~ Lens-Artists Challenge #394: Historic Sites ~

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

John leads this week with an invitation to showcase historic sites. He gives us a wide array of options which you can view here.

Fort Columbia State Park preserves one of the most intact historic coastal defense installations in the United States, featuring twelve original wood-frame military buildings and artillery batteries overlooking the Columbia River estuary near Chinook, WA, USA.

Built from 1896 to 1904, the fort was constructed on the Chinook Point promontory because of the unobstructed view. Fort Columbia celebrates a military site that constituted the harbor defense of the Columbia River from 1896 to 1947. The fort was fully manned and operational through three wars. Fort Columbia was declared surplus at the end of World War II and was transferred to the custody of the state of Washington in 1950. Since then it has been a state park.Fort Columbia State Park is a 593-acre day-use historical park with 6,400 feet of freshwater shoreline on the Columbia River.

This historical preserve serves visitors seeking immersion in military history and Pacific Northwest exploration heritage, as the site holds significance as both a National Historic Landmark and part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. The park combines authentic period buildings with interpretive programming that brings to life three centuries of history, from Chinook Indian Nation territory https://chinooknation.org/through fur trading era to modern coastal defense strategies.

An interpretive center, an observation station and five miles of hiking trail through mature forest are additional features of this park. Two historic buildings are available for vacation rental. In addition to its historical significance, the area offers bird watching, miles of forested hiking trails and secluded beaches.

Thanks to John for this opportunity to showcase a small and lovely site; one of the most intact historic coastal defense installations in the United States.

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in architecture, history, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, pacific ocean, photography, travel, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #393: Lucky Shot ~

Posted on April 16, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

This week Sofia invites us to show photos where luck played a big role. Whether we were in the right place at the right time, or took a chance on a photo that turned out to be a winner, there are many ways to stumble into a Lucky Shot.

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

I was walking along the shore of Long Beach, WA one September day when suddenly a large flock of Brown Pelicans swooped by above the churning tide. So much was happening all at once, I left my camera on auto focus, pointed the lens toward the birds and keep pressing the shutter button. Each of the photos that came from that event are true Lucky shots!

Red-winged Blackbird

Have you ever tried to get a clear photo of a male Red-winged Blackbird in the wild? Over the ten years I’ve been walking through marshy spring fields with my camera, listening to their liquid trill while snapping countless shots, I have exactly one that is worthy of posting to Lens-Artists, which is why I believe it qualifies as a Lucky shot!

When I saw this Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) harassing a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), I wanted to capture the event. The scuffle went on for a while, and again there was way too much action to get a clear shot with my equipment. Still, to get a shot at all makes it Lucky!

The St. Louis Carousel (1924) in Faust Park, next to the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House, beckoned my sisters and me to take a ride. As the carousel began to slow, I thought I’d see if I could get a shot of the horses reflections upon the inside windows, against the outside background of trees and grass. A lucky winner.

I’ll conclude with a photo of the full moon reflecting upon the Pacific Ocean on the horizon, and on marsh ponds that swell in winter at the Breakers, Long Beach, WA. Since I was fast asleep, I would not have taken this photo had not my dear husband Creighton, awakened me. “You’ve got to see this,” he exclaimed, as he gently shook me awake. ” You’ll want to get a photo of this moon!” He was right, and I’m lucky to have captured the scene. Thank you again, sweetheart!

Thanks to Sofia for a challenge which gave me courage to show some “not the absolute best” photos that have meaning to me because of the luck I had getting them at all!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in Birding, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, ornithology, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

~ Lens-Artist Challenge #392: Framing Your Shots: Exploring the Foreground, Middle Ground, and Background ~

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

This week Patti invites us to share three photos that demonstrate the use of foreground, middle ground and background to draw the viewers eyes into the photo and emphasize the main subject.

A Bald Eagle pair perched above the dune grasses, their feathers ruffled by the wind is my first choice for this challenge. It hardly needs explaining, with the foreground of grass leading to the posts and the birds nicely silhouetted upon the blue-gray sky. The larger bird on top is the female.

With this shot I wanted to capture some of the wildness of the Pacific Ocean surging against the shoreline at North Head. The foreground plants are blurred and the green extends up the right side of the photo. The middle ground focus is on the water churning into and against the rocky outcropping, while ocean, sky and trees fill the background.

North Head Lighthouse in Cape Disappointment State Park, Ilwaco, WA has been refurbished since I took this photo. Here, the fence zig-zags us across the foreground and on to the lighthouse solidly anchored in the middle-ground, with ocean and sky as the background. The second photo in this sequence was taken from the bank on the far right of this view.

