Amy leads this week’s Lens-Artist Photo Challenge. She asks us to share our favorite “time to relax” activity, place or moment. For me, that would be traveling just about anywhere in just about any conveyance. You can read her entire challenge post here. In the opening photo, the scene is Lake Itasca where two canoeists find summer relaxation watching others walking across the rocks. This is a special location. The waters that you see draining from Lake Itasca around those rocks are just beginning a journey of over 2500 miles as this small trickle becomes the Mighty Mississippi River.

This weekend, in Fargo, North Dakota, we are getting ready to host the Navy aerobatic team, The Blue Angels. As I am writing this, I can hear their engines as they overfly our house. It’s rehearsal time and the Angels are soaring. In the shot above, this group has found shade as they relax and await the first signs of the approaching flight team.

It is possible to relax even in crowded spaces. A spot on the beach, some shade and a cold drink are things many people find relaxing. This view of the beach at Grand Turk in the British Virgin Islands is actually less crowded than it appears. It’s plenty crowded, but when you reach out from the pier with a long telephoto lens to capture the beach, the zoom compresses the view making it look worse than it really is, crowd-wise.

Whether it’s the ocean or a lake, river or stream, people like to relax near water. This family finds themselves on horseback walking along the beach at Mazatlan, Mexico. Whatever your favorite mode of relaxation, I hope you take advantage of these long summer days, take a break or three and have a great summer vacation.

John Steiner