Landscape

Lens-Artists Challenge #373: Looking Back – Landscapes

Egidio is looking back to Amy’s Challenge #31 from February 2, 2019: Landscape. Amy had beautiful landscapes to be inspired by as does Egídio in his post.

Six images are requested by Egídio. Landscape is one of the most frequent topics I photograph. It can be autumn with all its glory, a sea view – nothing beats a beautiful ocean in its vastness. Or mountains. The possibilities are endless. Limiting the number of them to six is a challenge.

The four pillars of landscape photography really play a vital role in helping you capture those breathtaking moments. First, there’s Location, which is about finding that perfect setting that speaks to you; then, Composition, which guides you in how to arrange everything thoughtfully; Light, so essential for creating the right mood and highlighting beautiful textures; and finally, Processing, where you can refine and enhance your image to reflect your vision.

With those guidelines in mind, here are my picks.

A breathtaking landscape view from Blue Mountains in Australia, the lush green mountains under a dramatic sky, with wildflowers in the foreground.

A autumn landscape featuring vibrant orange and yellow trees reflecting in a tranquil lake Kukkanen in Lahti, Finland.

A scenic landscape featuring grazing goats amidst rocky terrain in Crete, with lush greenery and distant hills.

A landscape rolling green hills and scattered trees under a cloudy sky, exemplifying the beauty of nature photography. This is at Korkee, Finland, a place I photograph every year.

A winter landscape, frosted trees and a snow-covered field, embodying the beauty of nature in cold seasons in Finland.

A striking desert landscape from Las Vegas, Nevada, a cholla cactus against a backdrop of distant mountains.

Last week’s challenge for Tina was titled Ephemeral. I appreciate everyone who took part; your responses were fantastic and I really enjoyed all the imaginative images of things that exist for just a brief moment.

I hope you will join in for this week’s challenge. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists tag and include a link back to Egidio’s post

Be sure to check back on Saturday, November 15 at noon Eastern time when John will be hosting the challenge.

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.

Monochrome Madness: Capturing Color Variations

Black and White photos, Nature, Photography

Margaret is hosting Leanne’s Monochrome Madness this week. She thought it would be fun to explore those shots which, by accident, design, or clever editing, are monochrome in any colour but black and white. Let’s go…

Here I am going… I once again looked up the definition; photograph or picture developed or executed in black and white or in varying tones of only one colour.

My photo choices capturing varying shades of a single color, including green oak leaves, purple lilac flowers, and blue ocean scenes, exemplifying the concept through various serene landscapes.

A close-up of vibrant green oak leaves, showcasing different shades of green for the Monochrome Madness.

Purple lilac flowers representing monochrome in shades of color.

A serene depiction of the ocean in varying shades of blue, exemplifying a monochromatic color scheme.

Here are some monochrome edits, still not using black and white

A serene monochrome scene featuring a sailboat near a lighthouse, capturing varying shades of blue.

A serene view of Blue mountains captured in varying shades of blue

A serene forest scene shrouded in mist, showcasing varying shades of green.

A monochrome landscape featuring varying shades of green, showcasing a mix of lush and barren trees against a cloudy sky.

In the quiet of the night

Captures from Finland, Photography

Yesterday was a hot and humid day which was slightly cooler after a thunderstorm that hit us in the late afternoon.

The night was cooler only +20 Celsius so I took my camera for a walk to capture the beauty of summer nights.

Then I walk to the north side of my house and the sky was in totally different tones of color

Landscapes, Nature, Photography, Traveling Australia

My contribution to One Word Sunday: Landscape

At the Saturday market

Captures from Finland, People, Photography

Had a nice morning by the lakeside summer market at Vuolenkoski.

Johns Cellpic Sunday

Folks from their summer homes came to the market on boats, the marina was so full some people had to wait for open spots on the docks

Wordless Wednesday

Photography

Lens-Artists Challenge #295 – Rock Your World

lens-artists

Let’s Rock Your World this week – I will try my best to do as requested. Donna invites us to showcase anything from rocky landscapes to cobblestone streets. I know for sure this is a topic that is close to Donna’s heart, she has so often shared her love to rock formations – as she has showed once again in her beautiful photos. Her post gives us so many beautiful examples of how to approach this challenge. She does know her rocks and captures them beautifully.

I sometimes struggle to get terms right. The solid rock that exists below the ground surface is called bedrock. This type of rock is “in place,” unlike material that has been moved from another location by weathering and erosion. Bedrock forms the foundation for the layers of soil and sediment above it, which is super important for supporting entire ecosystems and shaping the landscape. Plus, the characteristics of bedrock can really affect how landscapes form, how groundwater moves, and even how soil develops. I live next to bedrock – a hill with trees and moss over it.

