Reynisfjara Black Beach

There maybe something interesting besides the beach at Reynisfjara!

One of the possibly underrated stops during our Icelandic photo tour, was at the Reynisfjara black beach near Vik; it was a relatively short stop, as we were leaving Vik with our major attraction being the Strokkur geyser and the massive Gullfoss waterfall. Additionally, it was a drizzly, rainy morning and heavily overcast skies.

You might think that this is not a recipe for great photography; of course, it could be an opportunity to take some different shots from the usual beach pictures…

Reynisfjara Basalt

The basalt columns at Reynisfjara are magnificent to behold and I’ve found that examining the structure provided by these magnificent columns presents an interesting mix of points of view. Seeing how they line up in front of the lens and the patterns they generate is one of my favorite ways to explore this type of wall.

There’s much more than just the patterns and textures, as Nature conquers every possible opportune spot…

Cave Flora

This plant found just enough soil to hold onto the basalt column and present some pretty little flowers. Of course, there are also plenty of mosses, which one expects. These plants with their paper thin white flowers really stood out.

Elemental Damage

Of course, the elements do claim some victims among these plants, which does present an image that is a bit more tragic, yet interesting.

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 213

Ever hopeful, we reach for tomorrow

Welcome to the 213th round up of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!

Your views of tomorrow provided a wonderful spectrum of our hopes and dreams, as well as a dose of reality that has framed us in this pandemic. As an optimist, I very much connect to your hopes and dreams, and, as a connector, I want to bring each of you along on that vision of a better tomorrow. We may struggle through these times, but our spirit shall not be doused, as we come through all this stronger, more experienced and a bit wiser.

Thank you for a wonderful set of entries that have made me smile, caused me to think and more than anything allowed me to appreciate the wonderful place in the universe, where I find myself: connected to you!

Let’s unfold our tomorrows…

Unfolding Spacetime

Translucence and natural structures always intrigue me, which made this stunning leaf an easy choice for a subject; what struck me is that it also gave me a sense of the phoenix, rising out of nothing into beauty.

Please enjoy the following blog posts:

  1. Nicole kicks off this theme’s responses with a wonderful photo in her post in Une Photo, Un Poéme; the catkins give us hope for a wonderful tomorrow!
  2. Diane gives us views of tomorrow in her post in pensivity101, which all of us will enjoy, as much as we love our favorite places.
  3. Debbie shares lovely paths in her post in Travel with Intent, which I, for one, look forward to traversing!
  4. Hammad takes us on the wings of birds in his post in the Blog of Hammad Rais; these wings take us into the future, not knowing what lies ahead tomorrow. Great post!
  5. Teresa has a clear vision of what she wants in her tomorrow, as we can see in her post in My Camera & I; may that hug be in the near future!
  6. Carol gives us a lovely view of tomorrow in her post in Light Words; in few tomorrows those will be even lovelier!
  7. Indira looks forward to the days of mask-free life in her post in Sharing Thoughts, and rediscovering what we used to take for granted!
  8. Sheetal has acquired a new skill that she shares in her post in Sheetalbravon; you should go check what it is, as it can come in handy!
  9. In a lovely post in the blog Sound Mind Journey, we are treated to a haiku that embodies the spirit of tomorrow!
  10. Ken is looking for a live audience in his tomorrows in his post in Pictures without Film; of course, this thought of tomorrow leads to the next theme…
  11. Brian’s photos of tomorrow are filled with hope and future songs in his post in Bushboys World; although, I’ve never figured out what age is too old for rock’n’roll!
  12. The blog Land of Images is a treasure trove of photography, and the view of tomorrow that is shared is stunning!
  13. Xenia has a wonderful view of tomorrow in words and images in her post in Tranature, which makes us want to see it even sooner! Continuing the story in Whippetwisdom, we enjoy the fun had by Eivor and Pearl, as they cherish each moment in their playground!
  14. The images in the post for this theme in A Day in the Life are just stunning, as I can see myself sitting back and taking in the view, while anticipating what tomorrow might bring.
  15. I’d like to encourage each of you to not only look at this week’s entry in Don’t Hold Your Breath, but also take the time to read about what is important for our tomorrows! Wonderful post!
  16. Sandy fills us with hope in her post in Out of my Write Mind, as the Sun will come out and we have much to look forward to!
  17. I expect that many among us have similar anticipations for tomorrow to those expressed in Don’t Forget the Half; lovely post and great destinations!
  18. Amy gives us a deeper sense of the sacrifices that have been made for our tomorrows in her post in Photography Journal Blog vol. 2; great image and post!
  19. David brings us along for his tomorrow, as he uses that day for a walk around the neighborhood. We get to see his wonderful captures from that walk in his post in David M’s Photoblog.
  20. Maria visualizes a future, in which people come together in workplaces in her post in Kamerapromenader; I, too, miss the human interaction of our work environments!
  21. Great thoughts are found in another wonderful post in Sgeoil, as the seeds of today are the flowers of tomorrow.
  22. Rupali’s post in the lovely blog Mazeepuran touches deeply on the importance of embracing our present, as we reach for tomorrow.
  23. Khürt manages to reach deep within himself and share the aspect of our becoming an automaton in the pandemic, with a fantastic post in Island in the Net; let’s continue to work toward the shared photowalk, and that pint after work! We shall overcome!

