Africa – Oh, the Places We See . . .

Lens-Artists Challenge #161: Feet and Shoes

Notable shoes and feet from around the world tell stories and make you take a second look.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #153: Wonderful World

Beauty is the illumination of your soul. John O’Donahue Beginning with a reference to Louis Armstrong’s song “It’s a Wonderful World,” Amy introduced the 153rd Lens-Artists Photo Challenge with the theme of Wonderful World. And indeed what a wonder our world is! No matter your country, your experience, your age, or your vantage point, you […]

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge 147: Kirstenbosch Gardens

If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere. Vincent Van Gogh It was in 2014 that we stumbled upon Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden with a group of friends visiting Cape Town. We had just completed a Habitat for Humanity house in Lesotho and wanted to see a bit of South Africa. Kirstenbosch wasn’t […]

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #139: Special Moments

It was early morning — as half our safaris were at Thornybush Game Reserve, South Africa. We climbed as agilely as newbies could into the open vehicle when there was barely any daylight at all. Chilled by damp air, we pulled up our blanket around us and grabbed hold of the hot water bottles given […]

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #131 – Emotions

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. Charles Spurgeon For this week’s challenge, Patti (P.A. Moed) asked for pictures showing emotions. “Easy,” I thought. But then I realized that most of the photos I take show people who are happy — happy at work or play, with […]

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Discover Prompt 29: List

The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams. Oprah Winfrey Are you a list-maker? A list-follower? Or a little bit of both? During this time of sheltering in place, we’re slowly but surely (well, sort of) checking off a list of things to do. To complete. To put to […]

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Discover Prompt 23: Note

The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have. Anna Quindlen We’ve traveled alone, we’ve traveled with groups, and we’ve traveled with guides. And we can truthfully say that all means of seeing a new place are what you make of it, but of special note is what a native […]

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Discover Prompt 11: Biting into Morocco

If you’d told me I’d be taking a bite of homemade bread made by me and baked in a wood-fired oven in Morocco, I would have thought you were a dreamer, for sure. But that’s exactly what happened during a one-day excursion to the Ourika Valley near Marrakech with Chef Joanne Weir, author of numerous […]

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Discover Prompt 5: Dish

The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives. Anthony Robbins We weren’t expecting satellite dishes in Fes, Morocco. But there they were. Filling the rooftop landscape one round white dish at a time. Forming spherical connections atop layers of centuries-old buildings. Reaching out to the world and […]

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Just hold your nose and go: The Fez Tanneries

Moroccan leather doesn’t just happen to be colorful, soft, and naturally dyed. That’s just how we, the consumers, find it. The real process of softening/dyeing/drying is labor-intensive, to say the least. But thanks to the families who continue to do the work, tanneries like Chouara Tannery in the Fez medina continue to produce highly prized […]