Smiles & shakes – Lens Artists Photo Challenge #67 – Candid

This weeks challenge from the Lens-Artists is:

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. Even if my choices here are mostly in B&W, of course feel free to use what you find most suitable for your shots!

So, this week I thought we would go for candid photos of people or animals – Have fun with the challenge, and we are looking forward to seeing your candid finds!

This sort of challenge is hard for me, I rarely ask people if I can photograph them, friends are usually aware I have my camera with me, and so even if at times they are unaware that I am taking the shot, is this true candid photography.

Sometimes I find I have taken a Candid photo quite by accident, and where the figure is identifiable I am left with the quandary of  what to do with the photo, can I use it, as I did not subsequently ask their permission to use it.  Animals are eaisier they nearly always give their meow or woof of consent.

Anyway here is a photo from a recent trip to St. Ives when I walked around with Focus set manually to a few feet and snapped away, in search of interesting street scenes.

‘Smiles & shakes’, St. Ives, 2019.

Ken

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501603 – Lens Artists Photo Challenge #66 – Filling the Frame

This weeks challenge from the Lens-Artists is:

This week, we invite you to explore filling the frame for Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #66.  You can include images of buildings, people, objects, and/or elements from nature.  Feel free to include shots of the same subject before you filled the frame and after you filled the frame.

Well I did not even have to try to think about how I would compose this shot, as the bull decided he would fill the frame for me!  It looks a lot more scary than when I took it a minimal crop at 18mm so I was quite close!

‘501603’, Anglesey, 2019.

Ken

Wild and tame – Lens Artists Photo Challenge #64 – Countryside and/or Small Towns

This weeks challenge from the Lens-Artists is:

Tina, Patti, Ann-Christine, and I [Amy] are looking forward to seeing your photos and reading stories of countryside and/or a small town.

I would say that at lest 50% of my photos could fit into this category as I live fairly rural, and my holidays usually take me to rural places, in search of ancient stones I tramp across wild open spaces, through forests, past lakes, up and down hill and mountain, and along public pathways.  Farmland and the ever patient farmers with the walkers on the land are a recurrent theme.  I live in Wales so I have access to some of the UK’s best countryside and small towns, even our big towns and cities are small :).

The countryside and our towns can be both wild and tame, so here are a few photos for you about what this means to me.

‘Cerrig Duon View’, Brecon Beacons, 2019.

‘Brecon stream’, Brecon Beacons, 2019.

‘Working’, Anglesey, 2019.

‘601555’, Anglesey, 2019.

‘Beaumaris’, Anglesey, 2014.

Ken

Merry Magic – Lens Artists Photo Challenge #63 – Magical

This weeks challenge from the Lens-Artists is:

But Magical can mean so many different things to everyone of us – At Lens-Artists, we have already had Magical Light as a theme, (last year) but this time it is all up to you! What is Magical to you? People, places, things, nature, adventures, moments… – this week we are looking forward to having some of Your magic!

I think it might be fair to say that most of you have realised that I find monumental ancient places magical.  There is a mystery around their purpose, how and why they were constructed, in the locations they were. What went on here? would there architects approve of my visit, my capturing of this place, and my interpretation both mental and visual?  Surely this would be seen as magic.

I still find the ability to capture images of what we see magical, it was magical when it was chemical and mechanical, and it is still magical now it is captured by a small electronic box.  It is now made even more magical by the fact that I can perform so many interesting tricks after the image has been captured, a magic that once could not be performed at home nor in the studio in many cases.  Once we had to send our undeveloped film off to the chemical magician, and wait for the sound of that small packet hitting the doorstep.  For those lucky enough we could perform this magic in our own homes, the smell of developing fluid and fixative in our nostrils and under that magical red bulb.  I do sometimes miss those days.

So here is a photo of the Merry Maidens in Cornwall, an especially magical place as this is where I proposed to my wife, the thought of asking someone to share their life with you, and the in the asking and answering a magical contract made between two souls.

Ken

Gull – Lens Artists Photo Challenge #62 – Silhouettes

This weeks challenge from the Lens-Artists is:

This week, we invite you to explore silhouettes for Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #62. Feel free to include silhouettes of buildings, people, objects, and/or elements from nature.

‘Gull’, St. Ives, 2019.

Ken

Roswell & Falco – Lens Artists Photo Challenge #61 – Precious Pets

This weeks challenge from the Lens-Artists is:

For the past few weeks our challenge has addressed a number of photography skills – framing a shot, finding different perspectives and combining multiple elements in a single image. This week, let’s relax a bit and share something just for fun – our precious pets.

Here are our two cats, Roswell loves having his photo taken, while Falco tends to move at the last moment, or even the first moment!  They are most definitely our ‘Precious Pets’.

‘Roswell’

‘Falco’

Ken

Poppy eye – Lens Artists Photo Challenge #57 – Taking a break

This weeks challenge from the Lens-Artists is:

How many ways can you think of for getting away from the daily grind and finding peace? Show us your views on “taking a break”

We recently took a break visiting both Anglesey and part of Yorkshire, fitting in both parents on our travels, and general having quite an active break.  However there was time to sit, relax, eat ice cream, and take a few photos :).

‘Poppy eye’, Beningbrough Hall, 2019.

Ken

Cemaes Bay – Lens Artists Photo Challenge #55 – Seascapes or Lakeshores

This weeks challenge from the Lens-Artists was:

I’m hosting this week’s L-A photo challenge. Tina, Patti, Ann-Christine, and I are looking forward to your photos of seascapes and/or lakeshores, which may be taken from a fun vacation or the sea/lake near you. Feel free to include the water front, the shoreline, waves, people, reflections …

We sat here eating chips in the van, looking out into the distance.

‘Cemaes Bay’ Anglesey, 2019.

Ken

Soft Sky – Lens Artists Photo Challenge #55 – Dreamy

This weeks challenge from the Lens-Artists was:

so this week’s challenge is  – Dreamy.

I could have sat under this sky for hours.

‘Soft Sky’, Cairn holy, Dumfries and Galloway, 2018.

Ken

Mosaic – Lens Artists Photo Challenge #54 – Detail

This weeks challenge from the Lens-Artists was:

Here’s one way to solve this dilemma–focus on detail–our theme for Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #54.   Sometimes one or two small details can convey the big story.

So from our Holiday last week, a visit to Aldborough Roman town, a lot of detail here:

‘Mosaic’, Aldborough, 2019.

Ken