Please let all these wonderful authors know how much you enjoy their blog posts!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 204

Popping up toward the sky!

Welcome to the 204th round up of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!

I very much hope that all of you and your families are doing well during these trying times; please stay safe and healthy!

The posts that you created for the theme of Spread were definitely a wonderful spread! Not only did you share some gorgeous photos in your posts, but your thoughtful approaches created some surprises for me in your interpretation. Well done!

It was a joy to read all of your posts, and take in the wonderful photography; thank you for the effort that you put into them!

Spring brings us new hope…

Crocuses spreading their petals

These crocuses broke through a tapestry of autumn leaves, reaching out to the nourishing power of the Sun. It’s lovely to see the petals spreading and inviting the occasional passing hungry bee to touch down and pick up some pollen. I found some of these clutches of flowers, as I was wandering around while my wife and our youngest Cardigan were taking a herding lesson.

Please enjoy the following blog posts:

  1. What a great way to kick off this week’s responses in the post in Don’t Hold Your Breath! There’s more than one spread in here, as the wonderful spread of food helps with the spread of our human body. Well done!!
  2. Sarah starts her post in By Sarah with some great wings and then has us looking up to see Nature spreading in front of us! Great post!
  3. Brian certainly made ma laugh with the first photo in his post in Bushboy’s World; that is quite the character. Also, a great looking sky!
  4. Xenia brings us a stunning set of views in her post in whippetwisdom, where she is spreading the light that will help guide us through these times. Beautifully done!
  5. That is quite the spread that has been laid out in theOnlyD800intheHameau; a chance invitation to a wedding can result in a lovely feast!
  6. Maria shares a truly stunning photo in her post in Kamerapromenader, as she captured the eagle-owl at just the right moment with its wings spread!
  7. ackie takes an approach to the theme that had not come to my mind in JunkBoat Travels; although, it stands to reason that you want to spread the nuts to introduce them into fudge! Wonderful post!
  8. Nandini spreads the love in her post in queennandini; I particularly like the thought of a smile spreading from one’s mouth to their eyes! Great imagery!
  9. I agree with Diane’s opinion about Marmite in her post in pensivity101; those blankets are much better than spreading marmite on anything!
  10. Tatiana finds a gorgeous spot to go for a walk in her post in TravelWays, getting some fresh air is definitely a great thing to do during these isolating times.
  11. Woolly is going for a bit of controversy in his post in WoollyMuses, as Vegemite is definitely not to everyone’s liking 🙂 Time to compare Vegemite and Marmite?
  12. Ann-Christine really captured the majesty of the young eagle-owl that is being released in her post in To see a world in a grain of sand…! The spread of those wings is truly impressive!
  13. Pat captured the spread of a tree beautifully in her post in Thoughts and Entanglements; it always amazes me how trees can overcome just about any obstacle that we put in their way!
  14. Deb’s photo of the orangutan doing what it does so magnificently in her post in Twenty Four is stunning! It’s truly amazing how much reach these primates have!
  15. David delivers another set of stunning photos in his post in David M’s Photoblog! Those pelicans in flight are simply spectacular!
  16. As the past spreads out behind her in the mirror of life, Sandy’s words in Out of my Write Mind generate a sense of optimism on how to live life fully!
  17. Nicole captures the spread of the river Ouse beautifully in her post in Une Photo, Un Poéme. Gorgeous photo!
  18. The progress of the dandelions that we get to enjoy in Geriatri’X’ Fotogallery is not welcomed by everyone, as they may mar the perfection of one’s lawn. Their spread is a thing of beauty, though!
  19. TiongHan is trying to give us a sense of odors he experienced in a wonderful post in TiongHan’s Blog; I can imagine that the scent of an open-air tannery would be rather pungent to behold!
  20. Robert shows his eye for capturing the right moment, as the wings spread for take-off in his post in Photo Roberts Blog; magnificent photos!
  21. In a lovely post in One letter up ~ diary 2.0, we get to enjoy that blanket of clouds that holds the light at dusk for us to cherish before the onset of dark.
  22. Debbie captures the spreading of the word in Travel with Intent with a great set of photos that tell the story of interesting travels!
  23. Klara shares a nothing short of stunning photo in her blog Sliku svoju ljubim II, which was taken at a location that is on my bucket list! The arches are just gorgeous!
  24. If the Sunday brunch spread in Musin’ with Susan is any indication of her taste in food, I’m ready to partake! Clearly, Susan knows how to enjoy brunch! Also, go check out Susan’s week in review in Musin’ with Susan, as there are more great photos there! Love the shot of the yellow tie, as it’s striking!
  25. Irene is clearly blessed with a wonderful area to visit in the Indiana Dunes National Park; the sunlight spreading across the vast landscape in Heaven’s Sunshine is spectacular!
  26. Teressa shares something rather special with us in Another Lqqk, as Grandma’s quilt is not only beautiful, but also precious through the memories that it invokes!