My life is built on a solid rock as Finland’s bedrock belongs to the old Precambrian (period 4,600 – 570 million years ago) in the bedrock area of Northern and Eastern Europe, or the Fennosarmatian bedrock craton, which is one of the oldest parts of the Eurasian continent.

Beaches and seaside are great places to enjoy the smooth surface of rocks, solid or not.

I love sitting at beaches, seaside watching the water hit the rocks and cliffs. Or piling them up. So meditative.

Stones, rocks are used in old castles this example is from Raasepori. The tunnel and walls of Suomenlinna fortress. Old Stone Church of Lammi is solid as a rock. As are the stone steps and walls from this old building.

I am ending this post same sentiment as Donna. He is as the song says, solid as a rock, is and has been for over 40 years.

Last week we learned so much froms Johns Before and After challenge. Next week I am hosting, hope I will be able to bring you something interesting enough to get your imagination flowing.

Until then, keep smiling ☺

To participate in this challenge, you should link to or leave a comment on the week’s host’s original challenge post and please use the #Lens-Artists tag in your own post, so the post is easily found in the Reader.

And if you want even more information on the Lens-Artists Challenge, please click here.

shadow

Captures from Finland

Early Spring shadows on the frozen lake.

One word Sunday – Shadow

Silent sunday

Captures from Finland

Cloud watching

Captures from Finland, Photography

We have had what we a typical Finnish summer lately, that’s to say, constantly changing weather, rain, clouds, sunshine and anything between.

Lahti harbour is where you will meet us Lahti residents, and summer residents especially in the summer. The harbour is full of restaurants and cafés. We had coffee at cafe Kariranta Located in the old Vesijärvi train station building, Kariranta is the true gem of the harbour. Pastries baked in the café will make your mouth water.

Coffee and strawberry and blueberry cheesecake

We went there after having chosen the paint to our kitchen floor. We have always thought that it was old traditional gray paint used in old houses, and apparently it is, but actually it was green with gray tones. So weird 😊

Misty field

Captures from Finland, Photography

After rain I love the smell of the nature and the rising mist on the fields

After the rain

Captures from Finland, Landscapes, Photography

Last night after a rainy day the sunset came and it looked like this. Orange and green go together well 😊

Lens-Artists Photography Challenge #243– Tricky

lens-artists, Photography

Lens-Artists Challenge #243 – It’s Tricky!

This week Donna invites us to share tricks .

I know…It’s Tricky! Enjoy the chance to think outside-the-box for this challenge. What tricks do you use to get the shot you want? I don’t know if I really have any…. editing, that is my main trick.

One thing I often do to get great nice bokeh shots is have a flower in my hand outstretched towards the sun coming throughout the trees and taking a macro shot that way… easier on my knees 🙂 mostly I like to take close ups so that the object is back-lit.

somethimes you just have use thte natural settings, bend down and get the shot.

Water , droplets splash… usually I need assistance, often from my husband, or the water dripping down from the spout to the water barrel below. Or like my here my husband dropping Ice into the the glass

Drops in a barrel

Trick, well I think the most impostant trick is to be observant and have patience especially when photographing nature, animals, bugs. Well anything really, many times getting a a good shot is due to a good luck. Right time at the right place. How you place the camera. Mostly that you pay attention. That’s my trick really.

People photography is a art of its own, you have to find the essence of the person, and the right angle to bring the best of the peole features, expressions to shine in the the photo. Once again, be alert.

Composition, framing the photo is essential for a great shot depending what you want to enhance and showcase in the photo. Below some shots from Amalfi coast.

#Lens-Artists #Lens-Artists Challange

Lens-Artists Photography Challenge #242– NEW EXPERIENCES

lens-artists, Photography

LENS ARTISTS PHOTO CHALLENGE #242: NEW EXPERIENCES

This week Anne invites us to share experiences . Experiencing something for the first time can be exhilarating, exhausting, and engaging.

Seeing something new in nature, visiting a new city. Listening to music, sounds of nature, art in all forms. I thing I get most from seeing, experiencing natures wonders.

I have also got great joy visiting the Great ocean road in Australia. I have done several posts from that trip. I still have lots of shots not share. Awesome place. Waterfall, rolling hills, animals in the wild… I could go on and on..

I love the rugged coastline there and in Northern California

and Oregon also, memorable and beautiful experiences.

