Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #108: Sanctuary

close up of river stones in clear, fast-flowing water

Create a sanctuary within yourself where you can go anytime you want to
(Shakti Gawain)

an ancient pine overhanging a mountain stream with a wooden bridge behind it

Your sanctuary is your ideal place of relaxation, tranquillity and safety and you can create it exactly as you want it (Shakti Gawain)

Welcome to the Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge, where Patti, Tina, Amy and Ann-Christine kindly invited me to guest-host this week.

Here in the Scottish Highlands we spent more than a hundred days in lockdown where both our home and our community became our sanctuary during the Covid-19 crisis.

We are blessed that we live in a loving home and in a caring community. We have been reaching out to those who are less fortunate, those for whom home is not the safest place to be.

two swans with three young cygnets on the river

These people have been offered sanctuary with another loving family, with extended family members, neighbours, teachers or in solitude.

thistles, wild wheat and grasses in the dunes

Sanctuary can be found and created in a garden, a park, a field of wild flowers and by the sea …

a house sparrow feeding on wild wheat

… watching wildlife, listening to birdsong …

Cairngorms National Park in Summer, a view across Glenmore

… along the forest trails and in the mountains.

This week we invite you to share what Sanctuary means to you, where you find it or how you create your place of calm and healing. In your post, please make sure you include a link to this challenge and use the Lens-Artists tag so we can find your post in the WP Reader.

Last week, you shared your wonderful images of Winter for Ann-Christine’s challenge. Many thanks Ann-Christine for hosting last week’s challenge and to all of you who contributed your amazing images of this beautiful season of snow and contemplation.

Have you seen these?

  • Abrie (Abrie Dink Hardop) takes us on a breath-taking Winter expedition in South Africa and shares a potential front cover for his memoir in Conquering Africa – A Winter Expedition
  • Yan Balczewski (From Hiding to Blogging) shares some beautiful frost flowers in Polar Vortex
  • Rupali (mazeepuran) shows us a magical Norwegian Winter and a poignant sculpture titled ‘Peace is a Promise of the Future’ in Fred er løfte om fremtid

What’s up next week? Stay tuned on 8 August when Amy will be hosting LAPC #109.

Wishing you all a wonderful and creative week ahead and I look forward to your submissions!

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #108: Sanctuary

Word of the Day Challenge: Introducing

Author: Tranature - quiet moments in nature

The stories, poems and photographs on Tranature are the original creative work of Xenia Tran, inspired by the natural surroundings of the Scottish Highlands.

239 thoughts on “Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #108: Sanctuary”

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  3. I must apologize Xenia for having incorrectly attributed this challenge to lens-artist Tina. I had a bit a a sketchy evening yesterday with the internet going in and out and other scuffles going on and I made the incorrect assumption that Tina had give this challenge as her post came up first when I searched in the Reader. I have edited my post and corrected it.

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    1. No worries dear Anne and thank you for correcting the link 😁 Your pingback has just come through and now other participants will be able to find your contribution as well. If you put the kettle on I’ll pop right over to read! 🤗💖 xxx

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words dear Beth and your beautiful contribution to the challenge 💜

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    1. Thank you so much for your beautiful contribution to the challenge dear Katherine, it’s lovely to see how you discovered something new to take you forward through your art and painting 💜

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words dear Paulo and for your lovely contribution to the challenge. A wonderful weekend to you too! 🌞

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    1. Thank you kindly dear Debbie and thank you so much for your beautiful contribution from La Chapelle Saint Aubert and Mont Saint Michel! 💜

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words dear Lindy and for your beautiful contribution to the challenge 💜

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        1. Thank you Hanne, I’ve heard a few people are having issues with that – hopefully it’s just a temporary blib xxx

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words dear Georgina, it was very important that we did while so many other safety nets became out of reach 💜

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