Summer holiday and at the summer house, so I am a bit slow in replies as the days are filled with three active grandchildren screaming and playing around. I had forgotten how much food boys consume…. 🙂 But this is a post about bees 🐝 and butterflies 🦋
Midnight at my house in the countryside, love the summer light and yesterday we had some rain so the mist created a lovely atmosphere
The trees framed the scene beautifully
This week, Patti is encouraging us to show one to five photographs that tell a story.
I am going to be bold and leave the story untold in words, well the photos are supposed to tell the story. What story’s do you see in these photos, if any. Do this work as a Narrative photography ?
Below story two – the two photos below
SO Sorry, I could not resist, Still five photos and a header … yikes, I’m bad 🙂
For inspiration check out the other participants in this challenge you can find them with the Lens-Artists tag. lens-artist tag
June, summer is here even though the temperatures are not that high. Nature is giving us its best that’s for sure. Midsummer is here and we are enjoying the light.
Bees, the so important part of nature. I found these as I went through my archive for this challenge Bees
I found these as I went through my archive for Denzil’s NPC #17 Bees
Huge mountains, rugged foothills. Gorgeous views in my opinion. Worth taking a photo in my mind.
I looked at my old photos and noticed many that I have not given too much thought to, these are two of them. In these photos from Sequoia- ( more to come)I am returning to my past style. Let the photos speak for themselves. As it what I am better at than writing 🙂
Stunning views
🌼 of the day! That’s it .
This week the Lens-Artists challenge is focused on Spiritual Sites. While many associate spirituality with religion, the Oxford dictionary defines it as “relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things”, a much wider interpretation. Visit her site for inspiration Tina’s Lens-Artists Challenge
Nature is the very heart of our spirituality, “Nature is my god.” This beautiful Planet Earth is our mother and our home.
When I am in nature I feel whole and connected and larger than life, but also insignificant & part of something bigger than myself. Isn’t that the sense of religion at its core?
Historically, nature, mountains, rivers, trees, the sun, the moon have always been honored in ancient cultures.
Ancient wisdom describes human beings as having five layers of experience: the environment, the physical body, the mind, the intuition and our self or spirit.
Spiritual life in Churches, Temples, Cathedrals, around the world
For inspiration check out the other participants in this challenge you can find them with the Lens-Artists tag. lens-artist tag
This morning when I saw the title of Leanne Cole’s blog post Losing a blogging friend and remembering Bren. Leanne wrote: When you look at Bren’s blog you can see a lot of flowers, she loved them too. I have put together some of my flowers in memory of her and hope you can do the same.
I got to know Bren for a short time, but she came across as caring, and encouraging person. Flowers for her memory.
I am also posting this For Cee´s Flower of the Day.
Brian of Bushboy’s World is our guest host this week with the challenge: Fragments:
He wrote: We always have been made up of pieces. What I would like to see is some of your fragments.
Life is made of fragments, memories are just that. A fragment from here and there. Having had the same experience, my husband and I, often remember different things and oftentimes slightly differently.
I have three boys, all adult’s, but I have fragments of the everyday life memories, remembered when looking at old photos.
Time a fragment history – old newspaper from 1914. Ink bottle discovered from the ground. Well walked boots, so many kilometers. Memories written down. Old chairs
Art – the creations I do, they are fragments of my mind and imagination.
I found this actually a challenge to find photos for this, then I improvised, driftwood, broken branches, it is stretching it a little. My husband told me we are not going to break anything for this… 😀
For inspiration check out the other participants in this challenge you can find them with the Lens-Artists tag. lens-artist tag
June, summer is here even though the temperatures are not that high. Nature is giving us its best that’s for sure.
One of my favorite flowers. White lilac
The scent is so lovely
Posted for Cee’s Flower of the Day
June, summer is here even though the temperatures are not that high. Nature is giving us its best that’s for sure.
One of my favorite flowers. Peony.
For Cee´s Flower of the Day.
June, summer is here even though the temperatures are not that high. Nature is giving us its best that’s for sure.
Snails, those slimy little things that eat my plants.., . I found these as I went through my archive for this challenge Snail’s
I found these as I went through my archive NPC #16 Snails
June, summer is here even though the temperatures are not that high. Nature is giving us its best that’s for sure.
