“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”
― Lauren DeStefano
The beginning of my “Golden Paths” series, is literally, a beginning. As I entered the trailhead, on a beautiful fall day, I was greeted by this scene, as I entered into autumn an a largely yellow and orange dominated kaleidoscope of colour.
What really got my attention as I composed the image was how brightly the emerging yellows and oranges appeared between the darker pines. Surprisingly, there was still a lot of green, especially in the undergrowth. We’ve had bright warm days and since the undergrowth is largely sheltered from cooler air by the thick forest canopy they have not started to change yet.
So, here we are, at the start of a journey, which spanned several weekends, including my first Studio Tour as a participating artist, thus my near absence from blogging these past few weeks. I’m going to try to keep the images as sequential as possible, as an effort to document the transition of colour from early autumn to the coppery gold which is so dominant in this area, as all that remains is beech, which hang onto their leaves well into early winter. I hope you enjoy this journey through the seasons with me.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/7.0, ISO 50
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“Hidden in the glorious wildness like unmined gold.” – John Muir
Here we are, the end of October nearly upon us, and I’m out hiking in a tee shirt and shorts. The past few weeks have been so incredibly mild that it’s hard to believe it’s autumn. Yet, the leaves evidence that the natural cycles continue.
I have many photos from the past few weekends to review and post in a series that I will title “Golden Pathways”. All the images are from the local trails and contain the incredible colours of a forest transitioning from pale yellows to bright orange. The light has been glorious, yet difficult to fully communicate through images. Stay tuned. For now, here’s another iPhone teaser.
This is another impromptu iPhone abstraction. A quick hike today put me in a forest just past it’s prime, yet spectacular in late afternoon light. I would have ventured longer, but was pressed for time.
The brief break from the day refreshed me and I am so grateful to have this wonderful conservation area so close to me.
I plan on heading back for a more in-depth and extended hike, as the weather promises to be spectacular.
“A good roast of sun, it slows you, lets you relax–and out here if there’s anything wrong, you can see it coming with bags of time to do what’s next. This is the place and the weather for peace, for the cultivation of a friendly mind.”
― A.L. Kennedy
I made this image on the Thanksgiving weekend, recently past, while on a hike with my son. Despite being well into October (Thanksgiving in Canada is in October), it was beautifully warm, almost hot. Leaves were just beginning to show the early signs of colour, with slight splashes of yellow starting to show on the poplars.
The wildflowers of the meadow had completed their bloom and were beginning to yellow and become dormant. This is the same meadow, where just weeks ago, the honey bees were busy collecting pollen from a thick crop of goldenrod, no longer golden, but a dull yellow and drooping.
Along the edge of this meadow, is a tall stand of poplars. I could barely get a good angle of them in the tall grasses, but found a suitable vantage point. The bright trunks of the trees flash brilliantly against the thick spruce which lie directly behind them . Once more, this is a scene that I have hiked past numerous time and considered it as a subject, but conditions have never been quite right. That day, the afternoon light and colours combined to make it something worthwhile. The delicate structures show in the image in thread-like lines, which pull me in for a closer look.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/32, ISO 64
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After sharing my art with many wonderful visitors yesterday, I’m ready for day Two.
This has been a great experience for me and something I intend to repeat next year.
“Each time I see a beautiful sunset or sunrise, I have to pinch myself because I can’t believe that I’m awake and not dreaming.”
― Anthony T. Hincks
Every now and then, you just have to pull over, enjoy, and take a picture.
In this case, I was returning from closing down our camper for the season, it was later in the day and I spent about fifteen minutes driving west, into a blazing sunset. It was beautiful and painfully bright, yet it was just that.
That is, until we drove through the intersection of the hamlet of Glasgow, just north and east of my home. I simply had to stop and try to make a photo of this beautiful scene. It’s a real challenge to get it close to what the eye sees and the light changes very quickly. Fortunately, I’m very familiar with my camera and what it can and can’t do, having experienced many failures. This time I knew exactly what settings were required and snapped a few bracketed frames just to be sure. Though it’s hard to capture exactly what my eye saw, this is as close an approximation as I could have hoped for.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/125 sec, f/11.0, ISO 100
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“Headwaters Hike in Mono”
I spent a few hours this afternoon hiking the trails of the Durham Forest with my wife and daughter. It was a beautiful, warm, October afternoon and an ideal day to hit the trails.
