*Challenge You* It's October's Best CY Medal of the Month Cha
View allAll Photos Tagged challenges,
I would like to thank my sweet Amelie for the challenge ♥
The White Canvas Gallery presents an open challenge to enable you to stand united for peace. Let's disown the mindless violence around us and let's DO something about it as artists. Rules of this challenge are pretty simple.
RULES
1. Post one pic on your flickr stream with this theme in mind. All creative decisions are yours. You can post more if you like, no ones gonna shoot you *grins*.
2. Nominate at least 3 other of your friends to post a pic with this theme. Tag them on the pic if you like.
3. All pics done for this challenge can be posted to this group.
www.flickr.com/groups/istandforpeace
4. Please add the text below the line in your description of your picture so that anyone who wants to know the theme and refer to rules can come back here.
5. If anyone not tagged here wants to do this challenge, tag yourself here and do it :).
=================================================
The White Canvas Gallery presents an open challenge to enable you to stand united for peace. Lets disown the mindless violence around us and lets DO something about it as artists.
My nominees are: Doutzen, Nimoe and Kira
This was taken during a walk near our home on a stretch of the Pigeon River near Indian River, Michigan. The river here is a challenge to those who canoe or kayak . . . the fallen tree adds to the challenge. This is an attempt to simulate a Michael Orton photograph. (OE)
In remembrance of Working Towards a Better World, and thank you to all of you who worked for and supported the group, we still have to work towards a better world, my friends! Please add your name if you wish.
Imagine
John Lennon
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkgkThdzX-8
Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! ❤️❤️❤️
Die Vogel Challenge 2021 hat begonnen. In 2020 habe ich 179 Vogelarten "geschnappt" trotz Corona. Jetzt hoffe ich auf ein erfolgreiches neues Vogel Jahr .
The Vogel Challenge 2021 has begun. In 2020 I have "snapped" 179 bird species despite Corona. Now I hope for a successful new bird year.
For years, I've been asked to do pictures of me as comic book women, so I've done some online research to find out who they are and what they look like. Then I put together costumes to get their look as close as I can. Usually, it takes a good bit of photo editing. Making their look and building sets or finding good locations is a fun process. Thanks to the people who have suggested who they would like me to appear as. I have more in the works. If you have any suggestions, please drop me a line.
My brief for this challenge was: Train Station, Billboard, Possibly a Cinema, and ‘Rainman’ Escaping.
Still no cinema but I got the train station, billboard and Rainman escaping the ‘Bounty Hunters’. This image fits the brief better than the first attempt to fulfil the challenge….! (Latest Challenge).
Some weeks ago I rendted myself a perfect little spot on It All Starts With A Smile
8 different houses, fully decorated but all perfect in their own league.
Not only a perfect place to live but also a great place to visit, to hang out with friends and take pictures.
For more information visit It All Starts With A Smile website
iaswasresidentials.wixsite.com/eventidesims
For me, being a Second Life blogger I need to challange myself all the time.
How to avoid bloggers blocks, stay inspired and keep the creative juices flowing.
I made a new challenge for myself called #Smile☺Challenge.
Challenge rules are :
Pictures taken on the It All Starts With A Smile sim.
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Eventide%20South/136/139/23
Showing me doing something that makes me smile.
So what better activity then blowing bubbles to start this challenge with.
You are always free to join me.
Credits where to shop @ pixelstyles.blogspot.com/2020/05/2207-smile-challenge-blo...
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili...
If you're interested, you'll find a more detailed closeup here (it's the 8th photo from the top): www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi...
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (it's very brief but pretty unusual: a tiny wall lizard attacks two young great tits): www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQqkSsyrm7E
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: MY LONG AND ARDUOUS JOURNEY TO BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY
If you've set yourself the challenge of exclusively shooting the wildlife in your own back yard, you might find - as I did - that bird photography is really, really hard.
It's not that reptiles are easy to photograph either, mind - but at least the ones in my garden stay (for the most part) on the ground, and one can learn how to carefully approach them with a camera. They're also clearly egoists, which from a photographer's point of view is is a great character trait: if a lizard detects a human in its vicinity, it's only interested in saving its own skin, and it won't alarm its buddies.
