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.
A step back in time, to a simpler, less ornate door than I have presented recently. This door can be found at Toronto’s Black Creek Pioneer Village, a collection of heritage buildings from the Toronto area, assembled to represent Toronto’s pioneer past.
I like the simple line and practicality of this door to the Broom Maker’s Shop, circa 1844. The building was moved here from Sherwood , Ontario and has an active interpretive centre. I’ve had some good conversations with the broom maker in the past and love the simple design of this building with its wonderful door and windows.
With the door open and the light coming through the window, it provides a glimpse of the interior.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/160 sec, f/4.0, ISO 400
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“I don’t think there’s anything on this planet that more trumpets life that the sunflower. For me that’s because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that’s such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life.”
– Helen Mirren
A simple presentation of a sunflower blossom. I say simple, yet on further viewing, it is so also so intricately complex. From the shape of the petals, to the beautiful patterns on the face. Not to mention the radiant colour of the blossom itself. I’ve quoted Georgia O’Keefe her a few times, and her insights are so true, the closer you look at flowers, or anything in nature, I mean, REALLY look at it, the more incredible it becomes. It draws you in and you see details that at first you may have missed.
Take moment and look deep into the face of this blossom…
Amazing, isn’ it? The things we miss at first glance.
Nikon D800
Nikor 24-70mm f/3.5-4.6 @ 52mm (12mm extension tube)
1/8 sec, f/29.0, ISO 400
High Resolution image on 500px:
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“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.”
― Isaac Asimov
Something about fall that has always fascinated me is how slow decay, cooler temperatures, and a shorter period of daylight, can change a plant so dramatically.
Recently I came across this dogwood in a local forest. Almost all the leaves show signs of decay, being thoroughly spotted and in some case, even perforated by decay. Then there are the dramatic fuchsia leaves. I look at the companion leaves carefully and don’t see even a hint of that colour in them. It is quite dramatic, especially when the sun filters through the canopy, making the leaves glow.
Then, I think back on the same plant in early summer, leaves freshly formed and glowing green, not a blemish to mar their beauty. They endure a lot through the summer and award us with this wonderful show of colour, with a few blemishes and scars to remind us that the summer can be harsh too.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 62mm
1/2 sec, f/20.0, ISO 400
High Resolution image on 500px:
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“Have you ever seen the dawn? Not a dawn groggy with lack of sleep or hectic with mindless obligations and you about to rush off on an early adventure or business, but full of deep silence and absolute clarity of perception? A dawning which you truly observe, degree by degree. It is the most amazing moment of birth. And more than anything it can spur you to action. Have a burning day.”
― Vera Nazarian
Dawn arrived cool and crisp, just below freezing, touching the earth with a light frosting. After the warm summer, the lake was still warm and mist hovered above the water in dancing tendrils of gold. Autumn has arrived in Ontario and though I will miss the long warm days, there is something about this snap and freshness in the air that is so invigorating. The heat parched plants of summer almost take on new life and vitality as the mists flow over them.
The light this time of year has a different feel, a warmth that is lacking in the direct sun of summer. As the days shorten, there is a promise of many wonderful moments that await me.
iPhone 5s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2
1/1800 sec; f/2.2; ISO 32
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“Did you want to save me now or does later fit better into your schedule?”
― Sarah E. Morin
Despite being a bit beat up, this small bouquet of red freesia is still quite lovely. It’s a bit of a ‘rescue’, pulled from a discarded bouquet ,but still wonderful on its own. The leaves have taken a bit of abuse, yet the blossoms are still in good condition.
There is something about this photography style that brings out the best in the subject. I’m convinced that I could photograph a piece of garbage this way and still have it look good. After all, not so long ago, a photo of a potato sold for over a million dollars, presented in the same style.
Apparently, there are big bucks out there to be had 🙂
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 62mm
1/2 sec, f/20.0, ISO 400
High Resolution image on 500px:
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“I feel as if I had opened a book and found roses of yesterday sweet and fragrant, between its leaves.”
― L.M. Montgomery
Though a few have seen better days, these roses still offered me an opportunity to continue experimenting with lighting on these studio shots. I thought the white might pose a challenge but they turned out beautifully, still retaining the soft pink/cream colour perfectly.
