“Where’d the days go, when all we did was play? And the stress that we were under wasn’t stress at all just a run and a jump into a harmless fall”
― Paolo Nutini
While travelling the Peterson Road outside of Maynooth, Ontario this past weekend, I stopped along the road to make some photos of a roadside lake, a swamp, and some local wildflowers.
As I stood on the roadside, a flash of red caught my eye and I looked down to see this bright red vine, clinging to rocks along the road. It seems strange to see what would typically be fall colours at this time of year, but it has been extremely hot and dry here this year and some plants respond to stress in their own unique fashion. This one displayed its stress by turning bright red. That bright colour against the granite boulders made for a nice composition, in my mind.
It looks like this plant has been growing here for a few years, as you can see several dead tendrils in the background.
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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“Light can be both friend and foe, too much or too little and the full story is not told, overexposed or unseen, parts are missing. Balance, deliberate balance of light, is the way to see the true scene. Our eyes are designed to create that balance, humans are created for balance, and I try to imitate that through my images. – Ed Lehming
Still on the topic of ‘The Gut” Conservation area, near Apsley, Ontario. I had to revisit this waterfall, through a slightly different image. This one is a bit wider than the previous post and shows the flow of the water much better, in my opinion. I arrived at the falls at about 4:30pm. The light was still very direct and I was concerned about getting balanced image, especially since I wanted to do some long exposures. I shot this in RAW format, as I do with all my photos and kept it slightly underexposed, knowing that I could compensate for that when I processed the image.
I was quite happy at how it turned out, retaining the details and showing off the patchy, forest filtered light, without it being a distraction, and I was still able to get a bit of ‘shimmer’ from the moving water, rather than it simply being soft and milky. I believe the image captures the energy and movement as I saw it, which is my goal.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/10 sec, f/32.0, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“The whole point of getting engrossed in something that interests you, is that you dissolve into it, the more the intensity…the more you become vapour – you dissolve. In fact, there is no you to judge, to see… only emptiness within, that is the whole purpose of life… at least my life!”
― Ramana Pemmaraju
Above, is another photo of “The Gut”, a location mentioned in an earlier post. This time, looking away from the falls and down the “Gut” itself. What was difficult to capture, in this extremely challenging light, is the height of this fissure, through which the Crowe River flows. Thirty meter high walls compress the river as it flows between the sheer rock walls. It would be a sight to behold in the spring runoff. Right now, we’re in a drought and the water levels are extremely low, which allowed me to access this vantage point, which would normally be submerged. I didn’t venture further in, as the rocks were wet and slippery.
What light was available, from this vantage point, created a wonderful ‘glow’ on the canyon walls, showing the jagged rock edges covered with patches of moss and ferns in the damp environment created by this formation. It was a bright, hot July day that found me here, yet the flow of the water, the mist from the falls behind me, and the shade offered here was refreshing.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/250 sec, f/8.0, 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.
Once more, it’s not just the doors, but the items around them that are captivating me. This is not a deliberate thing. As I compose the photo, there is ‘something’ subconscious that makes the image ‘good’ in my mind. I usually don’t know what that is till I process it and suddenly, that ‘something’ is revealed.
I just had this same conversation with a professional photographer friend of mine and he has had the same experience, though now, he’s more aware of it and is looking for exactly what that something is, before making the image.
That’s one of my reasons for blogging, to deliberately look at my photos and consider why I made them and improve through that internal, now external, dialogue.
These doors are the entrance to a barbershop in Toronto’s Kensington area. Kensington is a busy, somewhat quirky area, filled with markets and small boutiques. It’s got a real bohemian feel and I just a fun place to people watch and hunt for bargain and handcrafted items.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 117 mm
1/2100 sec, f/5.0, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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or my website (some images available for purchase)
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“We don’t realize that, somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme self who is eternally at peace.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert
My wife and I discovered this magical place a few years ago on a “fall colours” tour of the area where we spend our summers. I was following the local waterways, looking for a few named waterfalls when I came across this place, who’s location I will not divulge.
The locals, apparently, call it the “Hollow”. It is a wonderful, private park, just off the highway, yet unmarked and hard to find. The Hollow is a deep swimming hole, just beneath a beautiful set of rapids on Papineau Creek, in North Hastings.
On this day, the water was warm, the bugs were few, and we spend several hours in the water and lying on the shore, just enjoying the peace here. It’s the kind of place I could spend hours, just unwinding and enjoying the wonderful, peaceful places nature has provided. Staring up at summer clouds and the circling dragonflies, oblivious to the world.
This is a place I will return to, time and time again, just to drink in the beauty and think back on simpler times, when life slows down, the sun warms my face, and I smile at creation. This, is living in the moment.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“All in all, it was a never-to-be-forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world.”
― L.M. Montgomery
My final memory of an extended weekend away is this stunning sunset that we witnessed on the way home.
Outside a small Ontario town called Janetville, we pulled off the road to watch the final moments of a wonderful day spent together at the camper and exploring local sights. The handful of clouds added some interest to the scene, as the sun slid slowly behind a ridge of trees.
I find myself longing for another taste of that warm summer day, together, that seemed to float endlessly in shared memories and good times.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“There is a hidden message in every waterfall. It says, if you are flexible, falling will not hurt you!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan
As many of you who follow my blog might know, I love moving water and waterfalls. A few years ago, I set out to discover and document the many waterfalls and cascades in the area where I camp.
My journeys have taken me down some long, little travelled trails, across private property (which took some negotiating), and right next to major roadways. Hours have been spent enjoying the flow of water, relaxing on the shore after some strenuous hikes, and just taking in the raw beauty which is Ontario’s backcountry.
About a year ago, I shared this documentary journey with a friend of mine who also likes waterfalls and he asked me if I had visited “The Gut” yet. That surprised me. I had never heard of “The Gut”. He suggested I look it up and pay a visit.
