January 10, 2021 • 67

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #130: It’s A Small World

Photography helps people to see.~Berenice Abbott

Macro photography has opened up my eyes to another world–a small world, which is startling in its details and its beauty.  Fortunately, our guest host for Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #130 is the talented Anne Sandler who invites us to share some close-up or macro shots.  I will do that with pleasure, Anne!  

Kiwi in the Sun.

This first image of a kiwi fruit was shot earlier this week in my kitchen window on a bright, sunny day. I used my Laowa dedicated macro lens, with 2:1 magnification. It’s a manual lens, which took a bit of getting used to, but I love the results.

Water droplet ballet.

I captured this close-up of raindrops clinging to a spider web with my cell phone one rainy day as I was walking to work.

Wahroonga Beauty.

This close-up of a yellow rose was captured in our friends’ front yard in Wahroonga, New South Wales.

North Fork Lavender

On a trip to a vineyard in the North Fork of Long Island, I stopped for a moment to capture this field of lavender, which swayed in the wind. For a moment, I felt like I was in France.

This selection of antique bottles is housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. I loved the reflections captured in the glass.

After a week of turmoil, strife, death, and heartbreak in the United States, I’m ending my post with the poem, “Small Kindnesses.” This week we have witnessed the destructive and deadly power of hate and fear in the literal home of American democracy. This is shocking, but not all together surprising, giving our current political climate. Many of us are left wondering what’s next and how we can begin to heal from this social rupture. At this time, when we are all hurting and dazed by the magnitude of the rifts in our land, my thought is to start small, for tiny acts of kindness can ripple out to others and gather momentum, like the tide. That’s why I picked this poem, which reminds of us our interconnectedness and how civility binds us together as a people and as a society.

Small Kindnesses
By Danusha Laméris

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk
down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs
to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you”
when someone sneezes, a leftover
from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying.
And sometimes, when you spill lemons
from your grocery bag, someone else will help you
pick them up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other.
We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,
and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile
at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress
to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder,
and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass.
We have so little of each other, now. So far
from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.
What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these
fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here,
have my seat,” “Go ahead — you first,” “I like your hat.”

All of us at Lens-Artists hope that you join us for this week’s Anne Sandler’s challenge LAPC #130–It’s a Small World.  Remember to link your post to Anne’s beautiful post, and use the Lens-Artists tag to help us find you in the Reader.  

Next week, it’s my turn to lead LAPC #131, so please stop by and join the fun on Saturday, January 16 at noon.

I’m so grateful to all of you in our creative community who remind me of the enduring power of creativity and community in these difficult times. Your continued participation, support, enthusiasm, and creativity inspire us!   Have a wonderful, creative week and please stay safe.

Categories: Photography

Tagged as: , , , , ,

67 replies »

  2. That poem is wonderful, Patti. Definitely the little things! Mam always used to say ‘kindness costs nothing’, and she was seldom wrong. She loved roses too, and that’s a beauty! Soldier on, hon. There has to be light at the end of this tunnel. 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks for your encouraging words, Jo, about life and photography!! Our moms are very wise, aren’t they? “Kindness costs nothing,” but it gives us so much in return. You’re right…we will soldier on and look for that light. Take care, too, and enjoy the sunshine!