I’m finding it’s a matter of controlling the light and keeping it just bright enough to light the subject while keeping the background dark. In this case I also included the vase for a little more interest.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 95mm
1/3 sec, f/20.0, ISO 400
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“An elegant behavior, an elegant look, an elegant word, an elegant posture, an elegant idea, they are all moonlight, mysterious and magical, calming and peaceful!”
― Mehmet Murat Ildan
Orchids have a strange fascination for me. They seem almost alien at times, with their bizarre combinations of colours and textures. Yet they are also so mysterious and elegant. The natural world continually outdoes itself in the variations it presents.
These three posed a special problem for me to photograph. They are quite dark but have a faint magenta glow. I spent quite a while getting the light right to capture them accurately, retaining the dark, mysterious feel, while still showing off the glowing edges and bright yellow interior. I’m uncertain of the species but they are quite stunning and I’m happy to have been able to preserve their beauty in this image.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200mm
1 sec, f/20.0, ISO 400
High Resolution image on 500px:
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“Grace is what picks me up and lifts my wings high above and I fly! Grace always conquers! Be graceful in everything; in anger, in sadness, in joy, in kindness, and in unkindness, retain grace with you!”
― C. JoyBell C.
For the past few days, as I looked out the window from my desk, I saw this hummingbird feeding on our canna lilies. He never came at the same time of day and I never had my camera ready. His routine was to arrive and drink from each blossom then move on to the next plant. When he was done with ours he flew next door to the neighbour’s flowers for more.
Today, I had my camera ready and the light was good enough that I could shoot through the window. I made several images and this is the best one. Even at this, the plants are not very close and he moved so quickly that there is a slight movement evident in his body. All things considered, I’m fairly pleased with this moment.
Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G I AF-S VR Zoom @ 300 mm
1/160 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400
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“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
― Henry James
Goodbye to a most glorious summer and hello to what is predicted to be a long, mild autumn in Ontario. What better image for the summer/fall transition than sunflowers? I see them as a ‘transition’ flower. They bloom mid-summer and continue to grow into the fall. They are frost resistant, though I don’t even want think about that!
One of the incredible contrasts in blog-land is seeing my fellow bloggers in Australia and the southern hemisphere welcoming spring, which for us in the northern hemisphere is a distant, though fond, memory.
Back to the sun flowers, such an appropriate name. They fairly glow with warmth, almost as if they have stored the glow of the summer sun to keep warming our days as they shorten.
I’ll miss this past summer, with it’s many warm days, record heat, and all the memories of days spent with friends and family, simply enjoying being together and sharing good times.
Creatively, it’s been a great time too. I have discovered a passion for this style of photography. I get emotional looking at the images as they emerge. As I’m shooting, it’s fairly technical, balancing light, parture and focus, but viewing the final product is so fulfilling.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200mm
1/6 sec, f/20.0, ISO 400
High Resolution image on 500px:
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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.
Today, a break from my University of Toronto doors, though the photo was part of that same day’s photo shoot. After leaving the University grounds and on my way to the Art Gallery of Ontario, my wife and I stopped by a nearby pub for a bite to eat. The image above is the view we had from our seats as we ate. I could not resist these wonderful doors of St. Patrick’s Parish in downtown Toronto. Moments after I made this image, the service let out and the steps were filled with people.
Once more, the light this day was beautiful and nicely reflected from the concrete to fill all the shadows and highlight the rich colour of the doors and surrounding stonework.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/160 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200
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“Life is amazing, and it’s awful, and it’s ordinary, mundane and routine, but like the sun behind the clouds, amazing is always there regardless of what is momentarily obscuring it.”
― Maximus Freeman
Once more, I’m not sure of the specific species of this plant, known generally as Sedum, which we affectionately call “Lives Forever”. The name was handed down by various family members and I can understand the rationale for it. This plant is virtually ‘neglect proof’. You can drop a clump of it almost any location and it will grow. It withstands downpours and droughts with no visible sign of stress.
This particular specimen comes from my adopted mother’s garden and I acquired it many years ago when she downsized to an apartment. Numerous portions of that same small clump have been passed on to friends, neighbors, and family. It’s quite funny visiting other gardens and knowing the ‘mother’ plant is in our garden. So, though my mother has passed away, a piece of her remains in our memory and in our gardens.
