The Golden Age of Zen

Sony RX1003 f/3.5 1/25s 25.7mm 80 ISO

Though days pass 
And others may forget 
I can never lose the thought 
That meeting in the evening 
Of an Autumn day. ~The Dairy of Izumi Shikibu (cited: Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan)

Sony RX1003 f/3.5 1/8s 25.7mm 80 ISO

Hop on over to Amy’s (The World is a Book) to join this week’s photo challenge: photo walk

lens-artists photo challenge: symmetry

This week Patti introduces various types of symmetry that create images that are powerful and dramatic: vertical, centered, mirrored, horizontal, and radial.

Radial symmetry is all about circles.  It is often seen within flower images as petals fan out from a center circle. Other examples are spokes on a wheel, or ripples of water making concentric circles.

While I have studied various types of symmetry over the years, radial symmetry is one type of compositional element that is new to me. Consequently I decided to open my eyes to various ways to compose symmetry through the use of circles.

Hope you enjoyed these images. Be safe. Be well.

lens artists photo challenge: negative space

Photography, in a nut shell, is lines, shapes, colors, and feelings

In photography negative space is perhaps the most important element as it embraces the subject within your image — the element of interest — helping it stand out and inviting the viewer’s attention.  It is the aspect within a photograph that generally doesn’t attract much attention.  It is sometimes referred to as white space and has the potential to change what appears to be an average subject into an outstanding image.

The simplest example of positive and negative are the words in this blog.  These words draw your attention while the background doesn’t.  The words are positive space, and the white background is negative space

Negative space awakens feelings of peace, calm, quiet, loneliness, isolation. It is less about the subject within a photograph and more about awakening a feeling in the viewer.

Negative space can create a sense of lightness, airiness…it can strengthen the positive emotions in a photography, emphasize the feelings of your subject, conveying whatever story you as a photographer wishes to evoke in your viewer.

Negative space provides “breathing room” giving the viewer’s eyes a place to rest and preventing an image from appearing too cluttered…creating a more engaging composition.

Negative space, in the world of photography, may be more important especially if the photographer tends towards creating images that are simple; yet effective. Michael Kenna, Bruce Percy, and Masao Yamamoto are three artists known for their minimalistic images.

This week’s lens artists’ host is Amy (The World is a Book). Hop on over and join in the fun.