~ Lens-Artists Challenge #402: Looking Back at #1 – Wonder ~

Posted on June 18, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

Sofia harkens back to the beginning of Lens-Artists Photo Challenges with an invitation to showcase, “moments, places, people that we treasure; the little stories behind a shot that stuff our lives with meaning and joy.” I decided to keep my selections to NOW and present the little joys and wonders that have given me pleasure this week at Long Beach, WA. The weekend was quite warm and pollinators swarmed over the Butterfly bush I pass on my morning walks. Bees fascinate me, and are essential to the well-being of life on earth.

I was immediately charmed by the clean simplicity of this daisy. So simple and ordinary – yet extraordinary at the same time!

A friend from the Breakers, Patrick Moore crafts all sorts of amazing things with resin. I brought a bag of sea-glass and a tired old birdbath to him in early spring and asked him to give it new life. What a lovely piece he created, and I have just the place for it at home!

Daisy barks at the waves while Max keeps an eye out for crab-crunchies on an afternoon beach walk. The Pacific Ocean is always awe-inspiring, and on this day I was amazed to spot a whale doing a spy-hop out on the horizon!

Sunsets always fill me with admiration. Every one is different, and some are spectacular. I have many glorious sunset shots from Long Beach, and I was tempted to use one of them, however I’m determined to keep to my ‘here & now’ theme, and this is the only sunset shot I have from this week. Maybe not as stunning as others, but still wonderful.

Thanks to Sofia for her inspiring post which you can view here. It’s such a pleasure to share joy and wonderment on the Lens-Artists site.

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, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, Report from the Edge of a Continent, travel, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #401: Focus! ~

Posted on June 13, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

Patti is back in the line-up and I am determined to participate! It’s been one of those weeks we all have; when too much is going on, and all of it is important. Fortunately I am now at Long Beach, WA with the sun shining over the meadows and sparkling whitecaps in view on the Pacific Ocean. I simply don’t have it in me to fulfill the whole challenge, however I still want to end this week on a creative note, so here is one of my “Walking With Eagles” photos. I hope you enjoy it and find peace in its beauty.

Thank you to Patti, one of the original leaders of Lens-Artists, I believe!

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

Posted in Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature photography, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #400: The Rule of Three ~

Posted on June 3, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

Tina presents a less familiar design “rule” that is present all around us, and one I have used in my landscape plans and interior decorating. The concept holds that images with three subjects (always an odd number) is more striking than even numbers. Sometimes nature dishes up beautiful examples, other times it seems a miracle when there are three! Often, cropping is the only way to get the desired effect. Below, three Mallard ducks stepped off shore and into the water at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis. On the opposite shore a bright red Chihuly sculpture installment draws our attention.

Two blackbirds were harassing a crow and all landed on top of this tree. The blackbirds beaks are pointed at each other, while the crow is looking askance at them both!

The past few days I’ve been cleaning up my back yard and putting out some yard decor that gives me pleasure. Every time I looked out the bedroom window at the arch/bench where I had put two birdhouses, it nagged at me, and with this prompt I realized I needed to add one more. Now, I feel a sense of calm when I glance that direction!

Here’s a metal garden sculpture with three posies, that fill in a blank spot along the fence. Two or four would look strange. What do you think?

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) bloom in late winter and always cheer me up , as they signal that spring is on the way! They have such a delicate drooping blossom with green dots and white tips that repeat the theme of three.

Thanks to Tina for this fun invitation, and congratulations on hitting the 400th Lens Artist Challenge! It’s over 7 years that this dedicated group of volunteers has provided the rest of us a weekly photo challenge. Tina was among the original group that started where WordPress left off. Kudos to you all, and many, many thanks.