We like it , particularly in the late summer and mid autumn, when it’s really the only source of colour in the garden, long after other blossoms have died off. Even when it finally succumbs to a heavy frost itself, it still offers interest as the string stems still hold the dead flower-heads erect, even in heavy snows.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200mm
10sec, f/25.0, ISO 400
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“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”
― E.B. White
I simply had to revisit these beauties. I posted a similar photo earlier this week but was so pleased with the results that I went back for a second look and the outcome is the photo above. The unique way light plays on the flowers with the black background continues to mesmerize me and I honestly have to pinch myself to remind myself that the photo was something that I created. Yes, they have that effect on me.
What started as a bit of an experiment has been so enjoyable and virtually effortless for me. I’m now constantly on the lookout for new plants to photograph this way and am always amazed at the results. I find myself in that Georgia O’Keefe state where I’m drawn deeper into the flower and it temporarily becomes my world. I completely understand where she was coming from.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 62mm
1/6 sec, f/20.0, ISO 400
High Resolution image on 500px:
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“Let the colours of your ideas be red so that all can easily notice them! And what is red? Red is a scream, red is power, red is assertion!”
― Mehmet Murat Ildan
A bit of a journey into the world of macro photography today. I’m still getting the hang of it but enjoying the results. This red begonia blossom is part of a floral display along the main street in my town. I was walking by and noticed them, immediately wanting to capture and image. It’s a less than perfect specimen, but beautiful nonetheless.
Needless to say, I will have to go back and try again. Stay tuned 🙂
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200mm with 20mm macro extender
10 sec, f/16.0, ISO 200
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“I am the lover’s gift; I am the wedding wreath;
I am the memory of a moment of happiness;
I am the last gift of the living to the dead;
I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow.”
― Kahlil Gibran
In this case, a gift of love. This time of year, as the days shorten and the nights cool, I am reminded of my first date with my now wife, Betty. Many times we drive past familiar landmarks and recall our firsts and our milestones.
We’ve been through all of life’s ups and downs, raised three wonderful children, watched parents, grandparents, and loved ones pass to whatever lies beyond. We’ve had times that nearly broke us, but our love has, and continues to, sustain us through even the worst of times.
Flowers, as the quote above states so well, have been a part of many of those moments and I’m finding my recent fascination with them uplifting and wanted to share this gift, with love.
Nikon D800
Nikor 24-70mm f/3.5-4.6 @ 35mm
1/2 sec, f/20.0, ISO 400
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“If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment.”
― Georgia O’Keeffe
I’m continuing to enjoy these studio images. Isolating the flower against the black just keeps the attention on the flower. Even when composing the shot, I see shapes and textures I had not noticed before. I’ve also done a few more macro shots, which I will share at some point. It seems the deeper and closer I go the more incredible the shapes, colours, and textures are.
I can’t recall if I’ve used the Georgia O’Keefe quote before, but it is so true to me, especially when the flower is presented this way. I find myself drawn into that world and I love it.
This grouping shows the flowers at various stages of maturity, with the exception of bud and seed head. It’s been suggested I start using these images for gifts cards, which is what I already do with many of my images.
Nikon D800
Nikor 24-70mm f/3.5-4.6 @ 62mm
1/6 sec, f/20.0, ISO 400
High Resolution image on 500px:
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“One realized all sorts of things. The value of an illusion, for instance, and that the shadow can be more important than the substance. All sorts of things.”
― Jean Rhys
This is the second image I have made of an aster using the black background technique and is a bit darker and moodier than the previous image but I did not want to wash out the intense purple of the petals by increasing the exposure.
A notable effect of it being late summer is that the aster has sustained fairly significant insect damage to its leaves. Yet, the extreme heat we’ve had the past few weeks does not seem to have browned and wilted it like so many of its companion plants.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200mm with 20mm macro extender
1/6 sec, f/18.0, ISO 200
High Resolution image on 500px:
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“It is very important that we have the capacity to love many different things or people at the same time. Our love should radiate like the sun, warming everything it touches.”
