~ CFFC: Colorful Monochromes ~

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

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

Posted in Cee's Fun Foto Challenge, nature photography | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday + Cee’s FOTD ~ Learning My New Camera ~

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

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

Posted in bugs & critters, Cee's Flower Of The Day, nature photography, pacific northwest, photography, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #250: Skyscapes or Cloudscapes ~

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

Amy, of The World Is a Book, invites us to showcase our photos of Skyscapes and Cloudscapes this week. Living in the Pacific Northwest USA, clouds are a common feature in the sky. Some clouds become an impenetrable gray backdrop, while others are dramatic and/or spectacular. I’ll start with this one, a mixed cloud formation at sundown featuring a small cloud which I imagine to be a Phoenix in the midst of regenerating.

Cumulonimbus cloud formations (like the one below) foretell the arrival of a rainstorm. Just where the rain will fall is always the question!

Below a stormcloud bulges and billows above the Pacific Ocean, scurries onto shore and races northward.

Low to the ground, this anvil shaped cloud created a quiet visual perspective looking south toward North Head Lighthouse.

Cumulus clouds reflecting sunset pastels remind me of cotton candy. These are the clouds I want to float away on!

As the Earth spun to set our sun, clouds created a dreamy golden atmosphere with crepuscular rays (aka God rays) beaming through. Truly inspirational viewing!

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

Again, many thanks to Amy for this challenge. Also, my sincere appreciation to all who started and those who are continuing to keep Len-Artists Challenge fun and inviting. Two-hundred-fifty weeks is close to five years!

Lens-Artists Challenge #250– Skyscapes or Cloudscapes
Posted in Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, Report from the Edge of a Continent, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge # 249: Art in the Park (and other places) ~

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

John Steiner, invites us to feature photos of Art in all its various forms. I’m starting with an architecture shot of *Château de Chenonceau, which my husband and I visited in 1994 when we were taken on a country-wide tour of France by his cousin Katherine and her husband Jean-Francois. Château de Chenonceau is one of the best-known châteaux of the Loire Valley. I had a little point and shoot camera, which explains the small image!

Katherine knew there were paintings by a relative of the family at the Musee d’art et d’histoire de Saint-Brieuc, Brittany France. When we visited, she insisted that we be allowed to see the, as yet unrestored painting, L’ange des oliviers by Alphonse Muraton. French painter (1824-1911) , and I was given permission to take a photo of it.

At Balboa Park in San Diego, CA there is a sculpture garden featuring several large Henry Moore sculptures. My sisters were ready to move on, so I didn’t see it all, however this shot, Reclining Figure is representative.

Closer to home and a short walk from my condominium in Long Beach, WA, is this bronze memorial sculpture titled, Clark’s Tree. It commemorates the end of Lewis and Clark’s journey across North America, and is near the place where Clark carved a message on a living tree to establish United States precedence of discovery and occupation in what was then the Oregon Country. The memorial was created by Stanley Wanlass,

Near Clark’s Tree is a public access pathway over the berm to the beach. Conveniently located, this bike rack is an example of how PNW themes like Salmon, are integrated into practical objects..

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

*The current château was built in 1514–1522 on the foundations of an old mill and was later extended to span the river. The bridge over the river was built (1556–1559) to designs by the French Renaissance architect Philibert de l’Orme, and the gallery on the bridge, built from 1570 to 1576 to designs by Jean Bullan.

Thanks to John Steiner for giving us more food for thought and a chance to highlight Art we love!

https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/2023/05/13/lens-artists-challenge-249-art-in-the-park-and-other-places/
Posted in architecture, Art, history, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, pacific northwest, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday + Cee’s FOTD ~ Here’s What’s Blooming in My Gardens ~

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

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

Posted in Cee's Flower Of The Day, flowers, Gardening, landscape gardening, nature, nature photography, pacific northwest, photography, plants, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #248: Mood ~

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

Sophia Alves encourages us to showcase photos that “convey and create an emotional reaction” this week. As I selected the gallery below, song lyrics that expressed a tone or attitude similar to what I felt when looking at the photos popped into my head, and here they are.

