For this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #70, Patti is inviting us to explore the world of monochrome–which includes black and white and sepia, as well as different shades of one color.
This is my second post of this theme. I include the black and white photos from my archives.
Tina for Lens-Artists Challenge #69 said, “Double trouble, double-time, two’s company, take two …. the world is filled with references to twosomes. This week, let’s double our pleasure and focus on things that come in twos.”
The following photos are from our trip to Hong Kong and Japan in January this year.
There are more than 300 kinds of gold fish, Ocean Park, Hong Kong
These two pups enjoyed each other, Ocean Park, Hong Kong
Flamingos – amazing animals at Kowloon Park, Hong Kong
Decoration at the entrance of the hotel, Kyoto, Japan
Monkey Park at the top of Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan
These reindeer were waiting for food from the visitors in the Reindeer Park, Nara, Japan
Ann-Christine has a fun theme for us this week for the Lens-Artists Challenge. We get to look at the candid photo.
Ann-Christine said, “Taking photos of people or animals when they have no idea that you’re doing it is called candid photography. One of the beautiful things with photography is being able to catch someone in the act. It adds natural life to your pictures.”
“You did what? You took that doughnut photo? Now everyone knows about it.”
“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.” ― Eudora Welty
“I looked funny when I laughed, but thanks for the photo anyway.”
“The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.” – Andy Warhol
“Ahhh, I wasn’t that scared of the crowd!”
“Photography is the story I fail to put into words.” – Destin Sparks
“Hmmm, let me see what Mommy and Grandma put in their purses.”
“You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again. You can also look at a picture for a second and think of it all your life.” ― Joan Miró
“Do you need help?” “Nooo, I’m the flower girl!”
“In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.”
– Alfred Stieglitz
“Don’t worry! I have plenty for all of you.”
“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” – Aaron Siskind
“Shhhh……”
“Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.” – Diane Arbus
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “ground.” Use it as a noun or a verb in any tense (i.e. grind). Have fun! – Linda G. Hill
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My sock escaped the patio of our condo on the fifth floor during our slumber on the third day in Maui. I scanned the bushes around the pool area at the ground level and glanced the walkway leading to the beach. Nothing resembled my sock.
Hubby and I walked on the beach two mornings ago. I gazed the trees at the far end curve of the beach and measured the rhythm of my steps. We could walk all the way there before turning around. Talking to myself.
Ouch! I bounced, retrieving my right foot from the sand. Something shocked the nerve of my bared foot. It was the spikes of the fallen twigs. Hubby suggested walking in the salty water hoping it would sooth the shooting sensation. It was not bleeding, saved by the reflex.
The next morning, I worried other unknown objects might surprise my feet. Some people walk on the beach with shoes but most of them do it with flip flops. I didn’t bring flip flops and preferred not to wet my shoes with saltwater. Wearing socks seemed to be a sound idea. After the walk, I washed off the sand and dirt of the socks inside and out and left them on the patio chair in our condo. It was not windy when we went to bed. Well, I forgot about fetching the socks and lost one overnight. It was the least of things I’ve lost during our travel.
Makena Beach
On a pleasant note, we went to Makena Beach that day to rekindle our memory of the beach wedding twenty-three years ago. It is a small beach at the end of the State Park. The size of the beach looks like a private beach in someone’s backyard. There was no disturbance from other visitors during our wedding and photograph. It was still a quiet beach when we visited it on multiple occasions during the previous trips.
We didn’t expect this trip to be different or a busy tour season in October. To our surprise, the beach was busy with at least a dozen people playing in a pool of water, sunbathing or reading in beach chairs.
The water was turquoise blue contrasted with the black lava rocks. The tide rolled in, hitting and splashing on the rocks to several feet high. Hubby spotted several turtles swam against the waves trying to get back to the ocean. Without Polaroid sunglasses, I missed the privilege of the sights.
The blue sky, the fluffy clouds, the turquoise water and the smooth sandy beach made a pleasant memory on this sunny day.
The theme the week from Tina for Lens-Artists Challenge #65 is: Pick a Place
I knew exactly the right place for this post. I waited until today to do it because I’m traveling.
Maui was the place in which my hubby and I got married. We went back multiple times and stayed at Kihei where has less tourism. Maui is a small island. It took only three trips for us to go all the way around and go up and down. We went on the Road to Hana on one day, to west Maui on another day, and to the top of the 10,023 feet tall Haleakalā or the East Maui Volcano on a different day. We didn’t go to all those areas every time. One place we visited on every trip was Makena Beach where we got married. Hubby liked to get up early and walk on the beach by himself while I slept in. Then we walked together to watch the sunset.
We’ll be going back next week to stay for a week. We’ll go hiking in the Rainforest and the Seven Sacred Pools. We’ll also do some water activities like snorkeling and kayaking. It will be fun.
Beach on the way to Road to Hana
Beach and Cliff on the way to Road to Hana
West Maui
Haleakalā Volcano
Makena Beach
Makena Beach
Overlooking the beach from our condo
Beach by the condo for morning exercise
We walked on this beach to watch the sunset
The theme from Amy for Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #64 is: Countryside and/or Small Town.
I live in the big cities most of my life. The advantage of living in a city is the accessibility. But I realize that needs are relative. Lifestyle is a learned taste and habit. People can feel satisfied with a simple living. They may not know the existence of certain things and do not have a need for them; therefore, they may not miss them.
We bought a 10-acre land 35 years ago in Sequim, Washington Peninsula at the foot of the National Forest. It was an undeveloped parcel. The previous owner logged most of the big trees. They made a profit from the sales of logging. They poured gravels on the logging trail as a road to access the property. The purchase was to build a retirement home.
We rented a trailer to camp out there to do some inquiry. The minimum necessity to make the land livable was to have electricity hooked up, dig a well and connect the sewage pipe. The first thing we needed was water. Upon inquiry, we realized that drilling a well cost $5,500 per drilling for an average depth of 150 feet. If they detected no water, we needed to pay to drill another spot to find water.
I started to walk around the property and do some thinking. Even though the price of the land was reasonable, it required a lot of effort and resources to make it livable. One discouraging thing to me was that the closest neighbors were 10-acres away. It was hard for me as a city girl not to have neighbors close by. Eventually we sold the property.
When we travel, I appreciate going to see countryside that frees my mind and gives me a sense of tranquility such as Denali in Alaska, Bavaria in Germany, places we passed by in Amsterdam, Longleat and Stonehenge in England.
Denali, Alaska
Bavaria, Germany
Amsterdam
Longleat, England
Stonehenge, England
It was raining when we arrived Anchorage, Alaska, last year. We were apprehensive if there would be a sunny sky in Denali National Park. I was delighted the weather cleared up as the tour bus approached the Park. I took this photo of the clear sky with the bright sun behind the tree, giving me the image of a star on top of a Christmas tree.
On this day in Maui, the clouds drifted on and off in front of the sun. I often come up with images of the shadowy clouds.
I love to take photos of the full moon. On this night, I waited on the driveway of my house for the clouds to clear for the moon. I like the turnout of the jagged and blurry image of the trees. Later that night, I took many photos of the clear full moon.
The heavy traffic contributes to the smog in downtown Los Angeles. The sunset could be an awing color show and the silhouette of the buildings makes a unique framing.
This is one of my favorite sunset photos taken in Key West, Florida. I was running along the waterfront, trying to get a clear view. It turned out the silhouette of the people created a different dimension to the photo.