Thank you to Patti for hosting the challenge this week. With all the gloom and grief in our world these days, it’s nice to have something creative and playful to focus on – if only for a while!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #391: Phone Photography ~

Posted on April 4, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

This week Tina affirms that she uses her phone a lot these days. As the technology has advanced, and the convenience is undeniable, she invites us to feature some of our phone photos. Since much of my photography takes place outside in the Pacific Northwest, I have come to depend upon my iPhone. Only when the weather has next to zero chance of precipitation do I venture forth with my Panasonic.

On the road or in a boat, a cell phone is really handy. No fear of losing my best gear in the lake, and even when moving, the images aren’t blurred. All the photos above and below were taken with my previous iPhone 8.

With rain, and a smattering of sunlight, we are often blessed with rainbows in these parts. On the left hand side of the last shot, is the faint beginning of a double rainbow.

With my new iPhone 16, I was able to get fairly good shots from a distance of the single Bald Eagle and a Bald Eagle pair. When they arrive and start to reclaim their territory on the Long Beach Peninsula, I stay a respectful distance away to avoid disturbing them. Getting the shot of the Eagle lifting off was a pleasant surprise!

And then there are moments like this, when the scene is set and you know it isn’t likely to happen like this again in your lifetime!

Thank you to Tina for validating the use of cell phones in our photography and our posts on Lens-Artists. It is always fun to rise to these challenges!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in A Photo a Week, Beagles, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, ornithology, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #390: Color in Black & White ~

Posted on March 25, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

This week Egídio invites us to show photographs that “explore form, texture and light in Black and White.” So much of what I capture in photos is a celebration of color, so this challenge really made me analyze what images I have that could retain or enhance their impact when transformed to B&W. Fortunately, Egídio gives us great examples and explanations to help with this one.

Breakers crashing to shore on Long Beach WA, are a favorite subject of mine. Each storm is different, every wave has it’s own character. In this photo we can fill-in the tawny dune grasses and dark evergreen trees in the foreground, and the blue-grey sky background. Black and white enhances the powerful movement of a surging wave and brings our focus right to it.

This Junco posed for me, and I was happy to snap his photograph! Tonal memory tells us the sign is red, the flora is green, and our eyes can rest on the Junco. Just wish I’d been able to get his eye better, but we use the camera in our hands, in this case my iPhone 13.

Egídio suggests that the absence of color can often “create a deeper, more personal perception” of the image. We can imagine the clear blue sky and golden wheat fields in this photo, however it’s the lone wind turbine that tells the story.

Low tide at Long Beach with wave action patterns left in the sand, as the tide receded. I prefer this photo in color, however I think it works in black and white, primarily because of its geometric lines leading our eye to the horizon.

What a nothing this photo is in color – all washed up with little drama! In black and white there is immediate tension, as the Crab boat plies its way through jostling waves. The turbulent cloud filled sky offers additional suspense to the scene.

Thank you to Egídio for another valuable lesson in presenting photographs. I so admire all the hosts of Lens-Artists challenges. It takes a lot of devotion to the art, and time from their lives to respond to those of us who contribute our offerings.

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in Black and White Photos, lens artists, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #389: Time to Relax ~

Posted on March 15, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

Anne Sandler of Slow Shutter Speed, invites us to share what relaxes us; what gets us away from the stresses of daily life. Being out in nature is always my number one stress reliever. Whether playing outside in my Vancouver, Washington gardens (most people call it yard work), or taking my beagles on a walk (even in the rain), being out in the natural world helps me restore balance.

After a week of rain on the Long Beach Peninsula WA, including 3 days under an atmospheric river, today the sun blessed our little corner of the world. To celebrate, I took Max and Daisy (and my camera!) on a field trip to enjoy a leisurely walk and sniff along the Martha Jordan Birding Trail, part of Leadbetter Point State Park, north of Ocean Park, WA.

Salmonberry Blossom

Thanks to Anne for an opportunity to remember to “smell the roses”!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in Beagles, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, photography, Report from the Edge of a Continent, travel, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #387: Shadowed ~

Posted on March 3, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

John leads this week with an invitation to consider how shadows shape our photographs. “Shadows evoke mystery, wonder, nostalgia, and even a touch of fright.” The ‘natural sepia’ photo below is just as the scene appeared before me, with shadows of shore birds in flight at sundown on the Long Beach Peninsula, WA .

On the left a moth casts its shadow on the daisy, while it sips nectar. To the right, the shadow of a praying mantis turns the gentle insect into a frightful pest!

A tangle of driftwood along the shoreline at Fort Columbia State Park, WA is accentuated by deep shadows.

Aerie’s Winery is perched atop Aerie’s Hill, overlooking the City of Grafton, IL and the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. A “ride in the sky,” much like a ski-lift, provides a 360° view as we float up to the restaurant. Looking down to the shadow of my two sisters and me in our gondola, I couldn’t resist taking the shot!

When sun rays shine towards earth through clouds at sundown, the sight is awe inspiring. The technical name for this phenomenon is Crepuscular Rays. Somehow that just doesn’t fit how I feel when I witness these events! Understandably, many call the appearance God’s Rays. I tend to prefer the name Twilight Rays.