― Peggy Toney Horton
The sun is less intense, nights are cool, and mornings full of mist and promise. The fields are filled with late summer wildflowers: goldenrod, purple asters, fleabane, and the shells of mid-summer blossoms, now gone to seed. And, the butterflies, oh, the butterflies abound. Yellow sulphurs and cabbage butterflies dart around nervously, and the monarchs perch upon their milkweed.
As is evident with this singular monarch butterfly, they certainly have an affinity for milkweed, it’s where they chose to lay their eggs and seems to be their nectar of choice, till the blossoms fade and seed-pods form, then they seem to favour goldenrod, at least in this area, and the goldenrod is plentiful and healthy this time of year.
Despite all the bright colours competing with her, this monarch still stands out as she perches atop her pedestal, her home, surveying the world around her. It was interesting that she remained still and let me approach, quite closely, without alarming her. She just sat there, basking in the sun and fanning her wings; drinking in the final warmth of the day.
I took multiple shots as she fanned her wings, trying to capture that exact moment when the late afternoon sun illuminated her wings from behind. All the elements came together, provided the effect I wanted to convey, and made the image look almost three dimensional.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200 mm
1/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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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.
Yet another return to the University of Toronto and its doors. Today, I have chosen a peculiar doorway to Trinity College. Though it’s difficult to show the scale on the photo, the doorway is quite short, only about five feet tall. I’m not sure what the significance is, perhaps it forces you to bow on entering?
This portion of the building is a more recent addition, as indicated by the cornerstone, though it still had the same wonderful architecture as the main building it was added to.
Once again, this day offered me superb natural light which shone from the stones, illumination the wonderful oak doors.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/160 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“You notice, by the way, that we never have a meeting with an alien. It’s always an encounter.”
― Jack McDevitt
Also known as a Scorpion Wasp due to their appearance, or more correctly, American Pelecinid Wasp. These alien looking creatures look like they may have come from a child’s nightmare, but the long tail, which resembles a scorpion’s stinger as actually used by the wasp to deposit its egg on grubs underground.
So, from a human standpoint it’s no real threat. But to a grub, it’s a horror story. You see, the long stinger allows the wasp to deposit eggs on grubs while they are still underground, by poking through the dirt and inserting the eggs onto the living grub. As the single egg hatches, the wasp’s own grub begins to eat the host from inside.
The wasp itself is a nectar feeder, usually flying low and can often be seen on bushes and low growing plants. It’s primary benefit is the control of beetle populations by using their grubs as hosts.
iPhone 5s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2
1/30 sec; f/2.2; ISO 50
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“When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
– Horatio Spafford
It’s difficult to put into words the multiple feelings I experience when paddling. My canoe is one of my ‘sacred places’. Like being behind a camera, I am in the moment, and experience only this. Through this photo, I’m sharing a very small piece of the experience of being on the river.
I can sense the water flowing beneath me, feel the gentle breeze on my skin, and the sun warms me. The paddle propels me forward, yet connects me with the water with every stroke. I feel the gentle resistance, watch the water swirl around the wood, and hear the gurgle and drip of water behind me as the stroke completes. I see the woods, mirrored on the calm water, hear insects buzzing, and see the currents below the surface moving across the river’s bottom. It’s all movement, sound, and light, yet there is no turmoil.
Just looking at the photo draws me back to that moment, sitting still, drinking it all in and marvelling at the beauty I am blessed with in this land I call home.
The photo was made last weekend, while paddling the York River, near Bancroft. We made a seven and a half hour day of it, paddling upstream, against a gentle flow till we reached our destination and then let the river’s current carry us back to our starting point. I can’t think of a better way to spend a day, than on the water with friends and family, experiencing this beauty together and then sitting around a campfire, recounting our shared moments.
iPhone 5s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2
1/1000 sec; f/2.2; ISO 32
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For many who recount the shocking events of September 11th 2001, they will tell you the day started out like any other day, but at Canada AM, that wasn’t the case. When I first started full time at AM, the hosts were Valerie Pringle and Dan Matheson. I worked with them, and loved every minute […]
“Do not allow any negativity or ugliness in your surroundings, or anybody at all, destroy your confidence or affect your growth as a blooming flower. It is very normal for one ugly weed to not want to stand alone.”
