Lens-Artists Challenge #266 Time

Donna of Wind Kisses says, “Time: It can be wasted, saved, and can slip through our fingers. Some of us have too much, others not enough. Is it high time? The last time? Time for Fall? Taco time? And whatever you decide, I am sure you will agree there is no greater gift than time. Have fun with the endless possibilities this week.” And I hope to have the time to share.

Songs

The first thing I thought of when I heard the challenge was how many songs have “Time” in the lyrics or subject. Just driving around town listening to Sirius XM I heard the Kinks – All Day and All of the Night.

Then I thought of The Rolling Stones – Time is On My Side.

The Vogues – Five O’Clock World

You can probably guess when I was listening to “my” songs!

Clocks and their Places

Unusual Clocks

Clock created on a book for sale at a local craft fair

Clocks used in advertising

Time from many places

The modern way to check the time

And places where time slows down a bit.

And time flys

And I finally can breathe. The past few weeks have not been boring. My Moxie has epilepsy. It is being treated with medication, but watching a 2-year-old Golden have a seizure is scary. A few days later 9/5 my husband of 53 years had a cat scan and we discovered he had a giant aneurysm. VERY scary. We had to wait until today (8 long days) to find out that he has lived with this for over a decade, and that all was good. The aneurysm clotted on its own a long time ago. This was an excessive wait for all of us.

All that certainly brought time into focus for us. And now I must pick up my 3 grandsons from school while their mother, my daughter, recovers from non-life-threatening surgery.

Len-Artists Photo Challenge #265 Black & White or Monochrome

I want to address a question I was recently asked. After I retired from teaching I enrolled in Photography classes at the local community colleges. Then, I found a fun group of retirees to put my learning into practice. Are these class assignments? No. Lens-Artist Photographers create these challenges weekly. This small group of talented photographers from around the world creates interesting assignments to share. These challenges allow me to revisit and share my images. If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.

Back to this week’s challenge.

Anne asks the question, “Is monochrome black and white? Is black and white monochrome?”

Monochrome

Monochromatic photographs= photographs of one color variations

Most of my monochrome images are straight from the file with little processing, except for this first one. I added a sepia finish.

Found mortar and pestle in an antique shop in Nevada City.

Mushrooms found at a local farmer’s market

Alligator Lizard finds monochrome useful for camouflage

Fiddletown, CA at the Chinese Apothecary

Black & White

Sometimes I can find black & white naturally, but most of my photographs have been processed in either Adobe Photoshop or Topaz plug-ins.

When processing an image for b&w I look for contrast.

Found Black & White

The first image is the San Francisco skyline at night taken from Treasure Island.

Lens-Artists Challenge #257 Simplicity

Philosophy through photography provided this week’s challenge of simplicity. “The modern world is so stressful and chaotic that we are losing the fundamental clarity and simplicity that allows us to concentrate on what is really important.” So true!

Subject

Tell a story

Gull finds treasure on Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco

Quiet Pomponio State Beach near Half Moon Bay

Lone pedestrian crossing the Embarcadero in San Francisco

Sense of Scale

Sailboat sails under the Golden Gate Bridge at Sunset

I had to look through my archive to find this one because usually, I will fill the frame with the people. But this time I was in awe of the surroundings.

Walking a long way down near a waterfall in Hilo Hawaii

As we got closer to the waterfall we witnessed its power.

So small on this Southern California beach

My granddaughter @ age 10 at Stinson Beach

The vastness and power of water bring perspective to our view of self. Watching how fast it can transform places. There is little a person can do to hold back the water. The world’s people are learning this the hard way.

Negative Space

Still Life

Textures

Splash of Color

Patterns

I hope that you enjoy the simple life. Which photograph spoke to you? I appreciate all comments.

Lens-Artists Challenge #256 Kitchen Inspiration

Ritva hosts this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge with a theme of Inspiration found in the kitchen. That is often a place I find something to photograph in an hour of need. It can be a view from the kitchen window or an interior shot of the kitchen.

I had an assignment to show Kitchen Essentials in my Color Photography class. My husband received a box of stuff haphazardly packed from my sister-in-law. It contained photographs, frames with broken glass, and some serving pieces from my mother-in-law. Strange stuff, but I knew it would do for my assignment. I got some plastic to create reflections and I got busy. I entered this image in an online contest and it was selected #1 for the week. What a boost to my confidence.