~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #296: Abstracts ~

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

This week Ritva invites us to “break the normal rules of realism” and play with abstract photography. Such a wonderful way to stretch imagery from the concrete to the conceptual. Nature provides many opportunities to capture abstract impressions.

Lively colors and reflections on moving water (above) are among my favorite subjects.

Old wood and rocks provide a wide-open palette of texture, shapes and patterns.

The gentle wave pattern, light and shadow with a slight mist blurring the view add to the abstract quality of this Palouse landscape.

The unusual shape and texture of this wood Fungus creates another natural abstract.

Light, shadow, bokeh, texture and shape come together in this close-up photo. What it is doesn’t really matter, its the aggregate that makes it interesting.

Thank you to Ritva, for another interesting challenge. Since I don’t use Photoshop and other creative tools to alter my images, everything here is just as it was captured with cropping, and light adjustment my main tools for enhancing.

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

Lens-Artists Challenge #296 Abstracts
Posted in A Photo a Week, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, mycology/mushrooms/fungi, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, photography, travel, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #295: Rock Your World ~

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

Donna of Wind Kisses, invites us to “Rock Your World” this week. Rocks and gardens go together in my mind, so when I began landscaping my backyard, 40 years ago, one of the first features I wanted was a small terraced rock garden just beyond the downstairs patio. I harvested rock from nearby Salmon Creek and was always on the lookout for more interesting rocks on my outings. When I constructed the pond, I went to places that sell rock and picked the boulders I wanted.

I know I loaded, hauled, unloaded and placed at least a ton or rocks over the years, (I had receipts to prove it), but I was so much younger then! The birdbath, I found at a resource recovery place. Such a wonderful work of craftsmanship.

Doughty Point, a 57 acre forested preserve on the NW corner of Orcas Island, WA was a nice hike at low tide from our cabin at Beach Haven Resort. As I walked over and through the beach terrain, I was in awe at the magnificent boulders there. Below left Doughty Point from our cabin, with Freeman Island in foreground. Right, Freeman Island from the shoreline out to Doughty Point.

Doughty Point, a 57 acre forested preserve on the NW corner of Orcas Island, WA was a nice hike at low tide from our cabin at Beach Haven Resort. As I walked over and through the beach terrain, I was in awe at the magnificent boulders there.

This is where rocks are unearthed, as outcroppings are exposed and washed free from boulders by ocean currents and tides.

My final image is of a large granite boulder. It was at least 6 feet high and maybe 15 feet wide. The white quartz ring on the right end is what makes this a “wishing rock”.

In 2017 I posted to the Weekly Photo Challenge about the myth of wishing rocks. https://lindylecoq.com/2017/03/11/wishing-rocks-weekly-photo-challenge-wish/

A big thank you to Donna for this wide-open challenge that encourages us to focus on the beauty of our earth!

Lens-Artists Challenge #295 – Rock Your World
Posted in A Photo a Week, geology, landscape gardening, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #294: Before and After ~

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

John Steiner encourages us to pull out the stops and do what we think needs to be done to improve our original images this week. Rarely do I have an original that isn’t made better by a bit of cropping, straightening and perhaps adjusting light and color. The three I’ve chosen for this challenge illustrate how I work.

From my front door I was able to capture this full rainbow on a rainy day. From the original, I cropped out the houses and other distractions left and right for my first edit.

Cropping certainly brought the subject into focus, however increasing saturation and playing with light gave the rainbow the brightness I wanted for my final take.

While stopped at a light, I looked up to see this swelling cumulus cloud mounting upon a vivid blue sky. “Cell phone! Take a snap!” I told myself, and I did.

In my first crop, removed the lights and tightened the field of vision, using the rule of thirds.

In shots like this one, if I am able to remove man-made-objects without ruining the photo, I do. I cropped a little more and used the “lasso tool” to eliminate the light pole on the right. A boost of light and color gave the clouds more depth and made that blue sky pop!

My last series for this challenge is of the moon reflecting on marsh ponds, seen from my condo deck at the Breakers, Long Beach WA. I was in bed asleep when my husband shook me awake saying, “you’ve got to see this moon on the ponds!” I took the photo without anything but the railing to keep the lens steady, so it already had a strike against it when I first viewed it. But, for this challenge I decided to play around with the image.

I cropped a little, got it off dead center, looked at it through various filters and degrees of light and saturation, and wasn’t sure what to do next.

Something about it reminded me of scenes in movies when an extra-terrestrial ship is landing on the earth, so I decided to play with that idea. I re-centered the image, lassoed spots that detracted, and used the chrome filter to create a bright corona.

Yeah, I like this take better! What do you think?

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

Thanks to John for nudging me out of my comfort zone with this challenge!

