~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge # 243: It’s Tricky! ~

Posted on April 7, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

I’m not much of a trickster when it comes to photography, however I do enjoy “thinking outside the box,” as in the shot below of a Brown Garden Snail taken at ground level.

Another example, is this ‘Dune Rune’. Alloniscus is a seaside wood louse that burrows just under the sand surface at night leaving images I call Dune Runes. To see other examples of this tricky critters writing and design skills, click on the Dune Runes link at the top of my blog.

Also, I find it fun to photograph objects that others have repurposed in unconventional and creative ways, like the Sedum-filled case below…

…and this human-sized bird nest with an invitation for passersby to curl up in it, take a nap, take a selfie or just reflect upon life .

I’ll close with another favorite perspective. Donna has an example of this technique in her introduction of this week’s challenge. Below we see a sandy beach leading to the ocean shore and cloudy sky above framed by a large driftwood tree stump. I am so looking forward to taking shots like this with my new camera! I’m sure the photos will be much sharper focused. Maybe I’ll do a compare/contrast for a Wordless Wednesday – stay tuned!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. šŸ¾

Thank you to Donna of Wind Kisses for encouraging us to explore photography with “outside the box” perspectives! Her examples are wonderful and you can see them by clicking the link below.

https://windkisses.com/2023/03/27/lens-artists-challenge-243-its-tricky
Posted in bugs & critters, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday + Cee’s FOTD ~

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. šŸ¾

Posted in birds, Cee's Flower Of The Day, flowers, nature, nature photography, pacific northwest, photography, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #242: New Experiences ~

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

The first day of first grade, our teacher asked her students to raise our hands if we couldnā€™t see what she had written on the chalk board. I raised my hand, so she directed me to a desk closer to the front. When I still couldnā€™t make it out, she told me to walk toward the chalk board until I could read what was written. I stopped about a foot away from it. By the next day, mom took me to the optometrist to get my first pair of corrective lenses.

Lindy in fifth grade distributing valentines.

Around when the above photo was taken, while sitting in the optometrists chair as he made adjustments to my new pair of glasses, I gazed out the window and was amazed at how clear things were. ā€œLook mom,ā€ I exclaimed, ā€œitā€™s snowing!”

Hard contact lenses were a new technology when I was fitted for them at the age of fourteen, and eventually I had gas-permeable (more comfortable) contacts. As I aged, I continued to wear contacts and somewhere in my fifties I needing to add reading glasses. Through all these years, I was never able to just open my eyes in the morning and see anything unless it was at the end of my nose!

Then, in 2017, I had cataract surgery and my cloudy natural lenses were replaced with artificial lenses that had been engineered with my needed correction. It was like magic! When I woke up I could see everything around me perfectly. Truly a new experience!

When I was out and about I could see many more details distinctly, even in the distance. It was much like being transformed from living in a photo with the background a blur, to having the clarity of a telephoto lens.

Thank you Anne Sandler for this challenge and your introduction with a photo tour of Australia! Anne asked us to show and tell about a new experience we had, which stumped me for quite a while. I had just ordered a new camera for myself with a larger capacity telephoto lens, and thinking about it opened up the idea to relate my journey with near blindness. With each new technology, from glasses to contacts to cataract surgery, I have experienced the world around me with fresh acuteness. Being able to see is a joy – a privilege that I have treasured all my life.

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. šŸ¾

https://annegeephoto.com/2023/03/25/lens-artists-photo-challenge-242-new-experiences/
Posted in Being, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, photography, Writing | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #241: Spring in My Messy Garden ~

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

My gardens consist mostly of perennial plants, trees and shrubs designed to provide food and shelter for birds, year-round. Some time ago I stopped pruning back the deadheads of Cone-flowers, and left the dry mop-heads of Hydrangea on all winter until about this time of year. Below are daffodils blooming amidst the cone-flower stems.

For three days in a row this week we actually had seasonally warm spring weather, so I dedicated as much time as possible to cleaning and re-landscaping the back yard. I removed one shrub and one tree, both of which I considered ugly, and the tree shaded out other much nicer shrubs. Two mottoes that guide me in the garden; “if it’s ugly – out it goes!” and when pruning , “if it was meant to be here, it will grow back.” Below, a scraggly shrub in the willow stump that was ugly year round.

