Posted on by Anne Sandler · 50 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #287: Sound

All of our senses are connected. When you see a plate of well-presented food, can’t you taste it before you take a bite? When I’m walking my dog, I can hear a car long before I can see it, giving me plenty of time to navigate to the side of the road. I once interviewed deaf students through an interpreter. I watched their faces and body language to understand their excitement and other feelings.

This week Donna opens the world of sound for us. This challenge helped me understand how we show sound to our viewers through our two-dimensional presentations. Let’s get into my selections.

This Civil War Reenactment image shows the canon being fired. Can’t you just hear the loud boom as smoke fills the air?

And more booms and pops during this fireworks display.

If you’re really into music and you’re in a setting with a wood floor, you can actually feel the music’s beat with your feet. But in a picture we can imagine the sound of musicians and their music.

Waves crash rocks, making a serene sound as we watch a beautiful sunset. Here two senses are working together.

Remember those cars I mentioned. Just stand next to a freeway and close your eyes. You can hear the passing whish and feel the rumble of the cars. But don’t close them now, see the light trails!

I’ve saved the worst image, but most meaningful to me for last–my grandson’s elementary school class’s performance during the holidays years ago. They were singing holiday songs. These performances show that music reaches our hearts beyond what we hear. Ryan is in the second row, right side in back of the girl wearing a red dress that has a white heart on it. Ryan is now 15 years.

When I started looking for sounds, I thought I wouldn’t have much. But I have even more. Sound is all around us and in our images.

When you respond, please link to Donna’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag. We would all like to see your sounds.

Thank you for your responses to my Weather Challenge. I’m so glad you all weathered the week and found amazing images. I also enjoyed that some of you played along with the homophone. One of you even got in wether, admitting they didn’t have a picture of a young castrated ram!

Next week, Ritva will be presenting her first challenge as a team member. So be sure to look for her post.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 147 Comments

Lens Artist Challenge #286: Weather

You check the weather forecast to find out whether the weather is good for a photo outing! Yes, it’s rabbit hole time again! 

According to Grammarly.com weather can be a noun as in when we make a weather forecast, or a verb as If the team can weather the injuries it has faced this year.

When used as a conjunction, whether is the correct spelling. And did you know that a Wether is a ram or goat that is castrated at a young age. Honestly, I didn’t dig this rabbit hole! It just happened. And these words are homophones–words that have the same sound but different meanings.

This challenge is about the various types of weather conditions in which we photographers find ourselves pursuing our hobby or vocation.

We all look for nice weather. Sunny, nice puffy clouds, or sometimes even a cloudless sky will do. The direction from which the sun hits an object can intensify its color or cast a shadow.

Sometimes those big puffy clouds turn dark and gray. That’s a sign that a storm is coming. Better hurry and take those pictures!

Did you hurry and duck inside or under a shelter. Or, maybe, you just like to photograph in the rain. Just make sure your camera is covered.

After the rain, we are left with puddle reflections that entice children to jump into. Right now, we have a one-day break in rainstorms here in sunny California. That’s okay, it’s better than being in drought.

If its very cold, rain turns to snow that covers the ground with a beautiful white blanket. Just try to keep your children away!

My favorite weather is fog. I love to photograph in the fog. There’s something mysterious and calming about fog.

So, we’ve talked about the weather and now it’s your turn. Do you enjoy taking your camera out in all types of weather? Whether or not you do, I’m sure you have some enjoyable images taken on outings or vacations. And if you have some pictures of Wethers, let’s see those cute little animals too. Okay, I’m done! I promise!! Well, one more thing. When you respond to this challenge, please link to it and use the Lens-Artists tag. That way I can see whether you responded with weather images and stories. I guess I wasn’t quite done!

This week Egidio asked us to show how warm colors can affect our images and the feelings they leave behind. I enjoyed seeing all your amazing responses. Take care everyone and enjoy your weather!

Next week Donna will be challenging us, so be sure to look for her post.

If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.