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, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #399: Stuck in Place ~/

Posted on May 29, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

For this week’s Photo Challenge, Egídio asks us to select 5 shots from photographs which are taken within 10-15 steps in any direction of where we choose to be “stuck in place.” Since my deck limits my range of movement already, I chose to be stuck here. I often come out on the deck to enjoy a glass of wine, and to wind down from the days activities. This is the view from the sliding glass door. I sometimes think of the deck as my tree-house. There are no stairs down to the yard, so I am stuck 10 feet (3.4 meters) in the air!

From here I can look down, all around the back yard. While I was snapping shots, my dear Daisy came into view. She loves to sniff-out all the wild smells around the grounds, and often paddles at the surface of the pond, “fishing”.

The 8 old growth Douglas Fir in the back yard are sacred to me. They anchor everything in the gardens, and provide lovely shade in the summer. This group of four I have named the Mother Tree and Three Sisters. Yes, I’m a tree-hugger. Just look up at them though!

Egídio suggests we look closely for compositions we usually walk past. This wall of sun faces is just such a place. The way the filtered sunlight highlighted them provided a moment to see them freshly.

I’ll finish with a fun visitor. My suet feeder has been knocked to the ground so often that it no longer is able to hang from its holder. I put it in the center of the deck table, and moved all the chairs far enough away that dogs and squirrels can’t jump up to eat the suet. Pretty soon my regular visitors found it, and were not a bit bothered by me sitting there snapping shots!

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)

Thank you to Egidio for this intriguing challenge!

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

Posted in landscape gardening, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, photography, weekly photo challenge | 10 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #398: Choose a Color ~

Posted on May 21, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

Ritva revs us up this week with a challenge to focus on color. She guides us to use either a single color for all images, or a different color for each image, and limits the total shots to six. At first I started gathering a file of photos featuring purple which has been my favorite color for most of my life. It was very tempting just to go with it, until I thought about other tones that would be less likely to be featured for this challenge. A color that might complain, “I don’t get no respect”! (Rodney Dangerfield), so I decided to feature brown, the combination of all three primary colors; blue, red and yellow.

“The beauty of nature lies in its earthy tones, where brown speaks the language of love.” – Noah Adams

Columbia Black-tailed mule deer

“Nature’s palette is rich in browns, encouraging us to appreciate every hue of life.” – Sophia Ray

“Brown connects us to nature, reminding us of our roots and the beauty of the earth.” – Henry Taylor

Brown Pelican

“With every shade of brown, feel the heartbeat of the earth resonating through you.” – Liam Wood

Brown Garden Snail

“Take a moment to breathe in the earthy scent of brown soil, nurturing life in every way.” – Emily Davis

My beagle Max loafing on the sofa!

“In the warmth of brown, find the embrace of comfort that cradles the soul.” – Victoria Banks

Thanks to Ritva, and all the Lens-Artists hosts for continuing to provide us a weekly focus on photographic creativity. Cheers to you!Ritva’s Lens-Artists Challenge

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

Posted in Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #397: Texture ~

Posted on May 15, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

Anne invites us to feature photos “where texture plays an integral part.” Sometimes I take a photo of something that others might walk right past. When I ask myself why, one of the answers that comes back is that the texture attracts me. I’m especially fond of contrasting surfaces, like soft on prickly or smooth next to rough.

Above, a single downy white feather was caught in the embrace of a rough-leafed plant. Below, the shell on this mature Brown Garden Snail (aka: European brown snail, Petit-gris, escargot, or Helix aspersa) caught my eye first. While cropping the photo, I was pleased by the distinct contrasts in the surface of the shell, the snail body, and the macadam and pine needles it was slowly traversing.

Above, Turkey Tail mushrooms were living on the stump of a tree that had been cut down. Their color and texture stopped me in my tracks! Rough ruffled edges are very different from the smooth surface of the white Amanita mushroom below.

18 Grey Whales have been found washed-up on the beaches of Oregon and Washington this spring, as they migrated from Mexico on their way to Alaska. One is on the beach not far from our Long Beach, WA condominium.