A big thank you to John Steiner for this opportunity to showcase some photos I love and have used before, and to present some that didn’t work in any previous Lens-Artists challenges!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in lens artists, Lens-Artists, nature, nature photography, pacific northwest, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #386: The Power of Juxtaposition ~

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

This week, Patti challenges us to use the technique of juxtaposition as a photographic tool. She provides excellent examples and explanations which you can view at P.A. Moed. Placing two or more things side by side provides the opportunity to contrast:

Color

Size

Texture

Shapes and Age

Patti included the following quote in her post, which helped me think beyond the basics. “By carefully placing two different objects or concepts together in a photograph…one is able to create an interesting sense of contrast which, in turn, can elicit a reaction, provoke meaningful thought, lead to a story, or just raise a smile.” Lourens Durand

Yes indeed, that is my beagle Daisy chasing a squirrel up a tree! Her brother Max, at the base, has no intention of going up after her – he’s making sure I’m coming to the rescue. Daisy made it down safely, clinging with her claws as gravity pulled her back to earth, then jumping off when she was close enough to ground. Whew!

Thank you Patti for this engaging challenge to showcase juxtaposition in photography. I hope those who visit my site will come away thinking about the images, creating their own stories from them, and most of all, smiling!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in Beagles, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature photography, pacific northwest, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #385: Unusual Crop ~

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

This week Ritva invites us to play with unusual crops. She explains and provides excellent examples here. “Cropping stands as one of the most potent yet frequently underutilized compositional elements in photography. This week, we encourage you to deliberately defy traditional framing conventions.” So, here I go…

What are we looking at? It’s a mystery!

The above shot is a close-up crop of a huge lamp from a lighthouse, on display the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment State Park, WA. While most of my photographs are cropped in the editing phase, the one below is much as it appeared in my lens the morning I captured the image.

Intricate and animated, Chihuly glass masterpieces are a joy to photograph. This close-up of a large sun-globe highlights contours, lines, colors, textures and motion.

Severely cropping the photo of a Chihuly bowl and inverting the image, “showcases intricate details and textures, emphasizing the artistry of craftsmanship.”

My dear beagle Jello, was staring intently into the pond trying to figure out what was moving around down there. No cropping here, just as it was snapped in the moment!

Thank you to Ritva for another challenge that made me stretch and think “out of the box.”

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Posted in Art, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, photography | 12 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #384: What Astonishes You? ~

Posted on February 10, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

Beth of Wandering Dawgs, provides a thought-provoking challenge this week with a stanza from Mary Oliver’s Poem, Sometimes. There is so much in life that I find astonishing: sunsets, dawn light, full moons, vistas, mountains, waves and waterfalls, magnificent trees – the list goes on and on. As I thought about the challenge, I decided to focus on one element of nature that amazes me: birds.

I find birds astonishing, first of all because most birds can fly! They come in many different sizes, shapes & colors, and are found in all kinds of environments around the world.

Each species has its own language, and some even have regional variations.

Birds raise families. Some species (like Bald Eagles) take several years to mature, while others (like Mallards) are ready to paddle and feed themselves when they emerge from the egg. I rejoice in their diversity!

Birds are smart – do not believe that crass put-down “birdbrain.” Birds are observant, inquisitive, able to use tools and to engage in collective endeavors.

Birds have specialized behaviors that allow them to survive, like the Killdeer (above lower right). They build their nest and nurture their young on the ground. To dissuade predators from their chicks, adult Killdeer perform a broken wing dance to draw the threatening critter away.

Birds have adapted to their environment; their feather colors, their beaks and bills, claws and feet, what and how they eat, how they fly, paddle, dive and soar demonstrates that birds are in harmony with their world.

In addition to being astonishing, I find birds to be a pleasure to hear, and fascinating to watch.

This Ruddy Turnstone was poking around on the shoreline looking under debris for hidden treasures – then it saw me!

Thank you Beth for an inspired challenge, and for introducing me to this amazing poem!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾

Birds in this Post. From upper left photo clockwise.
Gallery 1: Brown Pelicans and seagull, Purple Finch pair, Blue Heron sunning, Steller’s Jay, Varied Thrush.
Gallery 2: White-throated Sparrow, American Goldfinch, White-crowned Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow.
Gallery 3: Mallard hen with chicks, Canada Goose pair with goslings, Immature Bald Eagles, Mature Bald Eagle pair and an immature.
Gallery 4: Purple Finch, Bald Eagle pair, Long-billed Dowitchers, Killdeer, American Crows.
Gallery 5: Northern Shoveler, Anna’s Hummingbird, Black-bellied Plover, Brown Pelican, Dunlin.

Posted in Birding, birds, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, ornithology, outdoors, pacific northwest, photography, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments