Tag: sea

Haiku: A Helping Hand

blown off-course
the coastguard gathers
at the boat slip

© Xenia Tran

I wrote this haiku in honour of the volunteers from the RNLI who will go out in all weathers to rescue people from our seas, lakes, rivers and floods.

If you want to find out more about what they do, are interested in volunteering or wish to support them in other ways please visit their website here.

Wishing you all safe harbour,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

A Helping Hand was first published in The Asahi Shimbun, 4 June 2021. A warm thank you to David McMurray for including my poem and putting this beautiful edition together.

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Question

Thursday’s Special: Pick a Word – Flow, Tidal

CFFC: Blue

Tanka: New Year’s Day

part of a large driftwood tree on the beach covered in frost

winter moon
her frost flowers
crystallise
ancestral blessings
from this year to the next

© Xenia Tran

close up of part of a large driftwood tree covered in frost

Wishing you all a blessed, happy and healthy New Year!

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/5.6 – 1/200 s – ISO 100, f/5.6 – 1/80 s – ISO 160 and f/5.6 – 1/125 s – ISO 320.

Carpe Diem #1842: End of Year

Frank J Tassone’s Weekly Haikai Challenge #171: New Year’s Day

Tanka Thursday: Year

Wordless Wednesday: Celtic Sea

a lensball in the surf, mirroring the sea and sky in reverse
a lensball in the surf, mirroring the sea and sky in reverse

We are taking a short blogging break for the holidays and will be back on Wednesday 30 December.

Wishing you a peaceful week ahead and Happy Holidays to those of you who celebrate,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Wordless Wednesday

Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #56

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Glitter

Wordless Wednesday: Feeding from the Surf

seagulls feeding in the surf
seagulls feeding in the surf

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/3.5 – 1/1250 s – ISO 100 and f/3.5 – 1/1600 s – ISO 100.

Wordless Wednesday

Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #54

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Water

Wordless Wednesday: Basking Beauty

a basking shark in the Moray Firth with a paddle boarder
a basking shark swimming in the Moray Firth with mist and low cloud

We were treated to a rare visit by basking sharks yesterday who came to feed on the plankton in the Moray Firth before starting their long migration to warmer climes.

They were swimming and feeding close to paddle boarders, kayaks and sailing boats and the people aboard featured in many of my photographs as a result.

If you recognise yourself in the image above or the slideshow below please get in touch through the contact form and I’ll be happy to send you a copy of the photograph.

  • paddle boarders and basking shark
  • paddle boarders and basking shark
  • a basking shark with a man in a paddle boat
  • a woman on a paddle board and a man in a paddle boat watching a feeding basking shark
  • people on paddle boards, in paddle boats and kayaks watching a feeding basking shark
  • a man on a paddle board beside a sailing boat watching a feeding basking shark

We were watching from the shore and it was lovely to see these gentle giants.

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS.

Wordless Wednesday

Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #45

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Zephyr

Silent Sunday: Walking with Hope

promenade above the beach with benches and trees
the word HOPE created with small pebbles on a larger flat stone

Julie Williams, a Highland art student, is inviting people to send her photographs of the word hope created out of items found in their homes or on their daily walks for her HOPE Art Project. The idea is that every participant creates, through their own artistic expression, a historical record of their hope during the current Covid-19 crisis.

With this in mind I set off on our morning walk with my camera, trusting I would find a quiet place on the beach with enough natural materials to create the word hope while keeping a safe social distance from others.

Whilst creating the piece, I reflected on how everything I experience on my walks fills me with hope. The sea has never been cleaner, the sky never so blue. People are kind and looking out for one another. So many good things are happening alongside all the sadness and loss. I hope all the good things will stay.

After creating the piece I left it there for others to enjoy or add their own messages to it.

If you’d like to take part yourself, please visit Julie’s website here.

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Settings: f/4 – 1/1000 s – ISO 125, f/4 – 1/1000 s – ISO 100 and f/4 – 1/400 s – ISO 100.

Silent Sunday

Cee’s On the Hunt for Joy Challenge #18: Create Your Own Rainbow

Weekly Prompt Photo Challenge: Walkabout

Silent Sunday: A New Dawn

an empty car park by the seaside with flowers and trees
a small wooden shed beside a garden wall by the seaside

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and may you all stay safe and well,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/4.5 – 1/1250 s – ISO 100, f/4 – 1/800 s – ISO 100 and f/4 – 1/1000 s – ISO 100.

Silent Sunday

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #93: Morning

Discover Prompt #18: New