Here we go into the wild blue yonder of Empty Spaces in photography. Patty does an exceptional job explaining what empty space adds to our photos, and provides wonderful examples on her Pilotfish blog, EmptySpaces .
At sundown on a cold December day, the Washington Monument is striking, set upon the colorful sky with the reflecting pool in the foreground. Awe inspiring on its own, the empty spaces around the obelisk accentuate its impressiveness.
Moon-down at Sunup
On the other side of the continent, a colorful sky and sunshine on dune grasses provide a context that draws our eye right to the full moon setting.
A Brown Pelican slips in among the breakers at Long Beach, WA. This photo exemplifies the reason for empty spaces, because while we immediately focus on the Pelican, we also notice the churning waves in the ’emptiness’ around it that gives meaning and force to the subject.
On a foggy winter morning, four Mallards silently sweep across the marsh pond. Lighting in the empty space sets the mood for the subjects, creating an expressive scene.
This Bald Eagle was perched on a post just over the berm on the trail to the beach. The sky is a clear backdrop, while the sand trail and dune grass provide leading lines and context to the photo.
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness.
Thank you to Patti for another engaging challenge. If you are interested in joining the fun, follow the link to her website to find out how!
Welcome to James Brown of JazziBee blog, the Lens-Artists guest host this week. He challenges us to look at our subjects from a variety of angles, in particular; “the extremes of Looking Up, and Looking Down, to show the effects of what you can capture at these angles and get a different perspective on our view of the world.” One of my favorite sites to visit on the Long Beach Peninsula, Washington State USA, is the North Head Lighthouse.
Though no longer a working lighthouse, it is open seasonally for visitors to view the Pacific Ocean from the top.
Salt Creek Falls is Oregon State’s second highest single drop waterfall, cascading 286 feet (87m). Located in the Willamette National Forest just off Oregon State Highway 58, it is a lovely place to visit though not always open during winter. The photo below looks down upon the falls to the creek and beyond to the Willamette Valley in the distance.
On the footpath down to the pool, the waterfall splashes and rumbles filling the air with a fresh mist, while evergreens cling to the side of the cliff. Though not an extreme up photo, I love the sense of place this shot gives to this beautiful scene.
In my Lens-Artists post last week I showed a closeup of the Chihuly Chandeleir. Here it is as it appeared looking straight from the ground to the top of the Climatron at the St. Louis, MO Botanical Garden.
Below looking down into a pond with Chihuly glass sculptures.
From the top of the Arc in St. Louis, my telephoto pulled in a clear image of the Old Courthouse 630 feet (192 m) below.
Looking up at the dome of the Old Courthouse from ground level.
While walking along the sands of Long Beach, I have had the great blessing of photographing many Bald Eagles alone and in groups. Below is an adult male perched high on a post, looking out over the ocean.
Rarely have I been lucky enough to “sneak up” on a Bald Eagle, however this one was perched on a log below the berm as I crested it. The bird gave me a hard glare but didn’t fly off while I stood there focusing my camera.
Thanks to James Brown-Muir for taking on the responsibility of hosting this Lens-Artists challenge. It is truly and honor to be asked to host, and a big job to read and respond to all the folks who participate!
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
There are many ways to fill the frame when taking photos, and Anne of Slow Shutter Speed, offers a master-class in her Lens-Artists challenge this week. In addition to getting up-close to subjects (physically or with a telephoto lens), the scene itself may be the story and nothing distracts from it. Here in the Pacific Northwest this Autumn, we have been drenched by a series of atmospheric rivers, “a narrow corridor or filament of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere.” (Wikipedia) This week, as I walked to the beach between downpours, this cloud formation was racing north. I captured the moment with my iPhone.
There are at least three Anna’s Hummingbirds who visit our feeder when we’re at Long Beach. I was happy to have an opportunity to focus in with my telephoto lens and get a detailed shot of this female.
When a young gray whale washed ashore on our beach a few years ago, it was an unhappy sight. However I did get a few interesting photos of the creature. The middle shot below is of the whale’s baleen, with a fly gleaning the hairs. The left side is a winter shot of a Queen Anne’s Lace blossom, and to the right is a By-the-Wind Sailor – Vallela vallela, blown onto the sand after a storm.
Below, a close up of the large fresnel light that once was housed in North Head Lighthouse.
I’ll finish this fun exploration with a Chihuly glass sculpture, one I almost missed as it was way up in the top of the Climatron at the St. Louis Botanical Garden. I used my telephoto to get a decent shot, then in post processing, rotated and cropped it to achieve the finished photo below.
Thanks to Anne Sandler for continuing with the recent themes that show us different techniques to make a good photo even better!
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
Donna leads this week inviting us to delve into the other side of symmetry in our photography. Asymmetry is not the opposite of symmetry, instead it is “two differing sides that balance each other out.” In her post, Donna provides lots of helpful hints to help us identify photos that fit the challenge. In my first selection of Bleeding Heart blossoms, their irregular shape, the droop of the stem and a neutral background create a gentle balance.
The building below is structurally symmetrical, however the photograph is taken at an odd angle with the bright blue sky reflecting in its windows and accenting its angularity.
When taking photos of natural vistas, shapes, depth of field, color and light help create a harmonic rhythm.
“Traditional glass factory production was about symmetry and creating perfectly formed vessels. Dale Chihuly’s work represents a departure from the past. He pioneered a new way of working, utilizing gravity and centrifugal force to let molten glass find its shape in its own organic way. Asymmetry and irregularity is a defining principle of his work.” https://www.chihuly.com/life
“His installations are created in dialogue with the spaces in which they are sited, interacting harmoniously with interior and exterior spaces and often creating emotional experiences.”
Thank you Donna for a perfect excuse to feature more of Dale Chihuly’s work this week. It is truly awe-inspiring in person, and I hope visitors to my post enjoy a peek at his genius.
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
This week Sylvie invites us to feature photos of symmetry. On a beautiful sunny day walking along Long Beach as waves crested and swept in, I saw them as symmetrical lines in motion. Then I read John RH’s first post on this challenge, in which he introduced the lyrics from the song Poetry in Motion. That was the jump start I needed! “A wave out on the ocean could never move that way.”
Symmetry in Motion
“Have you heard the news – the world goes on by twos.”
Upon Reflection
Radical Radial Symmetry
Round and round we go, earth circles sun, moon circles earth, seasons change in a circular pattern, coming back round to another autumn, winter, spring, summer – on and on. Nature is at home with symmetry. Better yet, symmetry originated in nature.
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
Walking With Eagles is a collection of original poems and photographs by Lindy Low Le Coq. A lifelong naturalist, amateur photographer and bird enthusiast, Lindy’s verse, composition and photographs open a window into the essence of her subjects. Her poems and photography reflect the rich natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest.
Bald Eagles mature over the course of five years. Walking With Eagles invites the reader to take a poetic and visual tour of this odyssey.
view ~ Walking With Eagles ~ in top menu bar for a preview, though the folio is much nicer!
Lindy Low LeCoq 