“Spring is like the opening of a window on a bright sun-filled day. Freshness replaces the stale air and fills us with energy and promise.”
– Ed Lehming

Ferns are a real pleasure to watch in the spring. Seeing them gently unroll on the forest floor is an active part of the spring. For me, it symbolizes the season so well. It’s a gradual, carefully timed. and repeated process.

This image captures the ‘fiddlehead’ of an ostrich fern as it begins to stretch upwards to the warming sun. The more it open, the more energy it absorbs in early spring, developing the plant before the canopy of trees high above blocks the sun’s light and puts the ferns into shadow for the summer.

I used a fairly narrow aperture to keep most of the fiddlehead in sharp focus while allowing some softness further down the stalk.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/40 sec, f/14.0, ISO 200

For more images like this, please visit my website (images are available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com