I made this image with my iPhone while creating a few new abstractions, which I will share over the next few days. This one just lent itself to processing in mono.
It’s another red pine plantation, interspersed with hardwoods. In this particular plantation, the pines dominate.
“If you are a dreamer come in
If you are a dreamer a wisher a liar
A hoper a pray-er a magic-bean-buyer
If you’re a pretender com sit by my fire
For we have some flax golden tales to spin
Come in!
Come in!”
― Shel Silverstein
The title for this image came fairly readily. I was out making photos with my son and he was on a hillside on the path ahead of me, shooting some low angle shots of the surrounding forest. As he stood up, it shot a deliberate horizontal pan of him, backlit by the early autumn colours. The result was, to me, magical. A sensory jolt, as I distilled his shape among the light trails.
It’s a single, unprocessed image. The background light casting his form into shadow, as the brightness of the forest colours surrounds him like something magical and filled with energy. Of the several images I made that warm autumn day, this is the one I wanted to process first, since it fairly jumped from my camera’s preview display. It’s dreamlike and filled with energy, peaceful, yet subtly sinister. I like that in an image. It conveys multiple moods and energies in a single image.
The only real issue I had in producing the image was to stop the camera down sufficiently to prevent blowing out the back ground. Since I did not have a neutral density filter with me, which would be my go-to, I accomplished it through setting my ISO to the L1.0 setting, a full stop below the lowest ISO of 100. Anything for the shot.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/9.0, ISO 50 (L1.0)
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“Water is the most perfect traveller because when it travels it becomes the path itself!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan
This image is another of High Falls, near Bancroft, Ontario. I really could spend a day photographing various parts of the waterfall, as light shifts and different elements of the flowing water reveal themselves.
The ancient rock structures in this area add so much character to the waterfalls through their deep textures and colours. These are ancient Canadian Shield structures, known for their age and diverse mineral content. I provide more information on the falls themselves on a previous post.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/13 sec, f/32.0, ISO 200
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I’m still taking a break, and this is part of it. Had to share this beautiful view from the edge of the lake on this frosty Sunday morning near Bancroft, Ontario. No edits, this is exactly what it looked like, or at least, how my phone saw it 🙂
Taking a few days off to regenerate and create a few more images
This week’s submission to Norm 2.0‘s Thursday Doors.
Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favourite door photos from around the world.
“Blacksmith Shop” Black Creek Pioneer Village
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on Thursday Doors. Getting ready for a local Studio Tour has taken much of my time, as well as an expanded work role. In fact my blog posts in general have dropped off, so I find myself with a little time to go through my accumulated images, of which doors are always an element.
This image was made a full two weeks ago, at Toronto’s Black Creek Pioneer Village, where I volunteer every year for the annual Pioneer Fest. Unlike the past few years of rain and cold, this year was hot and bright, yet leaves had started turning, which made for some interesting images.
I’ve always admired this blacksmith shop, with its large inviting doors. They are also functional in helping with ventilation, as this place gets pretty hot and smokey. I made this composition by deliberately positioning the tree in the foreground, to hide a junk pile along the side of the building. It also creates a nice ‘frame’ as the branches drape across the roof.
iPhone 7 back camera @ 4.0mm
1/370 sec; f/1.8; ISO 20
“It is always the simple that produces the marvelous. “
– Amelia Barr
Though fairly similar to my “Autumn Creeps In” image, this one is different enough to stand on its own. The autumn leaves of the Red Maple fairly glow among the thin shimmering veil of pine needles and their pale greens and oranges. It’s late summer, the last weekend of summer and it’s hot, really hot as a late season heat wave exerts itself on the forest.
I suppose that’s why the green undergrowth is so lush, deep green and thriving. It’s quite a contrast between summer and autumn in one place. There is life here, cycles of life and never ending change. Even the reds and greens, speak of stop and go. The very nature of nature, at the Papineau Bend, and lovely little park carved from the forest along the banks of Papineau Creek.
These scenes of healthy nature are nourishing for me to reflect on. I imagine myself standing in this place and time, making photos and loving just existing here. Perhaps images to carry me through the upcoming winter, which, while beautiful in its own way, pales in comparison to a green and thriving late summer forest.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/32.0, ISO 100
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“Nature knows no pause in progress and development, and attaches her curse on all inaction. “
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The title for this image came to me immediately. It is driven by the essence of ‘how’ I photograph. I refrain from most things man-made. Sometimes it can be as innocuous as a well groomed path through the woods, preferring to imagine things as purely as possible, untouched by humans, rare though that is nowadays.
