Category Archives: Photography

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Hopeful

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“Hope is a dimension of the soul … an orientation of the spirit,
an orientation of the heart. It transcends the
world that is immediately experienced and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons. … It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty
that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.”
― Vaclav Havel

Mahalia Jackson statue in Louis Armstrong Park, New Orleans

In this time of systemic and environmental collapse, which some call “unprecedented”, HOPEFULness is a very hot topic. Thank you, Patti, for having the courage to put it out there as our challenge this week! (See her interpretation HERE.)

My illustrations of Hopefulness were all gleaned from my very first trip to New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) last weekend. NOLA is a city with a unique history, a colorful layering of cultures and suffering and community awareness. I visited during the annual Jazz Festival with nine other members of my family. Humanity was evident everywhere! And the stories of relationships were palpable in the streets: indigenous, Creole, French, Spanish, African, and American people interacting in every way.

“It isn’t outcomes that matter. It’s our relationships
that give meaning to our struggles. If we free
ourselves from hope and fear, from having to
succeed, we discover that it becomes easier to love.”
― Margaret J. Wheatley (author of Warriors for the Human Spirit)

JAMNOLA (Joy, Art, Music – New Orleans, LA) Wall of Intentions

Traveling with my sisters, and my adult children and their partners was a heart-filling intergenerational experience. We are all unique individuals, and we are all family. We value our own choices, and we value each other.

“We’ve learned that no matter how despairing the circumstance, it is our relationships that offer us solace, guidance, and joy. As long as we’re together, as long as we feel others supporting us, we can persevere.” ― Margaret J. Wheatley

I was struck by the stories of the Mardi Gras or Carnivale parade traditions in New Orleans. I suppose I had assumed they were about debauchery, hedonism, or self-aggrandizement. I now have learned that they are also about honoring the human spirit and community support. The African-American “krews” who make and parade in elaborate feather costumes in semblance of indigenous cultures are paying homage to the bravery of those tribal people who assisted slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad at the risk of their own lives. They raise their children in awareness of the price and practice of solidarity as they prepare annually for these parades as a family.

“…Only in the present moment, free from hope and fear, do we receive the gifts of clarity and resolve.
Freed also from anger, aggression, and urgency,
we are able to see the situation clearly, take it all in,
and discover what to do.” ― Margaret J. Wheatley

So, I suppose I am interested in discovering what might lie beyond Hopefulness and fear. I am interested in building supportive relationships based on what is needed, on what is most important for the good of the whole community. May we all be able to support each other so that all may thrive.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: To Be Young

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“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken (adults).”   — Frederick Douglass

“I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be” — Greatest Love Of All Songwriters: Linda Creed / Michael Masser

“Children need models rather than critics.”   — Joseph Joubert

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” — Sophia Loren

To be young, when I was young, was often to be dependent and vulnerable and fearful and ignorant. And sometimes it was to be brave and adventurous and curious and free, always trying new things because almost everything was a new thing. The adults in my life had a huge influence on how I experienced being young. Now that I am no longer young, I have a great opportunity to be supportive – to help someone younger turn vulnerability into connection, fear into courage, and ignorance into discovery.

Move at the speed of trust…and breathe. What kind of elder do you want to be? (Singing Alive camp 2022)

Tina’s challenge post, To Be Young Again, is illustrated by the most beautiful photos of children from around the world. Do visit for artistic and compassionate inspiration!

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Music to My Eyes

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Yesterday, I went to a Tulip Festival at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, Oregon. I didn’t tiptoe there; we drove. My fantasy and hope was that I would be able to photograph the rows of colorful blooms from up, up, and away in a hot air balloon.

However, looking at the clouds from both sides, it became evident that stormy weather would mean that the hot air balloons would be grounded.

It was the last day of the festival, and I learned that soon the blooms would be cut to ensure that the plants’ resources would be stored in the bulbs for harvest later. In a short time, coming across these rows of decapitated tulips, you might wonder “where have all the flowers gone?”.

We ended up spending only a hour at the festival, seeking shelter from the intermittent rain by driving country roads singing along to my John Denver CD. The reality of the adventure was not at all similar to any expectations I had, but I think the outcome was in perfect harmony with the circles that I find in the windmills of my mind.

Thanks to Egidio for this super creative Challenge!! Click HERE to see his inspiring idea illustrated in beautiful photos.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Abstracts

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“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.” ― Pablo Picasso

“Energy and motion made visible – memories arrested in space”
― Jackson Pollock

“But nobody is visually naive any longer. We are cluttered with images, and only abstract art can bring us to the threshold of the divine.”
― Dominique De Menil

I imagine the gift of abstract art is the nudge toward seeing things in a completely different way. Our attachment to “reality” is often a symptom of fear. When we are propelled away from the familiar, we have the opportunity for new discoveries, new wonders, new experiences of the divine creativity of the Universe. We risk being changed forever.

Thank you to Ritva for this invitation to explore abstracts! Click HERE to see her amazing examples.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Rock Your World!

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Respect and reverence for the natural world seems to me a fundamental response to the age-old human questions, “Who am I?” and “What am I doing here?” We are elementally Earth Beings, located in space, looking to orient our lives in some sustainable balance. Traditions that honor the Four Directions speak of Rock or Earth as the element to the North.

“There is stability here, the ground of our being. The north represents the place that holds us, that allows us time and space to heal and grow, to feel nurtured and respected. It is also the place of embodiment, of connecting with our physical self, with the concrete, tangible world around us. The north calls to you if you are seeking balance, the deep wisdom that lives in your bones, a place of rest and recovery.” – Julia Hamilton

Inaugural Poem (excerpt) – Maya Angelou

A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon.

The dinosaur, who left dry tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.

But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.

I will give you no more hiding place down here.

