Whilst recently on sand dunes with the person I’m seeing, we walked over to a small grouping of vegetation that looked almost like an island. They saw a few cicada shells around and pointed one out to that they were taking photos of so I got in real close to get my own, as seen below.

I wanted to frame the shell and the bit of wood it was on without the ground or any other vegetation. I felt it would make the photo stronger, and I’m not sure if doing so did, but it has a feel to it that I am having trouble specifically naming. At the very least, there’s a harmonisation between the wood and shell, I think.

This is my submission into the three hundred-and-seventy-ninth Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. The theme for this one is “Favourite Images of 2025“.

The host of the Lens-Artists challenges cycles weekly between the following people:

Tina

Patti

Ann-Christine aka Leya

John Steiner

Sofia Alves

Anne Sandler

Egídio

Ritva

Beth

This one is curated by everyone. The next one is curated by Anne.

I recommend joining the community and participating in the challenges. They’re pretty straightforward, allow room for interpretation, and provide a good way to think about photography in general. If not, however, then at the very least you should check out what others submit to the challenges.

I hope you enjoy.