In this image, part of my recent “Papineau Bend” series, a stone BBQ pit stands in the forefront, an intruder to this lovely place. Yet, at some point in time, the fire pit was built for the enjoyment of families who visited this peaceful sanctuary along the shores of Papineau Creek. Were it not for this park being carved from the woods I may never have discovered this place. Time has had its effect on the park though and the BBQ is showing definite signs that nature will eventually have her way, through a gradual and unrelenting wearing down. Frost, rain, roots, and various plants are creating ever widening cracks in the cement, offering larger footholds for nature to pry apart the stonework, returning it to the earth.
Despite the intrusion, the overall scene of the pines remains one of beauty that I wanted to share through another of my photo abstractions, bright, late summer sunshine lighting up the delicate needles of the pines and hemlocks. Just reflecting back on the moment when I made this image lightens my heart and beckons me back to this place, intrusions or not.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/32.0, ISO 100
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“At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honeysweet where you feel it touching the first sounds.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke
I made this image on the final weekend of summer, along the shores of North Hastings’ Papineau Creek. Among the red pine and green maples, a bright splash of red reminds us, that despite the unseasonably warm temperatures we are currently experiencing, the cycle of seasons is inevitable.
The red fairly jumps out against the background, bright sunshine enhancing the effect. I believe these are Red Maple acer rubrum, which is aptly named. This year because other leaves have not quite started to change colour, the red maples stand out like crimson beacons. I say many along the highway the prior weekend but could not pull over for a good image. This one makes up for that to some degree.
As I look outside today, I see that fall is really beginning to advance, and the rest of the trees are joining in on what promises to be a spectacular, mild autumn.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/32.0, ISO 100
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/80 sec, f/4.5 ISO 100
“Outside, there was that predawn kind of clarity, where the momentum of living has not quite captured the day. The air was not filled with conversation or thought bubbles or laughter or sidelong glances. Everyone was sleeping, all of their ideas and hopes and hidden agendas entangled in the dream world, leaving this world clear and crisp and cold as a bottle of milk in the fridge. ”
― Reif Larsen
As this wonderful mild September winds down, I’m reminded of the good time spent north of my home at our camper on Bancroft’s Marble Lake. Though I’m not a ‘morning’ person, there have been several occasions when I have ventured down to the dock to watch the sun rise, gradually burning off the mist that hangs over the water, dancing in the shifting air currents.
In mid to late September, the landscape participates in this dance as well. The cooler nights cause mist to form within the trees and hillsides and the whole world seems blanketed in fog. As I stood on the dock looking across the lake, the thinning fog began to reveal bright colours showing through layers of green. There was a magic to these muted colours that I really enjoyed. And so, here they are. It’s a bit more subdued than most of my recent images, but also has a real sense of calm and anticipation all in one image.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200 mm
1/80 sec, f/4.5, ISO 100
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“The difference between darkness and brightness is how you thrive on those moments and how you use such circumstances with goodwill in your spirit.”
― Angelica Hopes
Here we are nearing the end of September, and the end of summer. I was surprised to see just how much colour change is already occurring not too far north of my home. As my family and I drove through the North hastings region of Ontario this past weekend, I especially noticed than some of the maples had already turned bright red. Sadly, I’m not sure what species of maple this is but it sure stood out.
I simply had to make an abstract of it. As with many of these, the finer details don’t get noticed till captured in a photo. I was subtly aware of the colour appearing in the undergrowth, but it really showed up in the photo. There was also a dead tree, bleached white by the sun, which really popped, especially in the photo.
This image is part of a small series I have posted over the past few days, all made within a few hundred meters of each other on Papineau Creek.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/29.0, ISO 100
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“Ah, September! You are the doorway to the season that awakens my soul… but I must confess that I love you only because you are a prelude to my beloved October.”
― Peggy Toney Horton
In a quiet, unmarked park, along the banks of Papineau Creek, stands a beautiful grove of red pines and balsam firs. Pathways wind between them, enticing me to take just a few more exploratory steps to see what lies beyond.
