Displays

The Lens Artists this week ask us to share images of displays. The first fits with the season: it’s a small part of the collection of Christmas trees I set out on my mantle at this time every year. I love their bright colors and the huge variety of materials they are made of.

The second couldn’t be more different, except that it also contains many different colors. I wanted to get a 20-sided die to give to a gaming friend of mine as a thank-you for a small favor she did, and spent some time ogling the huge variety of polyhedral dice available at my local gaming store. Each little box contains seven different dice identified by the numbers of sides they have: four, six, eight, ten, and twenty. (There are two with ten sides, one marked 1-2-3-etc. and one 10-20-30-etc. You roll them both when you need a percentage.) All those who love tabletop role-playing games (Dungeons and Dragons and its many descendants) also love dice. Aren’t these lovely?

Posted in response to Lens-Artists #76: On Display, with thanks to Amy for posting this week’s challenge.

---

Remember that starting in a few weeks, I will be posting only on my official website: www.celiareaves.com. I hope to see you on my new site!

Ornamental Nostalgia

The Lens Artists photo challenge this week is about nostalgia. Since it’s the time of year when we’re decorating for Christmas, my thoughts went to one particular holiday tradition at my house: the little blue ornament.

This is the only ornament that survives from the first set my parents bought when they got married in the 1940s. It’s nothing special, just an unadorned blue sphere a couple of inches across, except of course that nostalgia makes it special to me. When I hang it on the tree, I have a warm, settled feeling of connection with my family’s history.

Posted in response to Lens-Artists #75: Nostalgic, with thanks to Tina for posting this week’s challenge.

---

Please note that all starting in a few weeks, my images will only be posted on my official website: www.celiareaves.com. If you want to see the pictures I post in the future, you’ll have to follow me there. I hope to see you on my new site!

Down Below

The Lens Artists photo challenge this week is to post images that are abstract. That is, in the words of Patti Moed who set this week’s challenge, it is an image that “goes beyond what we normally see in the real world. It makes viewers ask questions and use their imagination.”

I wandered around a lot looking for photos that made me question what I saw or look at things in different ways, before I finally wandered into the foundation of my world: the basement. I looked around at the disorganized shelves and the stacks of stuff, and saw things I hadn’t noticed before. This is some of what I saw that I don’t normally see.

Ducts carrying warm air throughout the house (and pumping some of it into the basement)

Heavy electrical cabling coming out of the main junction box

The plumbing going into and out of the geothermal furnace and water heater

One last shot that includes all of the above: ducts, wires, and plumbing, receding into the crawl space behind the basement

Posted in response to Lens Artists #74: Abstract, with thanks to Patti for posting this week’s challenge.

---

ON ANOTHER NOTE: Starting in January 2020 I’ll be posting only on my official author website. If you enjoy my content, please start following me there: www.celiareaves.com. I value every one of my followers, and I hope you stick with me!

Winterland

The Lens Artist photo challenge this week is to share images of the cold. Winter hasn’t fully hit where I am.The high temperature today is expected to be 55°F (13°C), which means I can’t really get good cold pictures right now. Instead, I’m pulling a few out of my archives.

Here’s a really old shot of a visitor in my back yard doing some last-minute stocking up for the season.

This boulder on the campus where I taught wears its winter coat well.

The holly outside my door, with the red berries popping against the green leaves and white snow.

Finally, my husband, my hero. Before we both retired he worked for a company in another state, telecommuting each day from our basement, but he still got up early in the snow to clear the driveway before I left for my own commute.

Posted in response to Lens-Artists #73: Cold, with thanks to Tina for posting this week’s challenge.

---

ON ANOTHER NOTE: Starting in January 2020 I’ll be posting only on my official author website. If you enjoy my content, please start following me there: www.celiareaves.com. I value every one of my followers, and I hope to see you over there!

Ho Ho When?

This week’s Lens Artists challenge is about waiting. I found the perfect example this week in a visit to our local mall. Though it won’t even be Thanksgiving for another week here in the US, the stores have already gone into full-on holiday shopping mode, and the mall decorations are hard-core Christmas. Not only that, but Santa is already there, eager to find out what you want so someone can buy it for you. I felt bad for him, because nobody was paying him the least attention. When I asked if I could take his photo he first invited me to come sit, but agreed that a photo would be just fine.

So here is Santa waiting for customers. I hope he brings joy to some children in the weeks to come, and hope that no matter what the time of year, all the world’s children find the joy, peace, security, and love they need.

Posted in response to Lens-Artists #72: Waiting, with thanks to Amy for posting this week’s challenge.

---

ON ANOTHER NOTE: I’ve made a rather momentous decision. I will officially be switching my blog from this free WordPress location to my actual author website. For the rest of the year I will post all my blog entries (including this one) on both locations, and I’ve disabled subscriptions to Word Wacker. Starting in January 2020 I’ll be posting only on the website. If you enjoy my content, please start following me at my site: www.celiareaves.com. I value every one of my followers, and I hope to see you over there!