But birds... oh man. Over the years, my feathered friends and I have developed a lovely routine that now defines our peaceful co-existence. As soon as I as much as open a window (let alone the door), I'm instantly greeted by an eruption of panicky fluttering and hysterical shouts from my garden: "SAVE YOUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND FLY FOR YOUR LIVES: THE HAIRLESS, PINK MONSTER IS COMING!!! (Yes, I speak bird, and I know that this is exactly what they are shouting 😉).
Needless to say, with the exception of the redstart I already showed here, all my efforts to get the kind of detailed shots I usually strive for with my nature photography ended in complete failure and utter disillusionment. I was ready to give up on stalking the winged misanthropes in my garden altogether, but then winter came - and changed everything.
One day this past January I observed my neighbor Signora P - a kind, elderly Italian lady - putting something on the low garden wall in front of my house. At first I thought she was just putting some treat there for her cat Romeo; the young tom patrols that wall constantly (it's his favorite spot in the garden, and during the warmer months he usually lurks in the thick foliage next to it to prey on lizards).
But once I detected a lot of movement on that wall through my window, I understood she had put a little pile of bread crumbs there; she was feeding the birds who soon arrived in flocks. This was certainly well-intended on my neighbor's part, but her noble action came with a catch, and I'm afraid quite literally.
When I took a stroll through my garden the next day I discovered a suspicious amount of feathers on the ground next to the wall. Romeo had apparently switched from his low-calorie summer diet (lizard) to more energy-rich meals consisting of "fowl" (it was winter after all, so from a nutritionist's point of view this made sense).
I would find fresh traces of Romeo's victims (mostly feathers, but also the odd wing) in my garden over the following days; so my first intuition that my neighbor was feeding her cat hadn't been that far off after all, as Romeo was now clearly being "served" fresh birds on a daily basis. And although the hungry visitors seemed to be aware of the danger and became slightly more prudent, they just couldn't resist the tasty snacks Signora P put on that wall - and neither could Romeo.
It was obvious that I had to act, but talking to my neighbor - who is as stubborn as she is kind - would have been futile, I knew that much. I pondered the matter long and hard - until a light bulb went off in my head. The idea was genius. If successful, what I had in mind would not only increase the birds' chances of surviving Romeo's appetite, but also greatly benefit my own photographic endeavors.
I started to enact my master plan the very next day by buying a giant bag of bird feed (consisting mainly of sunflower seeds) from the store. Then I dragged a huge piece of a tree trunk (approx. 120 cm in height) that we normally chop firewood on from the shed out into the garden and emptied almost half of the bag's content on top of it. Signora P's buffet for birds (and cats) was about to get some serious competition 😊.
My reasoning was as follows: not only would the birds be lured away from the fatally low garden wall to a place where they were safe from the cat - there was nothing around that tree trunk that provided cover for a predator, and the birds had a nice 360° view around it at all times - but I was also able to photograph them while hiding in the shed.
However, in order for my plan to work there was one little extra measure I had to take, and it was one that risked lowering my own life expectancy considerably once the owner of the property - my mom - discovered it. You see, our shed is completely windowless, so if I wanted to use it as a blind, I had no choice but to cut a hole into one of its wooden walls... which I promptly did (I figured all's fair in love - and photography 😉).
Granted, I have absolutely zero carpentering skills, and it showed. That hole was an ugly mess: the shed's wall seemed to have had an encounter with Jack Nicholson's ax-wielding lunatic character from the film 'The Shining'. Needless to say, I was incredibly proud of my work (I mean, come on: there now was a hole where before there wasn't a hole, and it was big enough for the lens of my camera to peek through, so it was mission accomplished as far as I was concerned).
Now all I had to do was wait for the birds to discover the tree trunk. In the meantime I started to mentally prepare myself for the inevitable confrontation with my mom and go through possible explanations for that splintering hole in the wall (it was either gonna be a rabid woodpecker attack or an emergency rescue mission with a feeding tube for a little kid that had accidentally locked himself inside the shed - both seemed valid options, though I slightly preferred the locked-in kid due to the involved drama and heroism 😉).