You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness,
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.

Your mouths spilling words
Armed for slaughter.

The Rock cries out today, you may stand on me,
But do not hide your face.

Thank you to Donna of Wind Kisses for inviting perspectives on how to Rock Your World. May you be grounded today, in balance and peace.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Water in Motion

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Water moves through everything on this planet – landscapes, plants, rocks, animals, you, and me. There are so many fascinating words for this movement: erosion, guttation, evapotranspiration, infiltration, percolation, perspiration, etc., etc.

The movement of water touches everything and transforms it somehow. Everything around us is in a state of flow.

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
― Alan Wilson Watts

Running Water – by Alfonsina Storni
(translated by Muna Lee)

Yes, I move, I live, I wander astray—
   Water running, intermingling, over the sands.
I know the passionate pleasure of motion;
   I taste the forests; I touch strange lands.

Yes, I move—perhaps I am seeking
   Storms, suns, dawns, a place to hide.
What are you doing here, pale and polished—
   You, the stone in the path of the tide?

“May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke

photo credit: Josh Galasso

Thank you, Sofia, for inviting us into the discovery of Water in Motion. Click HERE to see her Lens-Artists Challenge.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: People Here, There, and Everywhere

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The Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Human Being

“We believe that all the dimensions of our being carry the potential to do good. We celebrate the gifts of being human: our intelligence and capacity for observation and reason, our senses and ability to appreciate beauty, our creativity, our feelings and emotions. We cherish our bodies as well as our souls. We can use our gifts to offer love, to work for justice, to heal injury, to create pleasure for ourselves and others.” – Rev. Dr. Rebecca Ann Parker

My travels have not been extensive by the standards of most Lens-Artists, but I have been privileged to meet people in my own country who represent a diversity of backgrounds and experiences. There is a wealth of richness in this cornucopia of humans, a treasure beyond imagining. May we all be supported and allowed to thrive.

“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

For a more global sampling of the diversity of humankind, please visit Tina’s challenge HERE. Her photos are truly stunning!

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Circular Wonders

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“From the day we arrive on the planet
And, blinking, step into the sun

There’s more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There’s far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found

But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky

Keeps great and small on the endless round

It’s the circle of life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
‘Til we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle
The circle of life.” – Carmen Twillie and Lebo M

I spent the last 10 days circling back to Wisconsin to care for my eldest adult child after surgery. Enfolding her in my arms, comforting her, and kissing her good-night brought my heart and soul to a place of simple purpose and wonder-filled peace. In the circle of life, caring for each other, loving wholeheartedly, is the wheel that keeps us moving forward, generation by generation. I guess I still believe that Love makes the world go ’round.

Thank you, Ann-Christine, for a round world of beautiful images on your challenge! See it HERE.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Sound

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Let’s get this party started!!

Turn the beat around
Love to hear percussion
Turn it upside down
Love to hear percussion
Love to hear it

Blow horns you sure sound pretty
Your violins keep movin’ to the nitty gritty
When you hear the scratch of the guitars scratchin’
Then you’ll know that rhythm carries all the action
– recorded by Gloria Estefan

I love to get my heart thumping and my feet moving, my arms swinging and my voice ringing, especially with people I know and love, who won’t judge me for my extra silliness but will join in with their own energy and encouragement. That kind of collective joy is absolutely a thrill of sound.

And then…

I love to retreat to the ocean, to hear the pulse of the Earth’s life blood, the waters ebbing and flowing, receding and crashing, the screech of the seagull’s hunger, and the exhalation of the wind. It is a thrill to be alive and to hear the living Earth.

And then…

The sound of familiar soft breathing. A heart beating surely and steadily nearby. The whispering sounds of restfulness and peace, the hum of the ceiling fan, the assurance that all is well.

I dedicate this post to my late husband, Jim, a musician who resonated in the sounds of Life with me for 30 years and died on February 16, 2008.

This challenge is inspired by Donna of Wind Kisses. Click HERE to listen in.

Lens-Artist Photo Challenge: Weather

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Many public places, and some private ones, contain a finely tuned meteorological instrument known as a “Weather Rock”. To many observers, it appears to be an ordinary stone hanging by a rope to a tripod. Here’s how it works:

  • If the rock is wet, it’s raining.
  • If the rock is swinging, the wind is blowing.
  • If the rock casts a shadow, the sun is shining.
  • If the rock does not cast a shadow and is not wet, the sky is cloudy.
  • If the rock is difficult to see, it is foggy.
  • If the rock is white, it is snowing.
  • If the rock is coated with ice, there is a frost.
  • If the ice is thick, it’s a heavy frost.
  • If the rock is bouncing, there is an earthquake.
  • If the rock is under water, there is a flood.
  • If the rock is warm, it is sunny.
  • If the rock is missing, there was a tornado.
  • If the rock is wet and swinging violently, there is a hurricane.
  • If the rock can be felt but not seen, it is night time.
  • If the rock has white splats on it, watch out for birds!!

In my experience, the Weather Rock is as accurate as any other instrument in defining the conditions present.

“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” – Herodotus, in reference to Persian mounted postal couriers, circa 500 B.C.E.

I am grateful to have been able to experience the thrill of weather that changes. My years in Southern California were not my favorite. Perhaps I grew bored each time I lived through “another ho-hum day in Paradise”. I truly missed the awe-inspiring daily reminders that the world and the weather are bigger than I am. The summer thunderstorms, the months of snow and cold, the humidity that persisted after sundown – all of those Midwest weather events created the variety and patterns of life that were rich and interesting. And the Oregon rain creates a rainforest more abundant with life than I could ever have imagined. I love having “weathered” living in the northern part of this country!

Thanks to Anne Sandler for hosting this week’s challenge. Visit her post HERE.