Lens-Artists Challenge #294 – Before and After
Posted in Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #293: Water in Motion ~

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

Water – in – Motion! Now this one is right up my stream of consciousness. Sophia Alvez of photographias introduces this week’s challenge with a lovely quote: “There’s something about the water – that solitary kind of peaceful feeling. You’re on Earth but not quite.” – John C. Reilly

I am an Aquarian and I love water; the many sounds of it, the feel, scent and taste of it, and the way water moves in various environments. I’ll begin with photos of quiet waters.

From tranquil ponds and slow-flowing creeks, the velocity and resonance increases with streams, as they undulate over and around fallen logs and rocks, and sparkle in sunlight.

Streams are tributaries to rivers which ultimately flow toward the oceans. Along the way, fresh water rushes and roars, as it hurtles onward.

Where I live, on the west side of the Continental Divide, rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean. Sometimes tame and gently lapping at surfs edge, the Pacific also has gale warnings, king tides, and breakers that heave and surge upon one another.

I’ll close with this shot of a Song Sparrow having a big splash in one of my birdbaths!

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

Thank you to Sophia, for an invigorating and also tranquil journey into the beauty of water!

Lens-Artists Challenge – Water in Motion
Posted in Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel, Waterfalls | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #292: People Here, There & Everywhere ~

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

Tina invites us to “share images of the people we’ve captured along the way.” I’m starting with a fellow dog-lover who frequents the same dog park where I take Max and Daisy for our daily romps when we’re in Vancouver; Ceasar Esparsa, and his beautiful doberman pinscher, Kai.

I consider Caesar to be a dog whisperer. Dogs are comfortable with him, and he treats them with gentle love, as you can see while Max gets an ear rub and Daisy waits her turn.

Sometimes I see folks walking or frolicking along the surfs edge at Long Beach, and I wonder; what are they thinking? How are they feeling? Distant images, like the three above leave plenty of space for us to interpret and imagine.

My dear friend (and colleague for years), Ruth is the life of any party. She is in her element with this group of neighbors at my garden party a few years back.

Just before the first Covid virus caused us to shut down everything, I went to a gathering that was simply called “Kitchen Music.” It was open to anyone who wanted to make music or listen. I was very excited about the whole concept and was sorely disappointed when it went away, as did so many other lovely group activities during those hard Covid years.

My sister, Lori, her daughter, Molly and grandson Micah were with me at Long Beach in 2017. It had been a year since Lori and my father had passed, and on this day we offered some his and our mother’s ashes to the Pacific Ocean.

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

A big thank you to Tina for hosting this week. I must admit my people photos were somewhat limited. If she’d asked for Birds, Here There & Everywhere – I would have had a hard time selecting!!!

Lens-Artists #292 – People Here, There & Everywhere
Posted in dogs, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, music, Musical Instruments, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ March Clouds ~

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

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

Posted in nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #291: Cityscapes ~

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

For this week’s LAPC, Patti invites us to showcase cities; “large and small, near and far.” The last time this kind of challenge was offered I presented photos of the tiny historic town of Oysterville, Washington on the Long Beach Peninsula. For a change of pace, I’m featuring photos I took on my first visit to St. Louis, MO last October. There are only a few photos that I can tell you what the site is, so instead of a history lesson, I present my photographic impressions.

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

Thank you Patti, for pushing me out of my comfort zone to explore beauty in the city!

LAPC #291: Cityscapes
Posted in architecture, Art, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 20 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Martha Jordan Birding Trail ~ Leadbetter Point State Park ~

Posted on March 20, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

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

Posted in Birding, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #290: Circular Wonders ~

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

This week Leya shows us sights from her recent trip to Nice, France, with delightful images featuring circles of many varieties. She encourages us to interpret this challenge in ways that we “find most interesting.” Mushrooms, toadstools and other fungi have always fascinated me. Here are a few favorites.

Of course there are many other circular marvels to find when looking down upon our earth. Below, a milkweed seed-head, a sun-shaped jellyfish, an Alloniscus trail (woodlouse going in circles), and a small nest, perhaps Junco.

There are many man-made circular wonders to admire as well. Below, a Model A Ford, with many circles and curlicues ~1920.

Left above: from the National Blues Museum in St. Louis, three records including “Shake Rattle and Roll”, Jo Turner, 1954, “Tutti Fruiti”, Little Richard 1955,, and “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie”, Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five, 1946. Above right Chihulli Glass Balls.

The Albany Carousel Museum, in addition to having a working carousel, has a nice display of antique carousel animals. Above is an antique child’s toy carousel.

“And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game” Joni Mitchell ~ Circle Game

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

A big thank you to Leya for another wide-open (at least in the middle!) subject this week.

Lens-Artists Challenge #290 – Circular Wonders
Posted in antiques, Art, Automobiles, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, mycology/mushrooms/fungi, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Beach Pleasures ~

Posted on March 13, 2024 by Lindy Le Coq

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

Posted in Beagles, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, Report from the Edge of a Continent, travel, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments