Photography – Photography in Pearls

Photo Challenge – Lens-Artists: Planes, Trains and Automobiles and the Places They Take Us

This week John has given us a challenge involving modes of transportation and the places they take us.

I found this 1931 Ford Model A at a local festival a couple of years ago. It was being displayed by the son of the original owner.

Anyone for a guided tour of Charleston?

Bikes are for rent to get around the campus of the Medical University of South Carolina and the College of Charleston.

It’s a steep trip on the Incline on the way up and down Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Hot air balloon rides were available at a festival outside Ravenell, South Carolina. The lines were very long so we didn’t wait around.

Windsurfing isn’t a typical way to get around but it looks like a cool way to spend a day at the beach.

My grandson is a huge fan of anything with wheels. I designed and made this blanket for him for Christmas and it’s the only blanket he’ll sleep with now. It’s available for sale at https://www.zazzle.com/store/collections_by_pearl

You can see responses from other bloggers here: https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/2022/09/03/lapc-215-planes-trains-and-automobiles/

You can see more of my photography here: http://photographyinpearls.photoshelter.com

September 8, 2022 by Gina Categories: Photo ChallengeTags: Blanket, Cars, Chattanooga, Fire Engines, Horse and Carriage, Hot Air Balloons, Incline, Lens-Artists, Model A, Photography, Police Cars, Rent-A-Bike, School Bus, Trains, Windsurfing 3 Comments

Photo Challenge – Lens-Artists: Surreal

Our host this week is Tracy and she has asked us to create some marvelous surrealism mayhem with our photos. This sounded like so much fun so I decided to play along this week. It also meant brushing up on some Photoshop techniques and getting creative. In any event, don’t believe what you think you see.

First up is a photo I did of my grandson several years ago. I think he was around 3 years old. I was learning how to move and transport images in and out of photos and thought it was really cool to place him with this red dragonfly.

*Next up is a beautiful purple Salvia. I extruded the pixels somewhat to give it a slightly blurred touch.*

The image above is one taken on a typically crowded day at the beach. To be honest, the original picture is nothing to write home about but I like the painterly touches added and especially love the woman in the blue hat.

The photo above was taken several years ago and is one of several of a series of a great white egret coming in for a landing on a very gray day. Here, I’ve duplicated the bird, reflected it and smoothed out the reflection in the water to make it appear as if they are dancing or at least going in for a hug.

This photo started out as some overhead beams and using a Photoshop effect I’ve not used before, I think I’ve given this an underwater effect.

And lastly, I had so much fun with the technique above, I decided to try it again. This photo started off as a psychedelic gradient I did years ago and I think because of the colors, it’s my favorite from the series – but then again, it could be the egrets.

Thank you Tracy for the prompt. You’ve inspired me to play some more with Photoshop.

You can see responses from other bloggers here: https://reflectionsofanuntidymind.blog/2022/07/24/lens-artists-challenge-209-surreal/

You can see more of my photography here: http://photographyinpearls.photoshelter.com

July 26, 2022 by Gina Categories: Photo ChallengeTags: Lens-Artists, Photography, Photoshop, Surreal, Surrealism 18 Comments

Photo Challenge – Lens-Artists: Local Vistas

Our prompt this week is “Local Vistas”. I dove into my archives on a scavenger hunt.

At the southern tip of Pawleys Island is a public park where we frequently take our grandchildren when they come to visit. The ocean side is perfect for long walks, playing in the water or relaxing under the tent.

The creek side is much calmer. You’ll find families on jet skis, fishing, boating or trying to catch bait.

Just north of the park are private homes and you can see where groins have been placed to prevent beach erosion. Since this photo was taken in 2017, several hurricanes have hit this beach and caused severe erosion. A large renourishment project in 2020 widened the beach pumping over 1 million cubic yards of sand on the beach. The groins are no longer visible which can give you an idea of the size of the beach widening.

More private homes are just south of the park/creek. Lawsuits have been filed recently accusing the beach renourishment project of causing severe erosion to the beaches and property to the south. You can read more here: https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/article262480702.html

We’re in hurricane season again and NOAA forecast calls for 14 to 21 Named Storms with 6 to 10 becoming hurricanes and 3 to 6 becoming major hurricanes. Even the milder storms cause erosion so my local vista is constantly changing.

You can see responses from other bloggers here: https://wordpress.com/tag/lens-artists

You can see more of my photography here: https://photographyinpearls.photoshelter.com/index

June 16, 2022 by Gina Categories: Photo ChallengeTags: Beach Erosion, Lens-Artists, Local Vistas, Pawleys Island, Photography 8 Comments

Photo Challenge – Lens-Artists: Light and Shadow

The prompt this week is Light and Shadow – one of my favorite topics. The right lighting makes a picture perfect but it can also be one of the hardest skills for a photographer to learn.

Getting the light right is something I struggle with every time I pull out my camera. There’s no strict formula – at least one that I know of. It’s usually just a “guestimate” and then a couple of clicks one way and then a couple a clicks the other way until I’m satisfied with what I see in the viewfinder.