Seeing the red woods in California Sequoia National Park, the magnificent trees.

Seeing the desert and it rough beauty of Valley of fire In Nevada

Thailand, Sri Lanka, India the different type of nature, culture. European countries with the long history and beautiful architecture, Italy, The Amalfi coast, Venice. France, Paris, Nice´ on and on I could go here too

You need not go far, you can experience a misty morning or evening. Sunset or sunrise that amaze you in your own yard. It is a new experience everytime, if not, would we not try to capture when ever it is possible.

Experience – is seeing the same old as something new everytime -living the moment. It can be as mundane as experiencing your morning coffee everyday. Maybe today with toast, tomorrow with pancakes… I don’t know, we must not forget the little everyday moments.

#Lens-Artists #Lens-Artists Challange

Lens-Artists Photography Challenge #241– Spring

lens-artists, Photography

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #241 – Spring

This week Sofia invites us to show you what Spring means to us. Is it about new beginnings, Nature reborn or a new chance to go and enjoy the outdoors?

This is a no brainer, I mean, obviously it is about light. Me and so many other when the spring begins to show first signs of more light the constant marvel of it… we do, every year as if this was something unexpected. The joy of it is so awesome, it wakes us up from the winter hibernation, we slowly come put of houses.

When does spring start? In 2023, the official first day of spring is Monday, March 20. This date marks the “spring equinox” in the Northern Hemisphere. That is today!

( Is the spring equinox the same as spring solstice? Equinox vs Solstice
An equinox occurs at the start of the spring and fall. The solstice occurs during the summer and the winter. Occurs on March 21 (Vernal equinox) and on September 23 (Autumnal equinox).

No matter where you are on Earth, the equinox brings us a number of seasonal effects, noticeable to nature lovers around the globe. At the equinox, Earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays equally. Night and day are often said to be equal in length.

The fastest sunsets and sunrises of the year happen at this time. We’re talking here about the length of time it takes for the whole sun to sink below the horizon. Sunset or sunrise you have to be quick to act, if you wait long enough you will only see tail end of it.

First you notice is the snow and ice melting.The fields with the soil coming visible and mornings of mist. Everything is brown. Only moss glows green. The lakes and sea is been freed from under the ice.

Everywhere! Forget about the weather for a moment, and think only about daylight. In terms of daylight, the knowledge that spring is here – and summer is coming – permeates all of nature on the northern half of Earth’s globe.

Notice the arc of the sun across the sky each day. You’ll find that it’s shifting toward the north. Responding to the change in daylight, birds and butterflies are migrating back northward, too, along with the path of the sun.

The longer days do bring with them warmer weather. People are leaving their winter coats at home. eople are raking the leaves from their yards. Trees are budding, and plants are beginning a new cycle of growth. In many places, spring flowers are beginning to bloom.

new fresh green – not visible here yet, but it is a sign of the glorious days of spring finaly here.

Spring is full of hope, l ight, beauty and blooming of nature. One of the best of season’s

#Lens-Artists #Lens-Artists Challange

Lens-Artists Photography Challenge #240 – The road taken

lens-artists, Photography

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #240 – The Road (most often) Taken.

John from Journeys with Johnbo is hosting this week, this week’s theme is metaphoric–and not about a physical road. For this week’s challenge, I want you to think of your favorite type or style of photography as the road you’ve chosen to take most often.

I got my first own camera in my late teens. I took photos of friends and family and photos when traveling. Safe to say there are not that many photos from back then, film was expensive as was the development, and you never knew how they turned out until you got the envelope back.

When I got my kids, well I took tons of pictures of them, here I found few from the archives that I have scanned. So safe to say, I am a people photographer from the beginning. I must say, I have improved a lot, even if I say so myself over the years. I love taking photos of people trying to capture something real, and try to find the beauty we all have in ourselves, fing the best angle to get a the essence of what I see. Now I photograph my grandkids and my husband is often in my photos if I need to get a heasshot for some challenge.

Eventually when I got my first good camera I started taking photos of nature, photos from our travels. Then I got a new macro lens – then details. I learned to edit my photos and that made my photos get better, me being able to highlight more what I what to showcase in the photo.

I have mixed some of my early on photos with some newest ones. Basically I take photos of what ever I fancy, anything that catches my eye, that I find intersting I take photos of.

