Lens Artists Challenge – From Pyrenees to Pennines

Air, Water, Fire, Earth … Metal, Wood

Ask someone in the Western world about the Four Elements, and they might talk to you about Air, Water, Fire and Earth. Ask someone familiar with a Chinese cosmology and Wu Xing, and they would protest that there are five: adding Wood and Metal, and discounting Air. Sofia asks us to look at the five Chinese elements for her Lens-Artists Challenge. This is a big ask. I’ve seen wonderful posts from those who’ve contributed already, as well as Sofia’s own post illustrating elements as seen in the natural world. I’ve decided to focus on those elements as pressed into the service of man.

Let’s start with Air: through which fly aeroplanes (Metal) over the Earth beneath.

Aeroplane trails spotted over Welsh pastureland

And where would our washing lines be without air coursing through our clothes hanging out to dry?

A French washing line. It could be anywhere though.

Or flags, flapping in the breeze?

Outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Water next. Essential in every branch of life, here’s a (Metal) ship ploughing through it.

Fish at Cosmo Caixa Science Museum, Barcelona.

Fire. Trickier, this one. Here’s a blacksmith doing his Metalwork at Tees Valley Pumping Station. This Pumping Station is now consigned to history and the odd Open Day. But in the Victorian era, it existed to provide clean drinking Water to the people of Darlington.

And here is a collection of Metal artefacts and objects we saw when we visited.

Earth next. Without which … no forests, no crops, no bricks no … normal life at all.

Seed planting time. Free lunch for black-headed gulls.

Then there’s wood. One of our oldest building materials. Still the material of choice for window frames, for furniture. Even sometimes for cutlery!

And there we have it. A whistle top tour of the Elements, Western or Chinese style. I think my header photo, by the way, shows a bit of everything. Except perhaps fire. Do visit Sofia’s post, which will lead you in turn to other terrific responses to this challenge.

Primarily Bright

This week, for the Lens-Artists Challenge, Sofia invites us to focus on primary colours: red, yellow and blue. Let’s keep it simple and do just that. Click on any image to enlarge it.

RED

YELLOW

In Galicica National Park, North Macedonia

BLUE

The header image comes from the floor of a room at Tate Liverpool. It’s Jim Lambie’s: Zobop 1999.

Spring in Black and White

This amateur snapshot-ist has just joined a photographic club, and it’s been a smart move. Although the group has got its share of real talent, members are just as welcoming to those of us who bumble about in the shallow end. There are talks from well-travelled and accomplished photographers: but in between, there are workshops. Last week, a member shared his enthusiasm and lots of tips for monochrome photography, and left me with the resolve to keep my camera strictly on black and white for at least a week or two.

So now I’ve got a bit of a job: This week’s Lens-Artists Challenge is all about Spring. Spring – that season when colour returns after the sombre tones of winter, with bright yellow daffodils, celandines and marsh marigolds; the soft pink of blossoms; vivid grassy greens from leaves that push through the ground or from the swelling buds on twiggy branches, and newly-blue skies. And I’ve gone and made monochrome my rule-of-the-day.

It didn’t help that Sunday was a bit cold, rather grey, somewhat windy and really not very spring like. But rules are rules, even if they’re totally self-imposed. Here we go …

Out of the back door, guarded by spring-time pots, along the lane, edged with tree-blossom, still-wintry trees, and passing a bank of white violets .

The sheep know it’s too early to lamb here. They’re still relying on winter feed.

I wander through the grounds of Old Sleningford Hall, and then along the river bank. There’s twisted hazel thinking of bursting its buds, young wild garlic.

Nearly home. How does this ancient tree, almost completely hollow, continue to live, to sprout new growth?

Back in the garden. The hellebores are – apart from the daffodils – making the best showing. We’ll end our walk by enjoying those.

As well as Sophia’s Lens-Artists Challenge, I’ll pop this post in for Bren’s Mid-week Monochrome. And Jo’s Monday Walk. Why not?

It’s all about the light

Tina’s asked us to consider light, in Lens-Artists’ Challenge #162. I decided I could do worse than wander about our own home patch, and go for a stroll that lasted from early morning to evening, from summer to a snowy day and watch how the light changes as the day wears on.

I got into the habit, during lockdown, of getting up bright and early to watch the sun rise. Here it is, over the River Ure.

And here we are, never more than ten minutes away from home, in the morning, at noon, and at sunset.

The last two are taken, firstly on one bright morning when there’d been so much rain the fields had flooded, and then later, one evening just as the sun had set.