― Suzy Kassem
The bane of all dog owners and hikers. These ‘stick to everything’ seeds of the common burdock are really quite an ingenious way to transport seeds long distances. For those unfamiliar with ‘burrs’, the spiky balls are tipped with a hook, which easily catches on anything rubbing against the plant. The hooks cling with amazing force and are very difficult to remove. When long haired dogs run through a patch of these, the result for the dog owner is usually hours of manually picking the burrs from the animal’s fur.
The hooks work very well, and I believe are the inspiration for Velcro. This makes long distance seed dispersal possible since they do not easily dislodge, but rather, break off over time.
It’s interesting, especially when reflection on the quote I chose, that I had always seen burdock as a bit of an ‘ugly’ plant, though the blossoms in midsummer are quite pretty. Yet in the fall, they are brittle brown bushes. I found isolating the plant against the black background and using the right light brought out beauty, in even this plant. Something to consider, in many contexts.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200mm
4.0 sec, f/22.0, ISO 200
High Resolution image on 500px:
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“There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who do not. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living.”
― José N. Harris
Ah, the butterfly bush, which takes over large areas as an invasive species, yet barely survives my garden. I am amazed at it’s frailty and resilience. In what should be ideal conditions it fails, yet prospers in places where it should surely wilt. I liken it to the quote above, which has become a mantra for me over the past few years.
I’ve planted this beautiful flowering bush in a few ‘ideal’ locations, hoping to shelter it from winter’s ravages. I have lost more times than I have won. yet, this plant, recovered from my mother-in-law’s garden when she downsized seems to survive year after year. I always leave a few stems un-pruned, so that I know where the plant is the next year.
All through the spring, the brown twigs sit dormant, seemingly dead and dried up. Then, suddenly, green buds appear and it leafs out, and gradually blooms. It’s been three years now and it keeps coming back, yet still only producing three slender stalks.
This year has been a bonus. I thought it was done blooming a few weeks ago, due to the drought we are experiencing this year. Yet, after a few short rainfalls, new flower clusters emerge, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to our yard. It reminds me, that sometimes, you have to wait for the beauty, firm in the knowledge that it will come, at the right time. Not my time, but the right time.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200mm with 20mm macro extender
1.6 sec, f/14.0, ISO 200
High Resolution image on 500px:
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“When someone comes around at that dreary moment, when all hope was lost, and thorns emerged. And that fellow, walks on that thorn just to cross to your side, to bear the pains for your sake, to bleed, to self-destroy himself, just to protect you. He places you above his priorities, and doesn’t give a damn whatsoever taunt he receives, his foremost desire is to make sure you are save, feel loved and cared for, and that’s the true definition of love.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson
Definitely a thorny plant, tough to handle, even to make a photograph, but incredibly beautiful when you look at the structured details.
For many years I had only seen the dried and prickly seed heads of this plant until a few summers ago, when, at the right time, I found a cluster in bloom, wrapped in a partial blanket of pale purple flowers. The flowers themselves don’t cover the entire head, but grow up it in a narrow band. A most curious sight.
As fall approaches and more plants begin to go to seed, I see myself making more photos of this, mixed with several of the wonderful fall blooms. Yet, I keep surprising myself at how much beauty there is in the mundane, even the brown prickly stuff 🙂
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 92 mm
4 sec, f/25.0, ISO 200
High Resolution image on 500px:
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“The light of love, the purity of grace,
The mind, the Music breathing from her face,
The heart whose softness harmonised the whole —
And, oh! that eye was in itself a Soul!”
― George Gordon Byron
At this time of the season, when plants begin to wilt from the exertions of the summer, the cosmos still perseveres, brightening my gardens with their snow white purity and diaphanous petals.
I see the cosmos as such a pure and delightful plant. It’s so delicate, you’d think the petals would break or fold to the touch, yet they don’t. They weather the heat, the storm, and the wind, retaining their beauty and I’m glad to see a survivor.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200mm with 20mm macro extender
2.0 sec, f/18.0, ISO 200
High Resolution image on 500px:
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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or my website (some images available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com
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.
This week, a return to the University of Toronto and it numerous spectacular doors. Today, I have chosen the main doorway to Knox College, another building on the U of T grounds, proudly facing the central campus grounds as they have for over one hundred years.