Creeping Along

In this week’s Lens Artists photo challenge, we’re asked to post our creepy images. At first I thought I wouldn’t have anything, but a browse through my files turned up a few examples.

First, an old photo (so lower resolution) of the dense crop of icicles dangling over a friend’s front porch

Next, a stark tree on the beach at Pultneyville. Why someone cut the top off but left those two desperate branches, I don’t know. (This is another older photo.)

This shot is from Rush Rhees Library on the campus of the University of Rochester. It’s not in the Ivy League, but you wouldn’t know it from these thick vines, looking stark in winter dormancy.

Finally, a visitor I found creeping up the molding in my kitchen. Personally, I think it’s gorgeous, but it does, literally, creep!

Posted in response to Lens-Artists #71: Creepy, with thanks to Ann-Christine for posting this week’s challenge.

---

ON ANOTHER NOTE: I’ve made a rather momentous decision. I will officially be switching my blog from this free WordPress location to my actual author website. For the rest of the year I will post all my blog entries (including this one) on both locations, and as of today I will disable subscriptions to Word Wacker. Starting in January 2020 I’ll be posting only on the website. If you enjoy my content, please start following me at my site: www.celiareaves.com. I value every one of my followers, and I hope to see you over there!

All the Colors

This week the Lens Artists are looking for monochrome images. This most often means photos shot in black and white, but it can also mean any picture where just one color dominates. I don’t have much in my archives in black and white, but did find some monochrome images in various colors, and decided to post one in each of the four primary colors in human vision. Yes, I know, most color systems focus on three primary colors (red, green, blue), and the color receptors in the human eye also respond predominantly to one of these three hues. However, the visual system then turns this input into three opponent systems: red vs. green, blue vs. yellow, and black vs. white. This means that, at one level in human vision, there are four colors, just like in the song I used to sing with my children:

Red and yellow, green and blue,
All the colors over you.
Red as an apple, green as a tree,
Yellow as the sunshine, blue as the sea.

So here are four images, one representing each of the four colors.

Red: Amazing fall colors from 2018

Yellow: Part of a dazzling display of twinkle lights I spotted in a hotel this past spring

Green: A single white blossom stands out against its dark green leaves

Blue: A vivid sky, painted with swirling clouds

Posted in response to Lens-Artists #70: Monochrome, with thanks to Patti for posting this week’s challenge.

---

ON ANOTHER NOTE: I’ve made a rather momentous decision. I will officially be switching my blog from this free WordPress location to my actual author website. From now until the end of this year I will post all my blog entries (including this one) on both locations. Starting in January 2020, though, I’ll be posting only on the website. If you enjoy my content, please start following me at my site: www.celiareaves.com. I value every one of my followers, and I hope to see you over there!

Doubles

The photo challenge this week is for photos of doubles; two similar things in one image. Here are a few examples from my archives.

The flags of two countries fly from this staff at the Navy Point Marina. It’s in the US, but near that border with Canada and frequently visited by Canadian guests. (The small pennant at the top identifies the marina.)

A patch of day lilies caught my eye with these two brilliant blooms.

These two charming baby dragon sculptures were the cake toppers at my daughter’s dragon-themed wedding. The groom designed them and had them 3D printed, and the bride painted them.

Posted in response to Lens Artist #69: Seeing Double, with thanks to Tina for this week’s challenge

Lines and Squares 4: Perspective

Becky B runs a photo challenge four times a year for a whole month. In the Squares Challenge, people post an image for each day that meet two criteria; they are based on the month’s prompt, and their format is square. This October, the prompt is Lines. I’ve chosen to bundle my images into four batches and post one batch each Sunday in October.

This batch of images features perspective lines (lines that pull your eye into the distance). This brings me to a total of 32 square photos (eight in each of the four Sundays I’ve posted on this challenge). You can see the other three sets here, here, and here.This has been a wonderful experience, and I’m looking forward to participating in future Squares Challenges. Thank you, Becky!

Click an image to navigate through the gallery. Enjoy!

Sky Layers

This week’s photo challenge is to illustrate layers: images of things that are stacked in front of and behind each other to create depth. I’ve always been fascinated by the sky and clouds, which is a rich source of such images. Here are three from my archives. I hope you enjoy them!

A flock of puffy clouds in the blue sky over Black River Bay, piled up all the way to the horizonSame spot, different day, this time with darker clouds and rain falling on the far side of the bay

A gentle sunset over water, with a tree-covered bluff in middle distance and a bit of beach in the foreground

Posted in response to Lens-Artists #67: Layered, with thanks to Amy for this week’s challenge.