Birds, not my expertise at all, sometimes I get a nice shot, but sometimes is the thing as I do not have the equipment to get the spot on shots. I found these as I went through my archive for this challenge Birds feeding and drinking
I found these as I went through my archive NPC #15: Birds feeding and drinking
Flowers from my archive’s and camera roll.
Something different, shaken and stirred .
Lilac time
Posted for Cee’s Flower of the Day
Lens-Artist Challenge with a focus on, What’s Bugging You? by Donna of Wind Kisses
I am slowly recovering from my flu and participating on this weeks challenge, and will also be replying on comments I’ve received. what is bugging me is this flu, if I am being totally honest. I do have a stronger word in mind, but I will spare you.
Now to the topic on had bugs, slugs ( is it a bug?) probably not. I wholeheartedly agree with the Donna I think the true challenge here, is that encounters are rarely purposeful, and bugs are never willing participants.
So I am going to spare words, just post photos of bugs 🙂
For inspiration check out, What’s Bugging You? by Donna of Wind Kisses
Remember to link to this challenge when you post and use the Lens-Artists tag. lens-artist tag
I have had the flu now for two weeks and no end in sight. I’m so tired of coughing and sneezing 🤧. I have been doing nothing, but today I am going to post few photos. Well of flowers.
Looks promising, we will get some strawberries this summer
For Cee´s Flower of the Day.
Anne wrote: My challenge for you, this week, is to find your own fascinating structures that capture your attention, tell a story or are just beautiful. You can capture new scenes or take a trip down memory lane in your photo archives. Lens Artists Challenge #251: Buildings and Other Structures
I am going to be brief worded, I have had the flu now for over a week so I am not at my best, it really drains you from all energy. SO I apologize for lack of responses to comments I’ve received. I will get to them.
So many to choose from, and without any reason I went with these. Enjoy.
Urajärvi Manor is one of the oldest manor museums in our country, having bequeathed their home for museum use by Lilly and Hugo von Heideman. The Empire-style mansion is located in Itä-Asikkala, Urajärvi.
The current main building was completed in 1810, the earlier one burned down and its exact location is unknown. The main building was initially a one-story building with a mansard roof. It was extended and raised into a two-story empire-style building in 1839-40 when the new manor owner Axel von Heideman moved into the house with his wife Sofia. The second floor was built only for grandeur and the fashion of the time. There are living rooms only at the ends.
The English-style park of Urajärvi Manor Museum with its romantic walkways and viewpoints is an experience worth seeing and experiencing
A quick stop to old town int Nice in France, I am drawn to the old architecture, the colors and rooftops .
the colorful and slightly dilapidated houses of Cape Verde attracted me and almost asked me to photograph them. Some had been nicely renovated.
These two modern high-rise building’s are from San Francisco, they are impressive, but they lack warmth and soul
These are from Brisbane in Australia, similar high rise buildings as above, but you can see an old building left by the sea front. What difference in style. I was very attracted to the l Queenslander houses.
And if you did not know the header is Sydney Opera house 🙂
Posted for Anne’s Lens-Artists Challlenge
Remember to link to this challenge when you post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Anne wants to see all your artful structures
I’m at my happy place, I can hear the birdsong, sound of the wind, bee’s buzzing in this so called place of silence. and smell scent of the Lily of the valley.
Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) is well known for its delicate bells and beautiful sweet scent. You’ll find lily of the valley throughout the northern hemisphere. Signifying the return of happiness, the plant is synonymous with the month of May, and it is indeed the birth flower for May.
Lily of the valley meaning
A symbol of purity, joy, love, sincerity, happiness and luck, lily of the valley . It’s actually the national flower of Finland, and in France, on 1st May for La Fête du Muguet, lily of the valleys are gifted to loved ones. This French custom dates back to the 16th century ) – symbolizing luck and happiness.
I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.
Drinking water is like washing out your insides. The water will cleanse the system, fill you up, decrease your caloric load and improve the function of all your tissues.– Kevin R. Stone
Posted for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
I’m at my happy place, I can hear the birdsong, sound of the wind, bee’s buzzing in this so called place of silence.
Blossoms…
Here are some signs of spring , the joy and the glory of nature. I had made up my mind not to take flower pictures as I have so many of them already, but I did anyways.
Apple tree blossoms are in full bloom at the moment, what a glorious sight
For Cee´s Flower of the Day.
I’m at my happy place, I can hear the birdsong, sound of the wind, bee’s buzzing in this so called place of silence.
The variations of green…gotta to love it.
