Tag Archives: nature photography
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Abstracts
“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!
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
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
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: Circular Wonders
“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
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
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!!