A whole day went by, and not a single bird visited the sunflower seeds. I had expected that it might take a few hours until the first of the ever curious great tits or blue tits would show up, but given how tiny my garden is, an entire day seemed excessive. Then another day came and went: the birds kept flocking to the bread crumbs on the wall, and my tree trunk kept collecting dust. To add injury to insult, a few fresh feathers on the ground were proof that Romeo was still feasting.
It was incredibly frustrating: I provided my winged guests with a much better view - plus a higher chance of surviving the cuisine - than Signora P's place; I risked (almost) certain death at the hands of my own mother (OK, the act of vandalism on the shed I had committed for my own benefit, but still), yet the birds kept ignoring me.
Then, after three days, just before sunset, I spotted a single blue tit on the tree trunk picking away at the sunflower seeds.
When I got up the next morning I immediately realized that the loud noise that accompanies each and every tit activity had shifted from the wall to the shed. At last the dam had broken: there was a flurry of movement around the tree trunk, and I counted at least 5 different species of birds feasting on the sunflower seeds.
From day 4 onward my plan worked beautifully: the birds now indeed mostly ignored Romeo's "snack wall" and kept to the tree trunk. And yes, I was able to play peeping tom from behind the shed's wall and photograph them!! 😊
Thus, dear readers, I finally managed to produce some acceptable bird photos, and I had even saved my feathered friends from a deadly foe in the process. All through winter and spring I took advantage of my new bird hide, and in late May I started mixing some cherries with the sunflower seeds. The idea was to attract a Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius), and as you can see, it worked!
It took me almost three weeks and more than a few tricks to capture that clever fella, but given how long I've been rambling here already, that's a story for another day. As for my mom, she still doesn't know about the hole in the wall, so please don't snitch! 😉.
I hope you like the photo and wish you all a wonderful weekend! Many greetings from Switzerland, and as always: let me know what you think in the comments 🙏 😊 ❤!
P.S. if anyone has their own funny tale about the obstacles we photographers are prepared to overcome for a desired photo, please write it in the comments: I love such stories 😊
A little shoreline bokeh dedicated to Phan Ly for a great testimonial she wrote me - thanks and HBW!
Weekly Theme Challenge ~ Tree/Trees
Thank you to everyone who pauses long enough to look at my photo. All comments and Faves are very much appreciated
Dor Walker, here's my version... adjusted various tones & hues plus the little puddle. Tried to add some punch to it but don't know if I succeded.
Thanks for the challenge!
Back when you were allowed to walk through the Space Shuttle Challenger at Cape Kennedy, Florida, USA
Sometimes it can be a challenge to choose the proper tool. Will it be metric or SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers, which would be the imperial measurement system)? Does the situation require a deep well (tall), or the shorter, shallow socket? What type socket: 8 point for square heads or 12 point for hex heads? Maybe a 6 point, to minimize the chance of rounding off a rusty hex head? Then consider the driver, a ratchet or perhaps a breaker bar for more leverage? Will the drive system be 1/4 inch for small fine work or 3/8 inch, 1/2 inch: or maybe 3/4 or 1 inch drive for heavy equipment? Do I need an extension to get into a tight obscure spot?
This picture only shows my 3/8 inch and 1/2 inch drive sockets The 3/4 inch and 1/4 inch drive sets are in their own steel boxes.
When it comes to my pictures, I like to talk about challenges. Often, it's not about getting the best photos, but about the challenges in a particular situation.
In an old building that may be over 100 years old, such a window situation is unusual and only occurs in this room in the museum building. Of course, a tripod is not allowed.
So I tried to expose the outside and inside of the room in backlight, as close as possible to the exact same position.
Wide-angle lenses have their problems when orthogonal lines are distributed throughout the room because they distort in a cushion-shaped and barrel-shaped manner, and if you're unlucky, both at the same time (moustache type), and so a room where windows, corners, ceilings, and works of art form a grid makes the optical errors obvious.