“Softly as in a morning sunrise, the light of love comes stealing into a newborn day.” Abbey Lincoln

‘Twas a sunny day, all the birdies in the trees, and the radio’s singing song, all the favorite melodies.” Paul Simon

“Rows and flows of angel hair, and ice cream castles in the air, and feather canyons everywhere.” Joni Mitchell

“You ain’t been blue; no, no, no. You ain’t been blue till you’ve had that mood indigo, that feelin’ goes stealin’ down to my shoes, while I sit and sigh, go ‘long blues.” Duke Ellington

“Grab your coat and get your hat, leave your worry on the doorstep, just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street. Can’t you hear a pitter-pat, and that happy tune is your step, life can be so sweet on a sunny side of the street.” Dorothy Fields

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

Lens-Artists Challenge – Mood
Posted in Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, pacific northwest, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #247: Backlit ~

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

This week Ann-Christine invites us to feature our “dramatic, stunning and eye-catching” photos that are a result of backlighting. In my first photo I wanted to capture the action of a strong easterly wind when it lifted spray from the top of incoming waves as the sun was setting.

Below is a subtle, overcast sunset with the breaker’s tops again being caught-up in the wind. The Gull seems not to notice a thing!

Tree branches upon the sky, be it gray or bright blue, always attract my attention. Birds migrating through in autumn drew me to the photo on the left, and the chartreuse leaves of spring on the right charmed me.

Dune rye-grass bending in a strong northerly wind are backlit by the sun reflecting upon the ocean. Although the shot on the right looks black and white, it is an unfiltered photo of a scene where the natural light and color tones of sky and clouds create what I call “natural sepia”.

The sun was rising through a thick fog, as this mature Bald Eagle surveyed the ocean from its perch.

Most photographers love the light of ‘the golden hour’, whether it’s sunrise or sunset. Watching these two young people frisk along the shoreline at sundown was pure delight!

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

Thanks again to Ann-Christine for this opportunity to present some favorite, dramatic, backlit images!

Lens-Artists Challenge #247 – Backlit
Posted in birds, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, trees, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Beltane Sunset ~

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

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

Posted in nature, nature photography, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, Report from the Edge of a Continent | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge # 246: Still Life (Talking)* ~

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

Patti challenges us to focus on still life images this week. In addition to traditional composed arrangements of inanimate objects, she encourages us to use a variety of sources including “found” still life scenes. Oh, Patti, this will be fun!

This post is on a trail to the beach and often is ornamented with found items. I especially enjoyed this composition of the post wrapped in orange nylon rope with a turquoise forelock waving in the wind.

It’s fresh Dungeness Crab season again. I took this series of photos a couple years ago illustrating the ingredients for a composed crab salad.

This driftwood arrangement, embellished with sculpted metal salmon beside a bench with native grasses and ferns in a Long Beach neighbors yard, is emblematic of found art on the peninsula.

My girlfriend Jocelyn placed these flowers (left over from a wedding she’d attended), in jars outside on the picnic table at her Priest Lake, ID cabin. I love the contrast of the bright flowers against the old wood and the forest background.

I’ll close with this photo of Creighton’s Gibson B-25, a lovely 6 string acoustic guitar that he purchased in 1963. Here it is the centerpiece of a still life including my piano and part of our CD collection.

*Still Life (Talking) is an album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 1987 on Geffen Records. It won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance and was certified gold by the RIAA on July 2, 1992.

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

Thanks again to Patti for this adventure into still life!

Lens-Artists #246: Still Life
Posted in Art, flowers, food, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Musical Instruments, nature, nature photography, outdoors, pacific northwest, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #245: Environments ~

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Lindy Le Coq

Every day when the weather has cleared between showers and hail, I have been in my gardens cleaning out the detritus that has collected since autumn: branches, twigs, fir cones and leaves. So far I have removed about 900 lb (408 kg) to be recycled, and I am not yet finished. My 1/4 acre (.10 hectare) lot hosts 12 evergreen trees, 7 deciduous trees, a large stand of holly, at least 85 various shrubs (evergreen, flowering & deciduous) and innumerable ground cover and flowering plants.

This has been a labor of love for the 34 years since we had the house built. My landscape goals have been to create bird friendly grounds with perennial plants that provide a variety of textures and colors. With 8 fir trees in the back yard, I’ve learned all about shade plants! Below are two beauties in bloom right now.

In Lens-Artists post #241, I featured My Messy Garden, that looked like the view above. Here’s how it looks this morning, raindrop on the lens and all!

Spring cleanup is when I assess the health of various plants and determine what needs to be removed, transplanted and where I may want to add a bit of color or light. When that’s complete, I’ll add bark mulch, refresh the pea-gravel paths, pull out the stored outdoor furniture and relax!

Thanks to Tina at Travels and Trifles for an invitation to share our environments this week. Anyone who follows my blog knows I’m a born and raised country girl. Whenever I have “yard work” to do, I think to myself, “oh goodie – I get to play outside!”

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

Lens-Artists Challenge #245 – Environments

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