It’s a hot day, very hot for September, but I know October and cooler weather is inevitable. This is my first time really exploring this little gem of a park. It’s crisscrossed with paths and roadways, making it extremely accessible and quite open. So, as I explored, I made a few more photos. Many just snapshots and memories of a day spent with family and a few more deliberate ‘artsy’ images in my favourite abstract style.
I’m reviewing them slowly, enjoying what each image offers me, still not sure if I have a series or not. We’ll see what the next few days offer up.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/32.0, ISO 100
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”
― Lauren DeStefano
I’m considering starting another series based on this past weekend, enjoying the Bancroft Area Studio tour and the natural beauty of the North Hasting Highlands area, which we drove through as part of the tour.
This has been a very strange year indeed. As we drove from studio to studio, I noticed many of the leaves had already begun to change colour. For those who follow my blog regularly, you will know that we have had an excessively wet summer, and a bit cooler than usual. Well, that all changed a few weeks ago and we are now experiencing a dry spell and temperatures more appropriate for July. So, it’s really strange to have it feel like mid-summer yet see fall colours starting. The trend is supposed to continue for at least another week.
The image above was made at one of my favorite rest stops in the area. A small, unmarked park along the shores of Papineau Creek. I stopped here for lunch with my family and decided to make a few images before cooling off in the creek.
Adding the element of water had a nice effect on the image, but it’s the only one like it, the rest are images of the forest. Like I said, I may make a short series of them and wanted to start out with this one as I consider the other images.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/20.0, ISO 100
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“I think it is far more important to save one square mile of wilderness, anywhere, by any means, than to produce another book on the subject.”
― Edward Abbey
In this image, the pines emerge from a thickening undergrowth. You can also see evidence of deliberate ‘thinning’ of this managed forest. Larger trees are selectively removed, the forest managers careful to remove the branches, lest they become fuel for fires. The trunks cut into manageable pieces, are left to return to the earth, a slow, natural, but controlled cycle.
I chose to make this image because it shows the prevalence of the low underbrush, primarily sedges, bracken ferns, and a few maple, beech, and birch saplings, starting to take hold, as pine canopy thins. The sunlights is quite noticeable in the background, further evidencing this thinning. There is lots of room for growth here and I can only imagine what it will look like in a few short years, as the hardwoods take root “Among the Pines”, eventually becoming the dominant species till the pines become the minority in this evolving forest.
It has been interesting to me, working on this series to take the time to observe the many patterns in a very familiar forest. It’s not till I paused and really considered the elements in each composition that I became more and more aware of the stages and changes this area is going through, some accelerated and others a bit slower, each as it is required to be, an essential part of the life of the living breathing forest.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/18.0, ISO 100
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“The forest stretched on seemingly forever with the most monotonous predictability, each tree just like the next – trunk, branches, leaves; trunk, branches, leaves. Of course a tree would have taken a different view of the matter. We all tend to see the way others are alike and how we differ, and it’s probably just as well we do, since that prevents a great deal of confusion. But perhaps we should remind ourselves from time to time that ours is a very partial view, and that the world is full of a great deal more variety than we ever manage to take in.”
― Thomas M. Disch
This image features the trunks of the pine trees higher up, just below the canopy. It yields a much brighter image, as elements of the sky and some high maples reflect the day’s bright sunlight among the rows of darker pines. There’s also an interesting weave of the smaller trees in the background. Among the seeming monotony of planted pines, wonderful patterns emerge and it’s no longer the same monotonous forest.
I enjoyed creating this fairly quick series on my hike this past weekend. I had not intended on a long hike, more focussed on making several connected images for my “Among the Pines” series. But, that Sunday was gorgeous for mid September and I ended up travelling some eight kilometers and exploring areas I had as yet not visited. The expansive trails of the Oak Ridges Trail System offer me so much variety. Even though I have been hiking them extensively for the past several years, there is always something new, some side trail that leads to an unexpected stream or meadow.
I’m blessed to live in an area with such diversity and with so may well maintained trails, literally on my doorstep. That’s why so many of my images feature these forests, I doubt I will ever get tired of them and the hours of solitude they provide me, so I can recharge after a busy day or workweek.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/20.0, ISO 100
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“Nothing is static; things always change. The best you can do is change along with them and work with what you have.”
― Cate Tiernan
I really struggled with the title on this one, but the sweeping, slightly giggled movement of the camera reminded me of a dance. The greens and browns blend together in a waltz of light. The movement is a bit more rigid than I prefer, yet created an interesting effect.