I’d like to return her to photograph the interior. The website link above shows a brief glimpse into this architectural wonder.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/100 sec, f/5.0, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“I’ll admit that my garden now grows hope in lavish profusion, leaving little room for anything else. I suppose it has squeezed out more practical plants like caution and common sense. Still, though, hope does not flourish in every garden, and I feel thankful it has taken root in mine.”
― Sharon Kay Penman
A photo of my neighbour’s hydrangea this time. You see, the hydrangeas we have are white Annabelles and only bloom white. Our neighbours however, have a different variety which blooms pink, due to the alkalinity of the soil. Unless the soil has been amended, hydrangeas in Ontario bloom pink, yet the same variety will bloom blue in regions with acidic soil .
I have seen people try to cheat and buy blue hydrangeas for their gardens, which gradually turn pink, as the soil acidity changes.
I actually like the pink colour. In the case of this hydrangea, you are seeing the back of the blossom. Even though it’s a front on view, the flowers flip over, revealing the beautiful pink colour, while the inside of the blossoms are a creamy white. I’m not sure of the variety of this hydrangea, once more, I lean on the knowledge of those more savvy in the naming of specific plants, but they may be a variety of lacecap.
Another desirable trait of this particular species is that it seems quite drought resistant and despite the intensely hot days and the lack of rain this summer, it seems to have flourished, while my Annabelles have smaller than normal blossoms, many sunburned from many hot, dry days.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200mm with 20mm macro extender
2 sec, f/16.0, ISO 200
High Resolution image on 500px:
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!”
― Martin Luther
A change of pace, sort of, from garden plants and flowers, yet this is a flower. The flower of the hop plant. A chief ingredient in beer and a very interesting green flower.
I had heard of hop plants and seen photos of them, thinking them native to Europe and Asia, but not till recently did I see a live specimen. Now, they seem to be quite common, once I knew what to look for, then they seem to be everywhere and I wonder how I missed them for so long.
Hop is an interesting plant, with natural antibacterial properties, which is why it was first used in beer making, as a preservative. I’d like to try growing one in my garden but apparently, they grow very quickly and I’d be afraid of overwhelming my yard.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200mm with 20mm macro extender
1.6 sec, f/20.0, ISO 200
High Resolution image on 500px:
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/EdLehming
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“Morning is an important time of day, because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.”
― Lemony Snicket
Dawn broke forth bright and very cool this past weekend. That’s the nature of September around here. Glorious, warm days spent basking in the last few weeks of summer, hoping for a mild and extended fall.
It’s been a hot and dry summer here in southern Ontario, a bit too dry for plants, which are showing signs of heat stress. But, I hate to say goodbye to such a wonderful summer, spent hiking, canoeing, and gardening. Yet, the gradual change of seasons brings pleasant surprises, like the soft sunshine, creating tiny jewels in the tamarack branches, greeting me as I rounded a corner during my morning walk, bringing a smile to my face.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200 mm
1/160 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Two views of the same flower, a week apart.
Sometimes, I keep the flowers I photograph a bit too long but it was interesting for me to compare the two images.
It also reminded me how gradually things can change without you really noticing them.
I was debating the title of the top image, as sorrow may sound too depressing, but that is the emotion that comes over me in waves the past few days.
You see, my youngest two children, now young adults have recently moved from home in the span of a few days. One to go into college residence, not too far from home, but away, nonetheless. The other, is in third year university, and has chosen to live closer to school to save the long commute he has endured the last two years.
So, while I am happy for their growth and proud of all my children, I still experience moments of sorrow. You see, I still look back at the bright, young flower and all the happy times spent with them as children. I recall bringing each of them home for the first time. And, while they are certainly not the wilted, desiccated flower at the top, I feel I looked away a moment too long and missed the gradual transition. Yet, this reminds me that, like a garden, after a winter of transition, fresh blossoms emerge to replace last year’s beauty.
The cycle continues and ‘sorrow’ becomes a transient thing. I’m looking forward the the gardens my children have planted and continue to nurture.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 155 mm
15 sec, f/22.0, ISO 200
High Resolution image on 500px:
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/EdLehming
or my website (some images available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com
Ed Lehming Photography 
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