lakes – LightWriteLife

“To some, it's just water,

To me, it's where I regain my sanity” 
 - Author Unknown

I took a look through my photographs of lakes, oceans and water. I have many examples of water in all its various states.

Water falls down then it blows up….

Water is tranquil then it is turbulent…….

Water is still and then it is stormy……..

Water is white and then it is wavy………..

Water is murky and then it is a reflective mirror………..

How water is reflected back depends on what lens you are looking through.

Talking to my optometrist today at my very overdue eye check, I mentioned the impact I thought my ‘cataracts’ may be having on my photo editing. I thought I was over saturating the colours in compensation. He fortunately doesn’t think my cataracts are that bad yet. He also said that the older Claude Monet got, the ‘browner’ his paintings had become. Intrigued as I was, what could I do but google……

These landscapes of water and reflection have become an obsession. 
 
- Author: Claude Monet

Monet’s Art Changed Because of His Eyes

“In 1905, Monet was sixty-five and began to notice changes to his vision. The colors he saw were no longer as bright, and his paintings began to feature more yellow and purple tones. In 1912, when he was seventy-two, Monet was diagnosed with nuclear cataracts in both eyes. Because Monet so often repainted the same subjects over the years, viewers can trace the way cataracts affected his vision over time.”

“Scientists have even studied changes in the color and style of Monet’s paintings over time—along with the works of his fellow Impressionist, Degas who also had eye disease. By using computers to simulate the blurriness one would see with eye disease, scientists have been able to find out how the artists likely saw their own paintings, which has given new insights into the artists’ works.”

Monet Might Have Seen Ultraviolet Light

“Initially, Monet did not want to have surgery to correct his cataracts, because he had seen other artists’ careers ended by failed surgery. Monet finally agreed to have cataract surgery on his right eye in 1923, but he did not have the surgery on his left eye, which still had cataracts and could not see violets or blues.”

“During the surgery on his right eye, however, the lens of his eye was removed, which let more light into the eye. Because the lens is the part of the eye that filters out ultraviolet light, it is believed that Monet might have begun seeing ultraviolet wavelengths, which humans typically cannot see. After the surgery, he used more blues in his water lily paintings, which could indicate he was seeing ultraviolet light.”

“After his cataract surgery, he destroyed many of the paintings he created when he suffered the worst of his vision problems. Altogether, he is thought to have destroyed up to 500 of his own paintings.”

I am not about to destroy my photographs, but I might re-edit some of the saturation – or then again I may not. I do love bright colours and gazing into water keeps me calm.

Your mind is like water. When it is agitated it becomes difficult to see.

 But if you allow it to settle, the answer becomes clear.”

– Bill Keane

After all is said and done, water is essential to life. And we never know how far the ripples we make when we drop a stone into the water will spread.

"THE DROP

Be the drop that falls freely and becomes one with water…..
You might not be able to perceive the ripples you have created right away
But water will allow you to feel how their love
Comes back to you again and again.”

  - Author unknown

https://alwayswrite.blog/2021/08/11/wqwwc-37-lakes-oceans-water/

Blues in the environment are one of my favourite subjects for photography.

Jude reminds us when looking for blues this month that:

“Blue. A primary colour that we look upon almost every day. But don’t forget about the different hues which include indigo and ultramarine, cyan and the other blue-greens such as turquoise, teal, and aquamarine.

I did some blue sky thinking…and looking through my archives.

Blue Skies thinking:

The blue sky found its way onto the bonnet of my blue car.