That’s the wonder of these abstractions, every image is different, significantly so. in many cases. I set out with a vision of what I am trying to communicate with the image and often if simply fails. This image nicely captured and separated the individual tones within the forest, showing the bright points of light within the darker areas. My eyes pick up on this when I see the composition initially, and it is usually what prompts me to stop for an image. The technique sounds so simple in concept but there are so many variables that make or break the final shot. Many times I have walked away disappointed that I could not effectively capture the essence of what I see, but there are less and less disappointments the more I shoot.
Here, the pines thin out as I enter the edge of a meadow, deep within the forest. These open areas often surprise me and I wonder how they came to be, in the midst of a thick forest. Fora shot like this, they let in lots of light, which makes for nice contrast, but is a challenge to balance without blowing the image out.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/32.0, ISO 100
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“Nature is a haunted house–but Art–is a house that tries to be haunted.”
― Emily Dickinson
Every now and then the gently winding path leads along or within patches of dark pine forest. These mighty trees rise from the ground and weave their branches into a tight canopy, blocking out most of the light. The space below is an eternal twilight filled with dead branches and a thick carpet of pine needles. Despite this, small green shoots struggle for a patch of sunlight, sheltered from the elements in this dark environment.
Along the edge of these groves of pines, bright sunshine warms the ground and plants flourish, creeping as close to the pines as possible, seeking shelter from the wind yet far enough away to catch the sunshine, like a person walking close to buildings to avoid the rain.
The contrast between the dark pines and the bright path is what inspired this image, the characteristics of the light visibly different once you slide back to the pines, where a golden light predominates.
As the quote above so eloquently puts it: Nature ‘is’ and art attempts to communicate the elements which makes it what it is. Through my abstract photos, I attempt to bring some of those elements of life into the image through deliberate movement.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/18.0, ISO 100
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“The tremendous pines towering above the dark marshy soil resembled a gathering of severe mute brothers from a forbidden ancient order worshiping forgotten gods no one had ever heard of outside of the world of secret occult visions.”
― Simona Panova
As I went for a long hike last Sunday, looking for inspiration for my next photo series, I found myself in a large expanse of cultivated red pines. These trees would have been planted in the mid sixties to reclaim farmland as conservation areas were created.
The conservation areas were created not only for recreation but as a strategy to control floodwater flow after hurricane Hazel flooded destroyed areas outside and within the city of Toronto. Given current events in Houston and Florida, I take comfort that people had the foresight to create a flood control measures. By planting forests, ground erosion is greatly reduced and the forests also cool the air, not to mention all the other elements like wildlife habitat and so on.
I’ve stood among these pines before, and made a few images, but decided that late summer would be a nice time to start a series of pine forest images titled “Among the Pines”. My first few shots featured a lot of golden brown, like the one above, but as I proceeded to hike and photograph, a surprising amount of green plays into the images as well. Since this is a planted forest, it is also managed, and so, the forest is ‘thinned’ out every few years, to encourage growth in the trees and allow light to shine between the trees, which brings on growth of ground cover and an array of colours and textures.
There are a lot of maple and beech saplings growing between the pines, which is a natural progression. It turns out, you can’t plant a maple forest. You have to plant pines first and the maples grow between them. Once you clear out the pines, after several years, the maples are established and take over. Something I did not know before.
So, here it is, image number one of the “Among the Pines” series. I hope you enjoy it.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/14.0, ISO 400
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“Do you know how there are moments when the world moves so slowly you can feel your bones shifting, your mind tumbling? When you think that no matter what happens to you for the rest of your life, you will remember every last detail of that one minute forever?”
― Jodi Picoult
While on an extended hike yesterday, making photos for my next series, I entered a large meadow, filled with bright yellow Goldenrod. The plants were in peak condition, having just started blooming a few days ago. The entire field in which I stood, from treeline to treeline, was alight with gold. As I stood looking across the expanse of flowers, my ears became aware of an incredible buzzing sound. Upon looking closer, I noticed thousands of honeybees at work, extracting nectar and collecting pollen. I was literally engulfed in a sea of flowers and bees. Wow!
For a few moments, I stood there, eyes closed, the sun shining warmly on my face, savouring the moment, thrilling in the warmth and listening to the thrum of the bees. Everything else melted into the background as my senses drank in the sounds of life. I was blessed to be part of this moment, also thinking how awesome it was to see a significant population of honeybees, which have been on the decline for the past few years.