Here are some signs of spring , the joy and the glory of nature. I had made up my mind not to take flower pictures as I have so many of them already, but I did anyways. Cherry tree blossoms…well got to love them
Submitted for Cee’s Flower of the Day AND Nature Photo Challenge #14
Editing is fun, and i make several editing versions of my photos and I try to pick the one I like the most.
I saw this challenge and thought I’d give it a go. This is for April as I could not find one for May.
The original one.above and black and white version below
I now days always shoot in RAW and am able to play with the photo in so more ways than if I did with JPG.
In this version I added light to the background, changed the tones more towards blues.
The last one I turned the shot into autumn tones and the mood changed totally
One-to-Three Photo Processing Challenge-April 2023
PS the header is slightly different from the original, did you happen to notice that? I added some softness to it
I’m at my happy place, I can hear the birdsong, sound of the wind, bee’s buzzing in this so called place of silence.
The variations of green…gotta to love it.
Here are some signs of spring , the joy and the glory of nature. I had made up my mind not to take flower pictures as I have so many of them already, but I did anyways. Forget me not – I did not forget these tiny little wonders
Submitted for Cee’s Flower of the Day.
🦋 butterflies are so lovely … Here are some I have been lucky to capture.
And as Denzil wrote: For Nature Photo Challenge #13 we focus on Butterflies. Butterflies of course are beautiful, photogenic, and interesting. They deserve to be protected just because they are butterflies and worthy of our love and protection. However, they are also highly useful insects.
If you ask me to name these species, no, not able to do that, but as stated they are lovely.
For Denzil´s Nature Photo Challenge.
This week, Amy challenges us to post some beautiful sky or cloudscapes.
what can I say, great topic. I have so SO many cloud and sky shots. When in a car I live watching the clouds, more often than not we have clouds in the sky here in Finland, it is m feeling, not an actual fact, but let’s go with that anyways. I did dig up some information about clouds, if not interested skip that and just view the photos. That is my thing anyways… enjoy. And Thanks Amy this was just up my kind of topic.
These are cloud types in Northern Hemisphere
 | Cirro-form The Latin word “cirro” means curl of hair. Composed of ice crystals, cirro-form clouds are whitish and hair-like. There are the high, wispy clouds to first appear in advance of a low-pressure area such as a mid-latitude storm system or a tropical system such as a hurricane. |
 | Cumulo-form Generally detached clouds, they look like white fluffy cotton balls. They show vertical motion or thermal uplift of air taking place in the atmosphere. They are usually dense in appearance with sharp outlines. The base of cumulus clouds are generally flat and occurs at the altitude where the moisture in rising air condenses. |
 | Strato-form From the Latin word for “layer”, these clouds are usually broad and fairly wide spread, appearing like a blanket. They result from non-convective rising air and tend to occur along and to the north of warm fronts. The edges of strato-form clouds are diffuse. |
 | Nimbo-form Howard also designated a special rain cloud category which combined the three forms cumulo + cirro + stratus. He called this cloud “nimbus”, the Latin word for rain. The vast majority of precipitation occurs from nimbo-form clouds and therefore these clouds are generally the thickest. |
Clouds in the Northern Hemisphere can vary depending on the latitude, season, and weather patterns. For example, in the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, clouds tend to form ice more often and contain less liquid water than in the Southern Hemisphere. This is because the air in the Southern Hemisphere is cleaner and has fewer aerosol particles for cloud droplets to freeze around.
One of the most interesting types of clouds that can be seen in the Northern Hemisphere are noctilucent clouds, which are the highest clouds on Earth and can only be observed at night during summer months. They are made of tiny ice crystals and reflect sunlight from below the horizon, creating a blue or silver glow.
Noctilucent clouds are only visible at night during summer months because they are very high up in the atmosphere, around 76 to 85 km (249,000 to 279,000 ft), and they need very cold temperatures and low pressure to form. They also need sunlight to illuminate them from below the horizon, which only happens during astronomical twilight in summer at high latitudes.
Above are clouds and skies from finland, below sunsets from all Sri Lanka (man gliding) next to it sunset in India, the red moon. Unser it a sunset and clouds in Key West, Florida. The very blue and red sunset is from Cape Verde. The last three are from Australia.
These first three are from are skies from Florida. Next two from France – Nice. Last row is Italy, USA – California and last Australia- NSW
I invite you to join us this week to, challenge hosted by Amy to post some beautiful sky or cloudscapes.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 