This meant that I had to superimpose the exterior image over the interior image, and of course there were deviations, so I not only had to correct the distortion but also, quite often, correct parts of the image.
However, I found this “Petersburg hanging” of Münster Cathedral so interesting that I really wanted to show you the situation with a work of art by Albers, a work of art probably by Serra, and a black picture by an artist I don't know.
Deutsch
Ich spreche bei meinen Bildern gerne von Herausforderungen. Oft geht es mir gar nicht um die besten Fotos, sondern um die Herausforderungen in einer bestimmten Situation.
In einem alten Gebäude, das über 100 Jahre alt sein kann, ist eine solche Fenstersituation ungewöhnlich und kommt im Museumsgebäude nur in diesem Raum vor.
Ein Stativ ist natürlich nicht erlaubt. Also versuchte ich im Gegenlicht eine Belichtung des Außenraumes und eine Belichtung des Innenraumes, möglichst in der absolut gleichen Position.
Weitwinkel haben ihre Probleme, wenn über den ganzen Raum orthogonale Linien verteilt sind, weil sie kissenförmig oder tonnenförmig verzerren, wenn man Pech hat, beides gleichzeitig (Moustache-Type), und so ein Raum wo Fenster, Ecken, Decken und Kunstwerke ein Raster ergeben, macht die optischen Fehler deutlich.
Bedeutet, ich musste das Außenbild über das Innenbild bringen und natürlich gab es Abweichungen, und musste nicht nur entzerren sondern ganz oft einzelne Bildteile entzerren.
Jedoch fand ich diese "Petersburger Hängung" des Münsteraner Doms so interessant, dass ich euch die Situation unbedingt zeigen wollte mit einem Kunstwerk von Albers, einem Kunstwerk von wahrscheinlich Serra und einem schwarzen Bild, von dem ich nicht den Künstler kenne.
_MG_3629_pt2
I created this image for my camera club's summer challenge theme: Speed.
No speeding tickets involved.
Wild stallion known as Jake challenges another stallion who decided to not take the challenge.
Colorado wild Horses
On a trip west to Portland, Oregon, UP's Challenger #3985 is working hard upgrade in the Blue Mountains of Oregon on a rainy June morning in 1993.
Our Daily Challenge ~ The Inside
Thank you to everyone who pauses long enough to look at my photo. All comments and Faves are very much appreciated
I composed this image in response to a self-imposed photography challenge: create an interesting image of a door, or doors. In accomplishing this, I sought to construct a photograph that was open (pardon the pun) to interpretation.
When this day began, I was comfortably trapped in my chic little Icelandic hotel cabin by snow drifts covering the door that were over five feet high. I heard some scrapping noises and peered out the window next to the door. The ever cheerful English guy in the bright red parka grinned back at me with his infectious smile. With a loud "good morning, Anne!", he waved the tiny shovel that he'd purchased at the Iceland version of the convenience store just the day before in the 'remote' chance that we might be snowed in at some point in the trip. Within time, I was freed into the wildly blowing subzero winds.
Our destination was Reynisfjara, one of the most beautiful and yet dangerous beaches in Iceland. I had seen the videos showing tourists trapped in terrifying sneaker waves on this beach and so I was careful not to get caught in one myself. We had not been so lucky a few days earlier at the beach in Vik which managed to swamp us with a rogue wave of freezing water - despite our best efforts to keep an eye out.
The temperatures this day were so far below freezing that it didn't matter what the number was -it was just bitterly cold. The winds were so strong that I felt that I was pushing against a wall just to walk forward. I took off in an opposite direction from my friends to find a different point of view. Hiking up to this overlook, I found a little shelter from the wind and I was able to set up my tripod and catch this scene just as the morning sun began to light up a bit. The sea looks almost benign in this image but believe me, it was very rough and thunderously loud as the crashing waves landed on the obsidian sands and rocks.
I know that I had a huge smile on my face that morning. I'm smiling right now just thinking about how good it feels to be in places like this which challenge us to thrive in adverse conditions. On this International Women's Day, don't give me a pair of fancy designer shoes, but give me more days like this one.