After pausing to enjoy this experience, I set out to make a few images to remember it by. It did not take long, as every flower has at least two bees on it. That is how many there were. As I said in previous posts, I used to have a fear of bees. What I have experienced lately is that honeybees are very gentle and could care less about me as I lean in close for a photo. I also noticed that as I pushed though the bee laden goldenrod, they simply flew into the air and landed back on the plants after I had passed. They bounced off my arms and chest as I waded through the flowers, simply another participant in the life of the meadow. By the way, for those not familiar with goldenrod, it grows on tall stalks and the flowers are at face level to me. I’m six foot one. So, the bees are right in front of me as well.
So, here it is, a “Golden Moment” to remind me of my time with the bees and the joy of that moment, in the flowers.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/640 sec, f/13.0, ISO 400
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“The very life of any creature is a quick-fading spark in fathomless darkness.”
― Anthony Doerr
As I have completed my “Into Green Veil” Series, I am pausing to consider my next project, which will also be a short series of some sort. As I pause, I have the opportunity to go back over the past month’s photos and consider some of them to share.
The above image is a bit of playing with long exposure and the fire-pit at my camper. It is truly amazing what a different view, such as long exposure, can do. In this case, I did a one second exposure to reveal the intricate play of the sparks within the fire. Just a bit of fun, worth sharing here.
iPhone 7 back camera @ 4.0mm
1sec; f/1.8; ISO 250
“All of us have had the experience of a sudden joy that came when nothing in the world had forewarned us of its coming – a joy so thrilling that if it was born of misery we remembered even the misery with tenderness”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
As I have worked on this latest series of images, it has become clear to me that I must be ‘in’ the forest, a participant in its life. To merely stand along the edges and gaze in, does not satisfy the need to immerse myself under the enchantment of its Green Veil. I need to be engulfed, to fully experience it.
By being in the forest, there is a ‘feel’, an energy, which is difficult to convey to someone who has not felt this life force personally. As I step onto the trails, even briefly, there is a rush of joy which is inexplicable. To be surrounded by such vibrancy is a blessing which I wish everyone could feel at some point. It’s a connectedness, a ‘oneness’ that is experienced within the woods.
So, as I close this series off, I chose this image. The image which beckons me to step in, or conversely, beckons me to return, as I look back on it on parting. In either case, it’s an invitation that I am glad for and which I will eagerly accept, the next time the forest beckons me.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/16.0, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“I tried to discover, in the rumor of forests and waves, words that other men could not hear, and I pricked up my ears to listen to the revelation of their harmony.”
― Gustave Flaubert
Around a bend in the path, I found myself faced with a planted pine forest. A large ‘grove’ if you will. The trunks were thin and straight, with no foliage except at the very top. Among this tall pines, a few hearty maples have began to grow, their bright leaves appearing in waves across the image, each branch creating a luminous layer against the dark backdrop of the pines.
Enhancing the effect of the maples is the pine’s slow ascent up a small hillside as if trying to reach higher than the maples. It was quite a sight, the play between the trees and their unique characteristics.
Eventually the cultivated pines will be harvested for pulp or logs and the maples will remain, taking over the hillside and, no doubt, completing with pine seedlings, which are plentiful. Victory will go to the species best suited to grow here.
This was a shot I was uncertain of. The bright maple leaves dominate the scene and attempts to underexpose the image took away too much of the magical glow they displayed. After a bit of agonizing, I decide to proceed with it as is, since it is so close to what I experienced in the pine grove, inside the green veil of the summer forest.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/25.0, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself. “
– Tecumseh
The inevitability of trees, and all life on earth, is that they eventually fall, through age, disease, or human intervention. The latter is the case in this image. In areas of a managed forest, individual or groups of trees need to be thinned to make room for the healthy growth of others.
What struck me in this composition is the variability of the light, from the dark trunks to the left, to bright, golden sunshine, and shimmering green in the canopy of leaves above. And, it really was odd to see this cluster of fallen trees just laying there. Generally, most are removed and a few left to rot down, but this was a fairly large pile of logs, left where they fell. But, they were just logs, not entire trees, the crowns having been removed, leaving just bare logs.
Throughout the image, my camera movement has captured fine points of light, dancing within the green vel which surrounds me.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/32.0, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/EdLehming
or my website (images are available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com
Ed Lehming Photography 
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