      Like

      Reply

  6. Your images are wonderful as always Patti, and your post struck the perfect tone in light of current events. I especially loved the spider web (can’t believe you got that with a cell phone!) and of course the bottles. I truly loved the closing poem which really says it all, doesn’t it. Hang in there, this too shall pass.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. Thank you Patti for your moving response to my challenge. I love the spider web and bottles. And the poem you chose reminded me of how small kindnesses can spread. My friend, while wearing her mask, will always tell people, “You can’t see it, but I’m smiling at you!” It will take all of us to fix this mess. Stay safe.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hi, Anne. I’m delighted you like the post and the images. It’s so interesting how photography really helps us to see the world around us. That’s one of the reasons why I love it! I also love how your friend tells people that she’s smiling. I’ve noticed that I watch people’s eyes above the mask and see them crinkle up when people are smiling! Those little signs of kindness and gentleness are so needed when we’re all hurting. It will take all of us to fix this mess–so true. Stay safe, too.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. That’s a wonderful poem Patti, thanks for sharing that. I haven’t used my macro lens in ages – in fact I have rarely used my camera over the past year. One day I shall get my mojo back and in the meantime my phone does OK. The bottles shot is excellent, I really like that one.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I’m glad you’re still using the cell phone camera. It really does feel better to look at the world through the camera lens! Glad you like the bottles. I’m so happy I found it deep in my archives! Take care and I hope you get your mojo back very soon.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. Love those bottles especially, Patti. Now that we’ve had rioting and the attached evils from both/all sides of the political spectrum, could we PLEASE get back to trying to be kind, understanding, and helping each other out while politicians of all ilks spend us into oblivion? It makes me furious that there can’t just be a bill to give Covid relief without attaching a million other things to it, having it be close to 6,000 pages, and then pass it without any time to actually read it. I’m so sick of government right now and that includes most people from all parties.

    janet

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hi, Janet. I know what you mean about the government. It’s infuriating how little gets accomplished–especially for those in need and in areas that really need effective decisions and leadership. So sad. But thanks for your kind words and for your thoughtful comments. Here’s hoping we can pass along these little acts of kindness. All of us are hurting during these times. Take care and stay well.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. “Small Kindnesses” is beautiful and comforting, Patti; so much needed today. Each image says gently of these kindneees. I love the Kiwi in the sun, the web is truly amazing, and the raindrops on the rose is how I feel about this week of turmoil, and lavender made me smile (I tried to watercolor a bucket of Lavender last week 🙂 ). The reflections captured in the glass is a masterpiece. I’m in love with this post.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. Small kindnesses and friendships sustain the soul. Hello to you from your friends in Grand Rapids, Kathy and Bart. Your stunning macro photographs have led us to pause and reflect on the beauty that still remains in this world. Be well!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Wonderful to hear from you, Kathy! I’m so glad that this post “spoke” to you. Yes, I believe we must find the beauty in the world–wherever and whenever we can. Take care and be well, too!

      Like

      Reply

    • Hi, Siobhan. I’m so glad I saw that spider web when I was walking from the parking lot to the office. It is so beautiful, isn’t it? Thanks as always for your kind and thoughtful comments! Take care and be well.

      Like

      Reply

    • Thanks so much, Anne! I’m delighted you like it. I agree. It’s overwhelming to look at the big picture. I do for a while and then I retreat into the small things! Take care and stay well.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Hi, IJ. Glad you like them! Thanks so much. I am fascinated by the reflections in the bottles, too. There are many layers. It reminds me of a prism in a way. The kiwi is fun, isn’t it? Such a cheerful little fruit!! So glad to hear from you and I always appreciate your thoughtful comments.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  20. Patti, that spider web photo is so, so beautiful. It reminds me of string a lights on a Christmas tree. The yellow rose is very beautiful too and the kiwi fruit leaps out.
    Thank you also for sharing the poem. Hopefully concentrating on what’s possible, small kindnesses, will help with the journey ahead.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. Wonderful photos and I loved the fact that your first was taken with a specialist lens and the second with a phone – a perfect illustration of the fact that it’s not the equipment that matters so much as the photographer 🙂

    I also love that poem, which I’d not come across before. Would you mind awfully if I lifted it to share on a Facebook I run? It’s called One Small Thing – I set it up at the start of the first lockdown and the aim is for members to share one small thing, daily or whenever they want, that has given them a lift or brightened their day. I’m sure everyone there would identify with the sentiment in the poem.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  27. Your selections are fantastic for this challenge. It’s amazing that I love the raindrops on the spider web best — not because of the subject but because you’re at expert level in using an iPhone! Nice job. But I also love those glass bottles. How fortunate that you looked at these and noted that the subject would be great for a photo! Nice job all around!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, Rusha! I don’t know about being an expert, but I love the ease of use of the Google Pixel phone. Great quality, too. And I’m glad you like the bottles. That was a lucky find. I’ll looking forward to catching up and seeing your post, too.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  28. Pingback: Lens-ArtistPC-130-Its-a-Small-World – WoollyMuses

Don't Be Shy! Drop Me A Line.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.