If you look closely enough, I swear this turtle is giving me the evil eye.

There’s so many features to consider – aperture, shutter speed, angles, ISO, distance etc. One certainty is to try and avoid the sunniest part of the day but I got extremely lucky with the two photos above.

The photo above is the window where my dad and his Sunday School class sat during church. I was visiting mom one night and when we went out for dinner, I saw the church lights on so I was able to get my first stained glass photography. That took lots of trial and error before I got it right.

You can see responses from other bloggers here: https://pilotfishblog.com/2022/05/07/lapc-198-light-and-shadow/

You can see more of my photography here: https://photographyinpearls.photoshelter.com/index

May 11, 2022 by Gina Categories: Photo ChallengeTags: Fish, Lens-Artists, Light, Photography, Shadow, Stained Glass, Turtle 8 Comments

Photo Challenge – Lens-Artists: Artificial Light

Our challenge this week is to share photos of artificial light. Ann-Christine’s choice of a prompt was chosen as she realized that we in the Northern Hemisphere are moving away from the sun and would need more artificial light soon. I went searching in my files and found several ideas but settled on photos of the artificial lights at the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and Broadway at the Beach. And then I decided to present them in black and white.

The board walk is at the heart of the downtown area and is lit up most of the year. The sky wheel is a big attraction at the boardwalk. After 10 years of service, it was dismantled in January and sent for renovations and upgrades. It should be ready for the 2022 tourist season. It’s over 200 feet high and enclosed with glass which makes it a great spot for photography.

The three photos above and the one below were taken at Broadway at the Beach. It was December, wet and chilly. I only saw a few people out but the ferris wheel was still running.

In the photo below, you can see what the locals call “the upside down house”. Rumor has it that this building was once a top-secret laboratory located in the Bermuda Triangle. An experiment didn’t go as planned, lifted the building and carried it to Myrtle Beach where it landed upside down. I’ve also heard that it was a hurricane that brought it here. It’s a science/entertainment site and the little ones will enjoy it. We took our oldest grandson there years ago and the other three will be old enough and tall enough soon for a visit there.

You can see responses from other bloggers here : https://lagottocattleya.wordpress.com/2021/09/18/lens-artists-challenge-166-artificial-light/

You can see more of my photography here: http://photographyinpearls.photoshelter.com

September 23, 2021 by Gina Categories: Photo ChallengeTags: Artificial Light, Black and White, Ferris Wheels, Lens-Artists, Monochrome, Myrtle Beach, Photography, Upside Down House 11 Comments

Photo Challenge – Lens-Artists: It’s All About the Light

Lighting is probably the most important element of a good photograph. As photographers, we learn the best time of day for the best lighting and we also learn to manipulate it. Our manipulations can be dramatic or subtle. Today I’ve chosen subtle.

What can be better than a walk through Brookgreen Gardens at the height of Spring? Our grandson was visiting over his spring break from school and a walk through their zoo was a perfect excuse to enjoy the weather.

You can see responses from other bloggers here: https://travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com/2021/08/21/lens-artists-challenge-162-its-all-about-the-light/

You can see more of my photography here: https://photographyinpearls.photoshelter.com/index

August 27, 2021 by Gina Categories: Photo ChallengeTags: Flowers, Lens-Artists, Light, Photography 10 Comments

Photo Challenge – Lens-Artists: Spring

So this week our challenge is to get outside and take some photos of Spring. Yay! With warm weather now outside and being fully vaccinated, I needed no further encouragement to grab my camera and head out to Brookgreen Gardens.

The colors were absolutely beautiful and although there were some empty beds, the air was filled with the perfume of the flowers.

I stopped at the outside kitchen to take a break and grab some water and a cookie (chocolate chip – delicious!) and watched these little birds stroll back and forth looking for crumbs.

You can find responses from other bloggers here: https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/2021/04/10/lapc-4/

April 15, 2021April 21, 2021 by Gina Categories: Photo ChallengeTags: Birds, Brookgreen Gardens, Floral, Flowers, Lens-Artists, Photography 13 Comments

Photo Challenge – Lens-Artists: Geometry

Our prompt this week is geometry – a course I barely passed in high school. The shapes themselves are beautiful but figuring out the formula to measure, etc just wasn’t interesting to me.

I originally pulled out photos of bridges, piers and flowers, etc to share but my brain did a complete 180 degree turn on me. Because of some health issues and the pandemic, I haven’t been able to get out to take photographs. I’ve been reading a lot (My mom and aunt like the same kinds of books I do so we pass them back and forth.) and taking a couple of online classes to learn how to draw – something I’ve always wanted to do. Well, I still can’t draw by hand but drawing with the computer is going much better.

Aren’t these the coolest things? The computer figures it all out for you once you learn what values to input.

Once you learn how to make the shapes, you can learn how to make patterns from them. My grandson, who is now 5, has about a thousand little cars which were the inspiration for the pattern on the right. You have to be very careful walking through his room or take a chance of stepping on one and taking a fall.

And last is a project done for a watercolor class. Happy Easter!