water

A refreshing bottle of still water

A refreshing bottle of water on a wooden table in a cozy restaurant setting.

Lens-Artists Challenge – 5 Elements

Ancient Indian philosophy states that we are made up of five fundamental elements – earth, water, fire, sky, and air, and upon death, we return to these essential components of the universe. This cycle emphasizes the interconnectedness of all living beings with nature. On the other hand, Chinese philosophy presents a different perspective by omitting sky and air, choosing instead to include wood and metal, which highlights the importance of transformation and balance in the natural world. Each element plays a crucial role in sustaining life and maintaining harmony within our surroundings.

This week, Sofia challenges us to creatively represent these five elements, encouraging us to explore their significance and relationships in our lives through art, discussion, or personal reflection.

You need to work on a grovel ground – (earth?) This foundation is essential for any blacksmith’s operations. You also need wood to make fire, which is the lifeblood of metalworking; the flames provide the necessary heat to transform raw materials into usable tools. Air is crucial to keep the fire going, as it feeds the flames, allowing them to reach the high temperatures required for forging. Moreover, metal is indispensable, as it is the core element that you are shaping and transforming with fire, bringing life through careful manipulation. Finally, you require water to cool it down, allowing you to temper the metal and enhance its durability and strength, making the end products robust and functional. I think the sky is missing in this one 🙂 Blacksmiths work with lots of elements, combining them in a harmonious dance to create incredible artifacts, often reflecting the beautiful interplay between earth, fire, air, metal, and water.

🔥

Glorious sky in the color of fire, the small touch of blue when you light it, casting a radiant glow over the horizon as day transitions into night. This mesmerizing view serves as water to our soul, nurturing our spirit and inviting serenity. The sand beneath our feet keeps us grounded, offering a soft embrace that reminds us of our connection to the Earth. Trees surround us, standing tall and majestic, providing shelter and warmth, acting as the lungs of our air, purifying every breath we take.

Please join us and link your post to Sofia’s post, showcasing your unique perspective and creativity. Don’t forget to tag your work with Lens-Artists so we can easily find your contributions on the Reader.

Last week was full of awesome smiles and tons of laughs thanks to Ann-Christine’s challenge! Big shoutout to you, Ann-Christine, for the cool theme, and thanks to everyone who joined in—we really loved the positive photos you all shared!

Next week is John’s turn to lead us, Saturday 7th December. Until then, keep on smiling ☺

Nature’s brush paints delicately eccentric circles

Nature

Debbies Six Word Saturday

I used less clarity and texture in the image below and it turned out more like a painting.

52 Frames: Week 43: Details!

52 Frames, Captures from Finland

Take a moment. Look at something, anything around you – what do you see? What do you notice? That’s right – our eyes take in the big picture, but then move in closer to see the Details. That’s just how we humans work – we instinctively want to look at things and then parts of those things.

I am often post details, one of my favorite ways to show you how I see the world around me. So much beauty can found near and far in small or sometimes big details.

I have taken macro shots of nature this week and it fits this topic ever so well. The others are from my archives.

The wrinkles, special features and texture of our faces in portrait. Capturing fine, rarely seen details in a macro shot – maybe abstract, or in Nature. Maybe it’s that detail on the building you pass every day, but rarely take a moment to notice.

Craft an image that shows off the details of your choice of subject. Focus, contrast and composition will play a key role , so it’s both a creative and technical challenge

By capturing an image and looking for the picture within a picture, you’ll be able to capture exquisite details that you’d probably normally overlook. When you start noticing the details, a world of new and possible images opens up to you.

I love taking photos of machinery, rust the photographic details there are to be found

52 Frames: Week 42: Black and White Minimalism!

52 Frames, Captures from Finland

This week we’re combining two distinct genres to form Black and White Minimalism. Black and White photos, inherently feel a little minimalistic. Using a composition that’s minimalistic, like having negative space, really adds to this unique shooting style.

Simply doors, as interestingly as I could

Black and White minimalism usually yields a very clean and clutter-free aesthetic. A strong subject will draw the viewer’s eye, and a lot of negative space around your subject will support the main “star” of your frame.

You can create minimalism with negative space, and you can also use light and shadow by only lighting your main subject and leaving the rest of the frame in shadow (low key) or by lighting your background bright as well to create a high-key look.