I have to say that hiking to place that are far and through difficult tracks is not my thing. Even though I admire the beautiful photos other have captured from these place. I look for topic near me 🙂

#Lens-Artists #Lens-Artists Challange

Frosty trees at dusk

Captures from Finland, Landscapes, Photography

White trees

I stopped several times to capture the beauty of the moment of lovely winter views with snow covered trees and hovering mist

52 Frames: Week 34: Peace!

52 Frames, Captures from Finland, Landscapes

Through the hustle and bustle or the humdrum everyday lives we lead and see around us, we come across small moments in time that make us stop, take a deep breath and slow down. We’d like to see you capture a moment of Peace ☮ this week.

Have a little think about any places or scenes that calm you down or center you – a tranquil lake setting, a walk through a wooded path with a close one or something close to home like your grandpa taking his afternoon siesta. It’s all about the image evoking a feeling of serenity, calm and tranquility.

August Sunset at the countryside, this was my choice this week

The idea doesn’t necessarily need to be minimalistic , all that matters is whether the viewer understands the point of view and story your photo ought to be showing. The lighting and overall color tone of the scene will be important too, so please spare a thought for those aspects too.

There are tons of places, people and scenes that can convey this purest of emotions; so as we usually say, take a few deep breaths, center yourself and take your shot.

I have been at my summer house. One word, that can be said about the place is that it is peaceful. Hardly any neighbors, no traffic sounds. Silence, if you do not take to account the natures sounds. I took shot of this tail of the sunset ( aiming the camera towards northwest) the colors towards west were so vibrant, even if the moment was peaceful the colors would not convey that. So I turned towards the more muted tones. I had several ideas for this week, but did not get anything done towards making them become reality, planning is not enough. I hope this shot still shows peace.

The shots below show the vibrancy of the sunset and even if it was peaceful the colors do somehow tell the story, or what so you think? The blues in the last shot say it better, no ?

52 Frames: Week 33: Water!

52 Frames, Landscapes, Still life

Water – just like us humans, comes in all sorts of shapes, sizes and even colors. It’s universal and something that is absolutely essential to life on this planet. We hope you’re inspired enough to make the most of the topic.

If you have follwes me for a long time, you should know I love the sea, lakes and all water views, I take lots of photos of photos of them. I have also come into a habit of taking shots of water bottles in restaurants and cafes

You could, of course, go with a classic landscape / seascape bringing a sense of majesty to your image or perhaps go with a more down-to-earth shot of kids having a pool party

Maybe a shot showing off your technical chops with water droplet macro photography is more your style. Why not showcase the immense power of water crashing against a shoreline or go entirely the other way and take a serene shot of tranquil and still waters in a long-exposure image?

Don’t feel restricted by needing an external location either – you can get epic water shots inside your home too. Try getting a creative still life shot by using water as a prism. Or use it to enhance a portrait or with food photography.

The possibilities are boundless. 💦

ISO: There’s a lack of light – so remember to adjust your ISO settings appropriately, the higher you go, the more digital noise you will encounter.

Long Exposure: To compensate for the lack of light, long exposures work well for getting sharp images of static subjects like cityscapes and smoothening water ripples. Anything under 1/125 you want to rest your camera on a hard surface or tripod.

Light Shaping: Use lights to shape the exposure – you can isolate your subjects more easily since the background will most likely be darker due to the absence of ambient daylight.

Shoot Manual Mode: Consider shooting in Manual mode to correctly adjust parameters to get your desired exposures.

White Balance: Artificial light in urban areas can add different color casts to your image. See if adjusting the white balance can add more depth to your image.

52 Frames: Week 32: Night Photography!

52 Frames, Landscapes

it’s Night Photography this week.

This was last weeks challenge, but here I am posting about it now. I have several night shots that I like, but not being able to use them. And as I was visiting relatives at this time I was not able to go and take photos during night time. On our drive home I took this shot of the moon, think about it from a moving car, not too bad, slightly painternly look it has, but all and all, I am rather happy with it.

Somewhere in Southern Finland on the road home, this moon lit the way for us

The thing about not having that sun around, is that everything is darker! In order to get more light to your sensor, you’ll want to slap that camera onto a tripod. or rest it on a flat surface, and set your shutter speeds to lower settings, like multiple seconds, and the night scenes in front of you will come alive!

Taking shots, illumination of neon signs or street lights lend a completely different look and feel to the very same location than if it were shot in daylight.

Ever taken portraits at night of a subject lit by a storefront window? Not all night shots need to be taken outside the house – some very creative shots can be taken inside too. Have a think on that!

Get creative with light painting or try and capture the moon- night time is just magical for photography.

