Louella Lester – Seeing and learning while holding camera and pen between me and the world.
It turns out that the type of architecture in which I prefer to live or work is very different from that which I'm drawn to when I'm holding my camera. It’s the stark beauty of clean lines and simplicity that attracts me when it comes to taking photos of buildings. And this tendency toward minimalism …
I’ve always been fascinated by bridges, not the sleek young ones, but the old ones that were there before I was born. The ones that have been holding us up, connecting us, and allowing us to go places for more than decades. They remind me of storytellers. Think about all the pedestrians, cars, trucks, …
The news can be terribly negative. It’s important to keep up with what’s going on in the world, but we should never let the bad overwhelm us into forgetting the good. Look at the feature photo above. We can focus on the grey clouds and the possibility of rain. Or we can soar the wind …
Near the entrance to the Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre in southern Manitoba there are signs that mention the fragile environment and remind you to stay on the paths. When you see the abundance of marsh plant-life in the area, it’s hard to believe in its fragility. Somehow you think these grasses, reeds, and …
Do you have a favourite moon song? If I were to pick one I’d have to say it’s Van Morrison’s Moondance. It could be the melody—how it makes you want to sway. It could be Van’s smooth voice—how you have to sing along. Or it could be when I first heard it. The song was …
I’ve always liked to watch cows hanging out in fields. They seem so tranquil—they’re just living their lives in the moment, which is something humans are often trying to achieve. Cows manage to do it a lot better than us. Maybe it’s because they can sense they won’t be around for long and they want …
What the heck? I just feel like looking at photos of wildflowers in Dad’s yard. So, that’s what we’ll do here. Sometimes we don’t need any deep meaningful thoughts—we just need to enjoy the wildflowers Brown-eyed Susans (featured above) are a favourite. They pop up here and there—next thing you know, they’re everywhere. Dad often …
I was cycling across a mundane shopping mall parking lot when I spotted a bunch of gulls. My first thought was about the possibility of rain. My second thought was about why I didn’t have my camera with me, but I did have my phone and I can shoot a panorama with it. So …
I've been thinking about rain, probably because we've had so little of it here in Manitoba this spring. When everything should have been painted with newly-birthed green, it was still dry and dusty—toned down, muted, murky, so hard to define. There's something about rain that changes the mood, then calls me out to take …
Sometimes when I go out to shoot photos I have a plan or project in mind. But most days I just find photo opportunities when I’m going somewhere or I’m out wandering with my camera watching for the unexpected. That’s why I like a small camera that I can easily fit into my backpack/purse. …
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