Please let all these wonderful authors know how much you enjoy their blog posts!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Fuzzy

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear!

Welcome to week 178 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge! As last week, I’m still wrapping up the round up and will finish it on Tuesday night.

After your highly Focused approach of wonderful and amazing posts, I figured we go in the opposite direction for this week. How about going for something a bit Fuzzy for this week’s theme? Of course, there are lots of fuzzy objects that we enjoy in our lives, such as that teddy bear, plush animal or peach, as well as some that we might not enjoy… That fuzzy growth on bread might not be a good indication of its fitness for consumption.

There are numerous directions that you can take for this challenge, and all’s fair, as long as you have fun with whatever Fuzzy creativity strikes you’re fancy. Can’t wait to see what will be appearing from you!

Here’s something rather fuzzy from a number of years back…

Zone Plate Yellow No, 1

This image was shot with a bit of an unusual lens: a zone plate lens. What makes this lens different is that it uses diffraction rather than refraction or reflection to focus the image. The wave nature of light facilitates a soft focusing characteristic to be created with this type of lens.

The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:

  • Write a post with an image for this week’s topic
  • Please tag your post with fpj-photo-challenge (if you’re not sure about how tags work, please check out this WordPress article about tagging posts)
  • Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
  • Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!

Apply some fuzzy logic and bring out those amazingly creative ideas and posts!!

Life among the Leaves

Amidst beauty

The WordPress Daily Prompt today has the intriguing theme of Inhabit.  I say intriguing, because much as one can inhabit their environment, once may also be inhabited…

As I was looking through some of my images for a bit of inspiration, I came across one that might fit the theme…

Among-the-Leaves_MG_8594
Among the Leaves

This image came about from one of my explorations of Tower Hill Botanic Garden.  As I walked through the systematic garden, I noticed the play of the Sun and the shadows that were cast.  Getting very close to the ground for this shot, I wanted to get the sense of being surrounded by super-sized leaves…

Hope you enjoy!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 47

Beauty is all around!

The 47th episode of our weekly challenge dared you to explore the theme of Bloom. Again, there has been lots of creativity on display in your entries this week.

While most went very much the floral route with great success, as there were stunning images, poetry and prose, there were some interesting exceptions!

One of the early blooms in the Spring is the daffodil, which is even available along roads and ponds…

20130417-IMG_1029
Daffodil Time!

What struck me immediately about this leaf were the orthogonal lines working throughout; the color bands against the veins contrast one another.  The function and form come together in simple beauty.

The following were this week’s participants in the challenge with links to their posts:

This is another great set of images, posts and participation!  Thanks to each of you for taking the time and being creative!  Tomorrow we’re on to another week…

photo roberts blog 2

ich zeige euch meine stadt wie ich sie sehe

The Wee Writing Lassie

The Musings of a Writer / Freelance Editor in Training

Pencil Notes

Pencil on paper. Images arise. Message received.

nancy merrill photography

capturing memories one moment at a time

Mama Cormier

.... my journey to a healthy life, making new memories and so much more

Don't Forget the Half

Loving the sum total of all my parts!

sound mind journal

a quiet place where our minds meet

My Camera & I

This blog is my creative outlet where I can share my photos, my travels, my random thoughts and a bit of myself.

Maria Vincent Robinson

Photographer Of Life and moments

Does writing excuse watching?

Wasting time on the couch.

Dare Boldly

Artful Words to Inspire Everyday Living