If you live in a part of the world where the 🌞 is still up when most other places are much darker, that’s cool too.

TIPS:

ISO: There’s a lack of light – so remember to adjust your ISO settings appropriately, the higher you go, the more digital noise you will encounter.
Long Exposure: To compensate for the lack of light, long exposures work well for getting sharp images of static subjects like cityscapes and smoothening water ripples. Anything under 1/125 you want to rest your camera on a hard surface or tripod.
Light Shaping: Use lights to shape the exposure – you can isolate your subjects more easily since the background will most likely be darker due to the absence of ambient daylight.
Shoot Manual Mode: Consider shooting in Manual mode to correctly adjust parameters to get your desired exposures.
White Balance: Artificial light in urban areas can add different color casts to your image. See if adjusting the white balance can add more depth to your image.

52 Frames: Week 31: Choose Color!

52 Frames, Landscapes, Still life

Look around and we’ll see something we take for granted – color. Our wonderful world is filled with it, so this week we’re asking you to Choose A Color. Make that color the theme and inspiration behind your image. Colors evoke moods and feelings – how you choose to compose and use them is what will guide the viewer through the image.

Choosing to focus on a single color in particular is both creative and good use of light, contrast and saturation is what can make or break an image. Pick a color and make it the dominant and outstanding and leave no doubt about which color you wanted to make the main point of your shot.

I am having huge problems with my computer, so much that I need to buy a new one, so these are old shots that I have here already used in my previous posts over the years. I am not able to access my computer files, or additional hard drives to add photos or load new ones from the camera disk. I am able to access the internet for now, so I am using these here this week.

Think landscapes of rolling green hills, or food shots of red chilli peppers or the all encompassing golden color at sunset – there’s a noticeable dominant color there and that’s what we’re looking for.

Composition: Compose your shot so there’s no doubt as to which color you’re trying to use. Think about any emotions or moods your photo can evoke and bring that to the forefront. You could use a lot of negative space to direct interest to your subject or go in full-tilt and fill the frame
Lighting: Lighting and shadows add depth to an image and can change an image dramatically. An underlit and underexposed image brings to mind a different mood than a bright, well-lit one.
White Balance: . Using and adjusting white balance while taking your photos will be valuable
Contrast: If there are multiple colors and shades in your image, ensure that there’s one that’s visibly up front and recognizable – it contrasts and stands out from the other shades and tone of the image.
Post-processing: Feel free to go nuts with post-processing and editing to render some cool color effects. But remember, less is more.

Midsummer

Captures from Finland, Landscapes

it is that time of the year again, the amount of light we get, the longest day passed, but we are now celebrating midsummer here in Finland, lot’s of people are driving to countryside to enjoy the this festive season, to be bitten by mosquitos, but some may choose to stay in the cities. Well we came to our summer house to enjoy the light nights and warm summer days that the forecast has promised us for this weekend.

I am still coughing my brains out, tired from lack of sleep as soon as I try to lay my head on the pillow, well in my case at the moment pillows you can say bye bye to sleep. So I haven’t had any energy to post anything. But for midsummer I have to do something to celebrate, I took these at out last visit, it was full moon time, I never got around to posting them, so here is some beauty from one of my favorite places. Beautiful Finnish countryside in the summer.

Holiday

Cities, Landscapes, Photography, Travel

I am currently on my vacation here are few shots from my trip, but I will come back to this topic when I get back home. Oh by the way I am in Crete 😊

A touch of spring

Captures from Finland, Photography

We are having a beautiful day with temperatures on the plus side and you can hear snow melting, but do we still have lots of it to melt.

My husband was doing his best to give the spring help by making creeks so that snow and ice would melt quicker

Memory lane- Oregon #4

Photography, Travel, Traveling US

At first I will take you to the Oregon coast line, unfortunately I do not recall what beach or location other than coastline, at the time I did not write them down, for me it is enough that they are beautiful locations and loved the views. These are from 2013, might not look the same anymore

This is the second last post from this location, but it was such a great spot so obviously I have tons of photos. You can see the Heceta Head Lighthousee in these

Heceta Head Lighthouse

I would love to travel see new beautiful places, but I cannot due to the pandemic, so I am on a memory lane trip to some of places I have been. Hope you will join me on the scenic tour of lovely places.

Memory lane- Oregon #3

Photography, Travel, Traveling US

This is the second last post from this location, but it was such a great spot so obviously I have tons of photos. You can see the Cape Arago Lighthouse in these

This is the second last post from this location, but it was such a great spot so obviously I have tons of photos. this is the