Necropsies indicate the whales are dying from starvation due to climate change. The photo above is from a Grey Whale that washed ashore near here in May 2019. I was fascinated by the texture of its baleen.

Above, at the edge of Orcas Island, Washington small rocks, hard and severe, emerge from a large bolder. Below, a delicate Monarch butterfly sips nectar from a tender flower. Both images illustrate the dramatic scope of textures around us on this beautiful planet Earth. It is up to us to respect and nurture her.

Thanks to Anne for this opportunity to feature some shots that rarely get to be in the spotlight!

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

Posted in climate change, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature photography, pacific northwest, photography, travel, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #3966: Pick a Favorite Quote and Illustrate it ~

Posted on May 6, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

Ann-Christine provides a creative challenge this week asking us to pair quotes with photos. What fun! You can view her post here. I started by finding quotes from authors I have enjoyed over the years, and when I knew a quote would easily fit into one or more of my photos, I started matching them. It took me a while to find everything, yet in the time of searching, I read many inspiring and uplifting quotes. I’ll start with one from The Wind in the Willows.

“…when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea.” ― Kenneth Grahame

“May my heart always be open to little birds who are the secrets of living” — e. e. Cummings

“If men were to be destroyed and the books they have written were to be transmitted to a new race of creatures, in a new world, what kind of record would be found in them of so remarkable a phenomenon as the rainbow?” — Thoreau, Journal, 13 March 1859

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn

“Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thank you to Ann-Christine for this fun dive into quotes and photos that illustrate the message. So much more enjoyable than reading the news!

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, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Challenge #395: Looking back to #155: On the Water ~

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Lindy Le Coq

Beth, of Wandering Dawgs presents another opportunity to showcase the many splendors of being “On the Water”. This wide-open challenge is right up my alley, so the test for me is to sort through my choices, and make some kind of order to it. Here goes!

Top photo, sunlight sparkles on Hines Marsh, along the Martha Jordan Birding Trail, Leadbetter State Park, Long Beach Peninsula, WA. A Yellow Pond-lily (Nuphar variegata) in a shallow sheltered niche, took me back to my childhood when I visited my grandparents at their resort on Deer Lake, north of Spokane, WA. These lilies were a sure sign of spring.

Birds and water go together. Top left, Canvasback ducks (Aythya valisineria) splash the surface with their web-feet as they lift from Conconully Reservoir, in the Okanogan region of Washington State. Clockwise: a Mallard hen (Anas platyrbynchos) tends her precocial brood on a pond at the Breakers and a Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) cruises in the same marsh ponds; a mature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) forages for breakfast at surfside on Long Beach, WA.

Humans have created many different crafts to port themselves across bodies of water. In my post #155, I featured my brother-in-law’s trout-fishing boat. https://lindylecoq.com/2021/07/10/lens-artists-photo-challenge-155-on-the-water/ Above, a small sailboat rests at anchor behind a pine tree on Lake Tahoe at sunrise.

Above, two sunset photos from Orcas Island, WA – looking across to Waldron Island: a young girl on a paddle-board, and a sizable sail boat at anchor in the bay. Then there is my fishing pole ready for a strike on Odell Lake, Oregon!

Located in Willapa Bay and part of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, Long Island is only accessible by watercraft. I was fortunate to attend one of the last ferry excursions sponsored by “Friends of Willapa Bay” before funding to support programs like this was stripped away by the current US administration. The tide wasn’t quite right for a perfect landing, so we participants took off our shoes and waded ashore. To see what treasures were in store on this little gem, here is my post featuring it: https://lindylecoq.com/2022/09/28/lens-artists-photo-challenge-218-over-the-hill/

A single Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) on guard near its nest. With the warming climate, our marsh did not get large enough this spring to attract geese and ducks to set up housekeeping. I miss them.

Thanks to Beth for this tranquil dip into one of the wonders of our planet.

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

Posted in Birding, birds, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, ornithology, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

~ 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 , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

~ 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