Capture the Colour 2013

Oh, the Places We See — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 02:22:20 +0000

Travel, for us, has become more than a mere pastime — we now plan trips deliberately with the idea that we need to see as much of this world as we can while we can. So, we’re connecting with worlds unknown not just through our own adventures but also through those of fellow bloggers — like Terri and James Vance of Gallivance, who nominated us for the Capture the Colour 2013 Photoblogging Challenge sponsored by Travel Supermarket.

If you’ve been following us this past week, you may be among those who looked each day at three photos and voting for your favorites to submit in each of the five color categories — blue, yellow, red, white, and green. You have been awesome! Thanks for your support and for comments and votes.

So here are our entries in the competition!

Blue

Nepali Schoolgirl

When we visited Bhabiskya Ujjwal Primary School in Kavre, Nepal, one child captured our hearts. Her soulful eyes, rumpled blue uniform, and smudgy face reminded us of little girls everywhere who relish a day when school books are abandoned for a brief visit by grown-ups from America. She followed us to the edge of the schoolyard where we took her picture standing near one of the older children.

Location: Kavre, Nepal

Yellow

Sunrise at Pawleys

Taken from the widow’s walk atop our beach rental rental in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, this photo reveals the warm yellow rays of morning sun against the silhouettes of other rooftops around us. What a great way to start the day . . . facing the Atlantic!

Location: Pawleys Island, South Carolina

White

Terra Cotta Warriors Facing the Light of Day

In Xian, China, unearthed Terra Cotta Warriors stand tall in an enormous windowed structure resembling an airport hangar built around them. When we visited, natural morning light streamed into the room, changing the stoic, stone gray figures to white sentinels ready for visitors in awe of this amazing archaeological find.

Location: Xian, China

Green

Greens for Goats

While boarding the bus in rural Nepal, I noticed something coming down the road. Hurriedly, I fumbled through my bag to grab my camera just in time to snap this lady and her strapped-on bundle of green leaves and sticks. And then she was gone — moving nimbly up the mountainside to her home. It’s really quite common, our interpreter told us. All the women here gather greenery for their goats.

Location: Near Dhulikhel, Nepal

Red

Welcome to Nepal

Upon our arrival in Nepal to build a mud and stone house for Habitat for Humanity International, we were greeted by ladies dressed in red bearing strings of marigolds to lay around our necks. Surprisingly, they also brought a red, gloppy concoction which they scooped up and smudged onto our foreheads. Namaste, they said. And then we knew. We weren’t family, of course, but we were as welcome as any Americans could be.

Location: Near Dhulikhel, Nepal

* * * * *

And now, according to the rules of the challenge, we get to nominate five other bloggers to enter Capture the Colour 2013. Here are my nominees.

Tina at Travels and Trifles

Connie at Clicky Chick Creates

Jean at Jean’s Photography Blog

Laurie at Pride in Photos

Jessie at Behind the Willows

Thanks again to all who participated. We’ve enjoyed hearing from so many as we looked through our photos and relived favorite moments.

Rusha and Bert Sams

P. S. To follow the conversation about Capture the Colour 2013, use the Twitter hashtag #CTC13.

Filed under: Blogging Challenge, Photography, Travel Tagged: Capture the Colour: 2013, China, Gallivance, Nepal, Pawleys Island, photography, South Carolina, Terra Cotta Warriors, Xian

Help us decide: Capture the Colour 2013 — White

Oh, the Places We See — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 20:25:26 +0000

We extend our appreciation to all who have clicked onto our blogs this week and voted for pictures for the Capture the Colour 2013 Photo Challenge sponsored by TravelSupermarket.com. We’ve been nominated by Terri and James Vance of Gallivance whose entry is colorful and quite artistic, so check it out also. (To see their photo challenge, click here.)

Each day, we post three photos on one of the color themes required by the challenge: blue, yellow, white, green and red. At the end of the week, we’ll take your suggestions and select one of each color to submit. Please vote by leaving a message in the Comments section at the bottom of this post or on Facebook. And thanks to all of you who have done so!

If you’ve missed the first two, here are links to those posts:

BLUE: http://ohtheplaceswesee.com/2013/09/22/help-us-decide-capture-the-colour-2013-blue/

YELLOW: http://ohtheplaceswesee.com/2013/09/23/help-us-decide-capture-the-colour-2013-yellow/

TODAY’S VOTE: WHITE

And here are today’s entries for the category WHITE. (There are FOUR this time — we had a hard time deciding!)

1. Stonecutter in Nepal

When we joined a team from Knoxville to build stone and mud houses in Nepal for Habitat for Humanity International, we met several men busy at work planning the foundation, finding the right stones, digging the mud for the mortar, and cutting the cornerstones. This stonecutter remained quietly aloof for about three days as he wasn’t sure what to make of us. But as I “talked” to him using facial expressions and hand gestures, he warmed up to me and even allowed me to hand him suitable stones. When he nodded that I could finally take his picture, I didn’t hesitate. This photo, of a stonecutter dressed in white, remains one of my prize takeaways from the experience.

2. Southern Magnolia in Full Bloom

Sometimes the best pictures can be found in your own backyard. This creamy white magnolia blossom showing off its ever-increasing shades of brown as it reaches maturity just begged to be photographed.

3. Terra Cotta Warriors Facing the Light of Day

In Xian, China, unearthed Terra Cotta Warriors are housed in an enormous windowed structure resembling an airport hangar. When we visited, natural morning light was just beginning to stream into the room, changing the stoic, stone gray figures to white sentinels ready for visitors in awe of this amazing archaeological find.

4. Reconstruction

At the site of the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is an area called “the hospital” where shards are put together like an enormous 3-D puzzle. As pieces form warriors or horses, the reconstructions (like this one standing in the white light) may be able to stand on their own, as if they are waiting for someone to find the final pieces to make them whole again.

P. S. Please leave us a comment below and vote for your favorite! Check back tomorrow for our GREEN entries. Thanks!