Above, lower photo is after trimming the fern, removing the ugly shrub, and transplanting a golden mock orange shrub into the newly empty hollow of the willow stump.

Today the temperature dropped and the rains returned. We may even have snow tomorrow! But for those few days, I had a productive time in my gardens with the faithful companionship of both beagles; Daisy always on patrol, and Max looking on approvingly from sunny spots!

Thanks to Sophia Alves for inviting us to share spring images this week. It took me a while to decide to share my messy gardens, however it is the reality of spring – always a lot of cleaning to do!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. šŸ¾

https://photographias.wordpress.com/2023/03/18/lens-artists-challenge-spring

Posted in birds, Gardening, landscape gardening, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, pacific northwest, photography, plants | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #240: The Road (most often) Taken ~

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

Those who follow my WordPress site know that nature landscapes are my favorite subject. Our host this week, John Steiner suggests this is “the road I’ve chosen to take most often.” A subset of nature landscapes that I love as well, is learning about birds by taking photos of them and identifying their names through bird id resources. For this challenge, I’ve selected an assortment of songbirds of the Pacific Northwest photographed in their natural habitat.

Black-capped Chickadee – Poecile atricapillus
Savannah Sparrow – Passerculus sandwichensis
White-crowned Sparrow – Zonotrichia lencophrys
Eurasian Collared-Dove – Streptopelia decaocto
White-throated Sparrow – Zonotrichia albicollis
Spotted Towhee – Pipilo maculatus
Song Sparrow – Melospiza melodia
Purple Finch – Haemorbous purpureus
American Goldfinch – Spinus tristis

Whether you’re looking up, back or straight ahead, on your walk with life please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. šŸ¾

https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/2023/03/11/lens-artists-photo-challenge-240-the-road-most-often-taken/#like-19350
Posted in Birding, birds, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, ornithology, outdoors, pacific northwest, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ The Ides of March ~

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. šŸ¾

Posted in nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #239: Finding Peace ~

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

This week’s challenge from Tina, took me into a thoughtful consideration of what elements of life bring me a sense of internal peace. Visual elements include soft pastels, puffy clouds, water ripples and sunlight.

Pastel Sundown

Over the thirty years I worked as a high school counselor, I knew that we would have time in summer to sit on the deck at Cabin #1, listen to the soft lapping of waves over the pebble beach, and watch incredibly lovely sunsets. During stressful times, I just had to visualize it to have a moment of peace.

Cabin 1, Beach Haven, Orcas Island WA

Sounds have a profound influence on my perception of peace. Folk based acoustic guitar music is my restful background as I write this. Water on beaches, streams and my handmade pond at home are all calming places where I am immersed in tranquility.

Crescent Creek, OR
Long Beach, WA
Koi Pond

It is March on the Long Beach Peninsula. Marsh ponds are swollen and hosting ducks, geese and frogs. At dusk, legions of tree frogs begin their nightly refrain, a sound so primal and peaceful it often lulls me to sleep, even on a full moon night!

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. šŸ¾

https://travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com/2023/03/04/lens-artists-challenge-239-finding-peace/

Thank you Tina for another thought provoking challenge!

Posted in landscape gardening, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Late Winter Beach ~

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. šŸ¾

Posted in nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, Report from the Edge of a Continent, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #238: Alone Time ~

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

Being alone is a happy place;

I am immersed in my own world,

contemplating,

mulling memories,

remembering dreams,

creating my now,

moment by moment.

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. šŸ¾

Thank you Anne-Christine/Leya for this opportunity to share how much I enjoy alone time. A true introvert, I renew my mental, physical, spiritual and emotional energy by having time on my own in nature.

https://lagottocattleya.com/2023/02/25/lapc-238-alone-time/
Posted in Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday + Cee’s FOTD ~ Snow! ~

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. šŸ¾

Posted in Cee's Flower Of The Day, nature, nature photography, pacific northwest, photography, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments