A while back (July 2021,) Beth of Wandering Dawgs featured a challenge called “Along Back Country Roads.” It reminded me of the Robert Frost Poem, “The Road Not Taken.” As an inveterate traveler, that challenge was easy for me as I spend lots of time on those back country roads, not only in my home state but in my travels as well.
This week’s theme is metaphoric–and not about a physical road. For this week’s challenge, I want you to think of your favorite type or style of photography as the road you’ve chosen to take most often. For me, it’s landscape photography as it fits so well with my traveling soul. My examples are all landscapes, but I want to see in what style you like to photograph best.
For my opening photo, the Tower of Hercules is an ancient Roman lighthouse in A Coruña, Spain. All of these images were recently processed and all but two were processed specifically to feature in this challenge. They were taken on cruise excursions from London to Rome in October 2022.
Before boarding our cruise ship at Southampton, England, we flew into London to tour the city for a couple of days. On one of our evening walks, we dined at a restaurant near a small marina near the Tower of London. I captured this image of the marina with my Samsung S20U phone.
In the province of Cádiz, in Andalusia, Spain, Arcos de la Frontera is located on the top of sheer cliffs that are high above the banks of the Guadalete river and the farmland below. One of my favorite things to do with landscape images is to use Lightroom’s Panorama mode to merge two images together to make an ultrawide view.
From the balcony of our cruise ship cabin, while docked in Lisbon, I captured a panoramic view of the city and again merged the two cell phone pictures in Lightroom.
Our excursion out of Lisbon featured a trip to a winery and, according to the tour description, “majestic views.” Well, as it turned out, the only sunny days on our cruise were after we departed the cruise ship in Rome. Though we didn’t see much rain on the excursions, it was cloudy every day. Probably the lowest clouds we encountered were on our excursion out of Lisbon. It was made worse by the fact that part of the tour was in the highest altitudes encountered on our journeys. This large compound, opened in 1542, is a former convent, now part of Arrábida Natural Park. The resulting views from the high terrain were, I’ll just say something less than majestic.
Rio Mandeo winds through the city of Betanzos, Spain. Our excursion put us on a bus to visit this old town located in a fertile valley relatively close to the cruise port in A Coruña, Spain. If you’ve ever been on a tour bus and tried to capture images through a bus window that is highly tinted, you can do what I did here. The image from my cell phone was almost completely lacking in shades of red and was strong in blue and green. It didn’t look good at all, even when trying to tweak the white and color balance controls in Lightroom. I converted the image to black-and-white and then used the HSL filter to give the image a sepia tone. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. >grin<
One of two landscapes I featured in a previous post, this image of the old bridge is one of my favorites of the trip. There is a very little history of this bridge online, so I couldn’t provide many details in my original Cellpic Sunday post.
Our only stop in France found us on the French Riviera. This beautiful coastline at Saint Tropez was popular with artists and in the 1960s became a mecca for jet setters. Once a thriving fishing village, there are now far more yachts and tour boats than there are commercial fishing vessels.
The wall on the right separates Vatican City from Rome, our last stop on our Mediterranean cruise. The three-arch bridge in the photo was opened in 1911. Named after the King of Italy who reigned from 1861 to 1878, the bridge features four towers, each carrying bonze Winged Victory sculptures. The span is 350 feet (108 m) in length.
I’ve bored you enough with my vacation photos. Now it’s time for you to show us your favorite “road” in photography. Consider a favorite photographic style like low key/high key, monochrome, etc. Maybe a genre of photography like a preference for architecture, still life, portraiture, etc. Whatever your preference, we’d love to see your images captured in your favorite style or genre.
Thanks to Tina for last week’s challenge, Finding Peace, and I will look forward to seeing your posts for this week. My wife and I will be leaving in a few days on another journey, again to regions that don’t always have the best Internet connections. If I don’t respond to your challenge response right away, I will do so when I have a decent Internet connection.
For 2K HD views of my gallery this week, you can click on any image above, or visit my Flickr album here. Next week, Sofia hosts. If you would like to join in on the challenge but aren’t quite sure how to get started, click here for details.
John Steiner
Not boring at all John 🙂
Thanks, Brian!
Nice pics, thank you! Do you see a difference in stitching two photos compared to taking a panorama shot in the first place?
From my Nikon and Sony cameras, I shoot in RAW format and the cameras don’t have a panoramic mode so I learned to use Lightroom for the task.
Even though I usually shoot from my cellphone in JPG mode and the phone would do a panorama for me, I continue to create them via Lightroom as I am used to the procedure.
I’ve never tried to compare which method might be better. That could be an interesting thing to try. Maybe you’ve given me an idea for a future post. 🙂
Amazing landscape images! Thanks for the challenge!
Thank you! Looking forward to seeing everyone’s response!
Great theme John.
Love your landscapes.
Côte St Katharine Docks is my favourite.
Thanks, Philo!
You are welcome John
Wonderful photos, John, and so much useful information even though I don’t understand much of it. When I read all the technical information most of you put out each Saturday, I realize more than ever that I’m but a rank amateur who doesn’t know anything about photography!! Perhaps that will be something I can work on over the next years. Or not. Who knows? 🙂 Today I particularly like the first shot, the one of the bridge, and the harbor shot right after it.
janet
Like most avocations, photography is filled with jargon. Many of us forget that when we write our posts and often don’t always realize when they leave newcomers in the dark.
As I look through this post, I see I used a few such terms and TLAs (three-letter-acronyms) that are a mystery to many people. Feel free to take me to task in the comments and ask me to define the terms I use. As a former teacher, I should know better. 🙂
I didn’t mean that at all, John. I’m still in auto with my Nikon and use Picasa for editing so you can tell my level. 😁. I just realize there’s a lot for me to learn.
I still use Auto on my cellphone most of the time. I just got a new phone with a more sophisticated camera and three years newer technology. I’m going back to school via YouTube videos before we head overseas.
Excellent. I love that bridge reflection at Betanzos.
Thanks, John. It’s one of my favorites in recent images, if I say so myself. Maybe that’s why I’ve shared it more than once. >grin<
Fabulous! The topic is right up my alley 😀..or so I think 😉. Going to look up in my treasure trove right after finishing some chores!
I am looking forward to your images! Thanks, PR!
I know how disappointing it is to have cloudy days when you’re traveling. But you’ve still captured great shots, John, despite Mother Nature not cooperating. Sometimes those moody skies provide great backdrops and are very dramatic. I’ve got to try stitching a panorama in PS. I’m lazy, and just use the feature on my Pixel! You’ve given me something to experiment with. I’m off to finish my post now! Safe travels!
Thanks, Patti. Sometimes the cloudy skies work and sometimes they don’t. It’s then I’ve had occasion to try sky replacement. I always “fess up” when I perform that trick, however.
The next time you are out and about with your camera, try a few two-shot panoramas where the subject overlaps by about a third. Once the panorama is created, then you can crop it for the best composition. I’ll be looking forward to seeing one from you in an upcoming challenge. 🙂
I’ll try it John. Thanks!
[…] in your archive and find some images, you can publish your images on your blog and set a link to John’s inspiration post. Don’t forget to tag it with LENS-ARTIST, so we can find […]
A wonderful idea, John.
Thanks, André!
You’re welcome, John 😊
Stunning landscapes, John. And I love the journeys through your lens. This time you took me “home”. I loved a short distance from Arcos in the late 90’s and loved our trips there. So many wonderful memories that I revisited though your photos, Portugal too.Honestly, I loved the one you turned to sepia. You are right, sometimes you gotta do… This time is was the right thing to do. Thanks again. And I love the challenge. We see so many photographers in this challenge, it will be nice to see how they define themselves, with your encouragement. Safe travels.
I am already blown away by the fabulous images I’ve seen in the responses so far. Thanks, Donna!
[…] For John’s lens-artists photo challenge. […]
Such nice photos John and an interesting challenge for this week too.
Thanks, Anne!
[…] week, John challenges us to think about, The Road (Most Often) Taken as it relates to our photography. Have you ever thought about what your favorite type or style of […]
[…] join us with your own response to his thought-provoking challenge. Be sure to link to his original here, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Thanks also to those who responded to my […]
I can see why landscapes are your favorites John! I loved your bridge images as well as the St. Tropez image. One of the things I love about photography is it serves as a reminder of our favorite times, people and places! My response this week is here https://travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com/2023/03/11/lens-artists-challenge-240-the-road-most-often-taken/
Memories are certainly the main focus of my images, memories of interesting places we’ve visited and the connections we’ve made, however fleeting.
I love landscapes. There’s something about them, a little detached from the action, that creates a feeling of tranquility. These are beautiful shots. The Convent of Our Lady of Arrábida is awe-inspiring with the ocean in the distance.
Thanks, Dan! I rekindled my interest in photography through landscapes, so I appreciate your compliment. I worked hard in photo editing to bring out the details on that oh-so-hazy day.
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[…] To travel down the roads of other lens artists visit John’s page. […]
Stunning shots John, I particularly like The Old Bridge and The Rio Mandeo, but they are all gorgeous. I went with my current fad, monochrome.
I’ve already checked out your post and I can see you have a beautiful collection of black-and-white images you shared. Thanks for joining in. I am looking forward to following your work.
[…] Posted as part of Lens-Artists: The Road Most often taken […]
Great post and a very interesting challenge.
Thanks, Ana!