But, in particular for this challenge, do remember that: Less Is More 🙂

Be Direct: Simple does not mean boring. try to tell a story and convey emotion with as little clutter as possible.
Negative Space: Take advantage of negative space. The “empty” space in your photo will draw the attention of the viewer towards the main subject, without being distracted by other items in the photo.
Leading Lines: Use concepts like leading lines to guide your viewer’s eye to the image.
Shoot in B/W: Many cameras have a black and white mode – use that to help make things simpler when previewing the shot you’ve just taken rather than having to post-process later.
Tones and Contrast: There are a multitude of shades and tonal ranges that can be adjusted to bring out depth and textures, especially in a Black And White shot. Consider adjusting those for different looks for your image.

52 Frames: Week 41: Shoot Through Something!

52 Frames, Captures from Finland

Shooting Through Something – basically have something between your lens and your subject that “interferes” with the viewer’s view of your subject. It could be something as simple as leaves in front of your lens. Or if you wanted a more dramatic effect, you could use a piece of glass like a lens ball, a prism, a magnifying glass, etc.

I went out to to capture nature, carrying two camera’s, nearly broke the other by dropping it on the ground, if I’d succeeded it would have been my third camera I dropped and broke. I went out with the intention of trying to shoot behind the trees and leaves, I also did that. I brought some plastic wrap with me to use as a prop. I took this shot placing it on the lens, shooting towards the sun so the flare came nicely on the shot and also gave the shot a misty quality. The autumn colors play a big part in this image of an inlet in Kirkkonummi.

A thin plastic bag or kitchen plastic film (cling film / Saran wrap) over your lens can produce some very creative looking effects too, but you really don’t NEED any special props this week. The idea is that if something is very close to your lens, and your focus is further away, you will create a dreamy, shoot-through effect. This is of course more exaggerated with a shallow depth of fields (wide aperture, smaller f/ number). Go ahead and experiment and have fun!

You could do portraits or street photography by shooting through a window with some reflections showing up, or go the creative route and use vaseline on an old lens filter

The idea is that your foreground, even if it’s blurry, becomes part of your story. So, let’s get creative in a new way.

TIPS:

Refraction: There are tons of ways to use glass to bend and shape light – a wineglass, a magnifying glass, a prism, a lens ball, shooting through a colored pane of glass etc.
Use Nets: A net or thin grid can add some creative effects. If you’re too close, of course, you might not see the effect, so distance yourself appropriately.
Use Plastic: Kitchen film wrap can be used creatively – you can draw on the film to make creative colors and interference patterns without ever harming your lens. How about that empty plastic bottle of water you were about to toss away? That can work too.

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.

Flow

Landscapes

The more in harmony you are with the flow of your own existence, the more magical life becomes. ~Adyashanti

Everything flows and nothing abides, everything gives way and nothing stays fixed. ~Heraclitus

All things change, nothing is extinguished. There is nothing in the whole world which is permanent. Everything flows onward; all things are brought into being with a changing nature; the ages themselves glide by in constant movement.

How to survive November 2020-11

Black and White photos, Still life

Yesterday was not a good one, I was uninspired, bored, tired. I did edit the photos for this post, I took on Monday evening from a restaurant we stopped for a bit to eat, but could not get on with posting them.

That is so totally sad, well I guess most of us have days like that or not. I allowed myself to do nothing, I watched TV, news, lifestyle programs, news, soccer. Finnish national football team won France, the world champion. WOW! After that it was time to go to bed!

If you wish to participate in this survival of the darkest month challenge, use this link to add your post to it. PARALLEL LINES

Rainy day joys

Cities, Photography

CB&W – Moving water

Black and White photos, Landscapes, Still life

Moving water is the theme Cheers!

By the sea below and splash of water above.

Photography, Still life

Traveling Eastern Finland #3½

Landscapes, Nature, Photography, Travel

These are photos I took of the Imatra Rapids before the flow started. The colors on the rock formation and reflection were lovely a joy to the eyes

Flowing river

Nature, Photography, Travel

I found this old photo, liked it, re-posted it. I love how the near by building and surrounding trees reflects the colors on the river.

Paddy’a Creek

Nature, Photography, Travel, Traveling Australia

Paddy’s Creek in Talbingo in NSW was one of the spots my cousin took us, one we for sure would not have found on our own.

How to survive November ~ 22

Interiors, Photography, Still life

Saturday morning we drove the Helsinki, there is shoe store with very good service and knowledgeable personnel. In May, I one tendon split and other was torn on my left foot, unfortunately it has not healed. So, as our trip to Australia is approaching, I needed to find sandals / shoes that can accommodate my insoles that have been especially made for me. Story short.I got comfortable shoes, but they are not fashionable, that’s for sure. I am not posting photos of the shoes. Lunch, we had lunch and while waiting for the food to arrive I took few photos.