[…] Posted for John’s Lens-Artists Challenge […]
I have to say, John, you were probably very unlucky with the weather in Portugal/Spain. Such a shame, but sometimes I enjoy the drama given by dark clouds. It did no harm to your photos, but it might not have been the best weather to enjoy the sights… I always love your landscapes and these are no different. Brilliant post.
Here is mine:
Thanks, Sofia. Sometimes I think those dark clouds just follow me. But you are correct that they can provide me an opportunity to completely change the mood in a typical image of a location that is most often seen elsewhere in bright, sunny light.
I always love your landscapes, John, and these are no exceptions. The bridges are my favourites this time. And you made a great sepia out of that bus window scenery. Great challenge, and I am still thinking of what road to take…
Thanks, Ann-Christine! I know you’ll come up with some beautiful examples, whatever genre you choose.
https://sillarit.com/2023/03/12/lens-artists-photography-challenge-240-the-road-taken/
Beautiful photos John, the bridges and boat got my attention. The sepia shot used old time charm.
Thanks for the compliment, and thanks for joining in. ! I’ve already visited your site. Nice work!
[…] (For Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: the road most often taken) […]
[…] This week’s Lens Artists Photo Challenge 240 is hosted by John Steiner. He invites to show my favorite type or style of photography as the road I have chosen to take most often. And that creates a bit of a problem for me. I need direction. […]
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[…] (Johnbo leads.) […]
[…] Sunday! This week, John from Journeys with Johnbo is the host for this week’s Lens-Artists challenge. Instead of a physical road, the theme he […]
[…] photography, and now that John asks much the same question about our favourite style or genre, the road we most often take, my answer remains the […]
I’m certainly not bored seeing your photos – I always love to see where others have travelled and what they saw and experienced there! Funnily enough, my favourite shot in this set is of the convent in Portugal – you may have deplored the way the weather obscured the view but I feel it’s given the image lots of atmosphere and depth 🙂
Here’s my contribution – I think you’ll be able to guess the ‘road’ I’ve chosen: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/gallery-the-roads-i-take/
Thanks, Sarah! Travelers who move quickly from place to place get to experience the weather as it is. I am not a photographer that has the luxury of waiting around for the “perfect” shot. I’ve learned to accept things as they are when I get there.
Exactly – me too!
Fabulous cruise trips! These landscape photos are amazing. Love the bridge image especially.
I should have my post ready later. 🙂
I will be looking forward to it!
[…] Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – The road most often taken […]
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Hi John, I love your landscapes and marvel that you can do so many things with them. Combining them into one photo is something I’ve never tried. Wow! I love the sepia-colored one. You always have such great ideas to try. I’m afraid my road traveled is more of what to travel in. You will enjoy them and recognize some of the places, for sure. We sure miss you here in AZ! https://alwayswrite.blog/2023/03/08/wq-10-identifying-what-is-rare-and-precious-to-you/
Thanks, Marsha! I’ve already checked out your post and was reminded how much I miss those classic cars I saw every January. Thank you for sharing them.
Isn’t that funny? We were probably reading each other’s post at exactly the same time! LOL
Hi, John. I’m back with a link to my post…. I’m enjoying following all the different roads in your challenge. L)
There are so many interesting and beautiful “roads” we’ve seen already and the week has just started!
So true.
Hi John
I do know you for your landscapes – and have to add that your skies are also noteworthy.
Great theme this week and here is the link to my post – people shots from some art shows
Thanks! I appreciate the compliment!
🙂
[…] Steiner’s theme (here) for the Lens-Artist Photo Challenge is to share a favorite “road” in photography: […]
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[…] prompt: This week’s theme is metaphoric–and not about a physical road. For this week’s challenge, I want you to think of your favorite type or style of photography as the road you’ve chosen to take most often. https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/2023/03/11/lens-artists-photo-challenge-240-the-road-most-often-… […]
Thank you for an interesting challenge. I like the sweeping vistas in your photos. Here’s my response to the challenge – https://mappinguncertainty.wordpress.com/2023/03/12/metaphoric-photos/
Thanks, Suzanne! I’m glad you enjoyed this week’s challenge.
[…] the Link to John’s Original Post for this week. And Tina’s too-can you spot a similarity this […]
[…] months before I ventured into a hairdresser’s. So that’s one of my comfort zones, a route I take often while taking street photos. The other is another […]
I love that photo of the old bridge at Betanzos. The massive bridge remains at the center of the photo, but you show its surroundings anyway.
Here’s mine this week: https://anotherglobaleater.wordpress.com/2023/03/13/comfort-zone/
I happened to find a vantage point that worked despite the fact that I had to be on the shore. Thanks!
[…] This week’s Lens Artists Photo Challenge 240 is hosted by John Steiner. He invites to show my favorite type or style of photography as the road I have chosen to take most often. And that creates a bit of a problem for me. I might need direction. […]