Yesterday, I did just that. I Googled it and found out a bit more about it. The name intrigued me, as well as photos others had posted. So, on my way home from my camper I set out to find this place, relying on roadside signage to guide me.
I came across a sign on the highway that pointed to “The Gut” and it indicated that my destination was 14 km away. This turned out to be 14 km of hilly, winding, dirt road, with no further signs to indicate my progress. Finally, at the top of a particularly steep hill, another sign indicated that I had arrived.
After parking the car my wife and I proceeded down a trail marked “The Gut Falls”.It was a short, steep hike but we found our final destination, a heavy fence installed to keep distracted hikers from falling into the Gut, a fissure in the local basalt lava rock, some 30 meters high and between 5 to 10 meters across. The Crowe Rivers flows through this steep walled feature, beginning with the waterfall pictured above. I have several other photos which I will post over the next few days.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/10 sec, f/32.0, ISO 100
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“Dawn was breaking over the horizon, shell pink and faintly gold…”
― J.K. Rowling
Today, I move away from flowers and a brief view of my morning.
I woke up to a slight orange glow through the camper window and the cry of a loon on the lake. The quintessential Northern Ontario experience. I grabbing my gear, I headed down to the dock.
Mist danced over the water’s surface, barely a ripple disturbed the surface, and birds greeted the morning, as the moon hung high among pale pink and orange clouds, in the rapidly brightening sky.
I tried to capture this moment, which lasted mere minutes in several compositions, my favourite, which I include here.
iPhone 5S
“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.”
― Osho
Now at number five in this series, it may be time for me to take a short departure from this and get outside.
I’m really enjoying this foray into the world of studio photography. It drives the creativity in me to a new level. Being able to take the common and transform it into something more gives me a sense of satisfaction. There is something about plants and flowers that resonates in me. Perhaps it’s the almost miraculous details that you see when you take the time to really observe them. They calm me, somehow, as I look at them, appreciating the lines, the texture, and complexity of even the most commonplace flower.
I’m taking a few days of much needed vacation to get up north, recharge, and, of course, make some more photos. The days are forecast to be hot and humid, so there’s a really good chance I will be near water. Perhaps a lake or a waterfall?
There are several waterfalls, rather, chutes, in the area where my camper sits and a visit to capture some of that raw beauty is in order.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200 mm
1/140 sec, f/14.0, ISO 6400
High Resolution image on 500px:
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“One passionate heart can brighten the world. From person to person the chain reaction burns through us — setting heart to heart ablaze, and lighting the way for us all!”
― Bryant McGill
Here I am at photo four of this expanding project “Ordinary Flower in a Different Light”. Today’s subject is an Annabelle Hydrangea from our front garden.
This incredible flowering shrub is quite the sight when fully in bloom. Some of the blossoms become so large that the stem can’t bear the weight and they fold over. Those blossoms are often cut off and brought inside for us to enjoy as a centrepiece floral arrangement.
The hydrangea was a bit more of a challenge to photograph as the bright white flowers dominate the image and make it more of a challenge to get all the elements balanced. I’m still learning and adjusting camera settings as I go, but this is the best of the lot.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 92 mm
1/100 sec, f/14.0, ISO 6400
High Resolution image on 500px:
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close-up. The shortcut to closing a door is to bury yourself in the details. This is how we must look to God. As if everything’s just fine.”
― Chuck Palahniuk
Image number three in what has become my “Ordinary Flowers in a Different Light” series. Interestingly enough, this was a single blossom on one of my finicky clematis plants. They are strange in their blooming patterns. Some opening in May, while others have gone into November.
While the blossom is quite pretty, it tends to be a go-to garden plant and thus it’s been included in my “Ordinary Flowers” collection.
This studio photography experiment is quite enjoyable and is not something I saw myself gravitating towards. However, I do like the fine details this technique shows and really allows the plant to show off, as it were, without competing with their garden companions.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 140 mm
1/100 sec, f/14.0, ISO 6400
High Resolution image on 500px:
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.
I’m finding lately that it’s not just the doors, but the reflections in the windows that are quite interesting.
These doors are the entrance to the Faculty Club of Montreal’s McGill University. I had to resort to my iPhone for this image and waited for a while for traffic through the doors to die down. I was not happy with the angle presented to me but there were not a lot of options available to me. The door sits atop a small landing about two meters above street level. Fortunately, I’m tall but I would have prefered a wider shot that allowed me to frame the door completely.
iPhone 5s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @4.2mm
1/320 sec; f/2.2; ISO 32
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“If people refuse to look at you in a new light and they can only see you for what you were, only see you for the mistakes you’ve made, if they don’t realize that you are not your mistakes, then they have to go.”
― Steve Maraboli
I may just start a series called “Common Flowers in a Different Light”. Since I started experimenting with this studio technique, I’ve found myself going to the garden and harvesting some of the more common flowers to photograph. As I look through my viewfinder to compose the shots, I’m actually awestruck at how the blossoms transform from plain to spectacular. This is not a boast but a feeling I have as a ‘vision’ is realized. That such a transformation can be accomplished by the correct application of light is where I want my photography to evolve.
There seem to be very distinct phases in photography that anyone serious in the art go through. I’ve looked at many 500px galleries and watched artists grow here on WordPress as they push the next limit and suddenly the images are taken up a notch.
I’m hoping that’s the case for me, and if not, then at least I am enjoying the journey.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200 mm
1/40 sec, f/14.0, ISO 6400
High Resolution image on 500px:
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“It is in the darkest hour, when we are faced with our deepest most wrenching fears, that we are given the greatest strength. The choice is whether we succumb to the fear or rise with courage to face our truth and shine our brilliance as our sword of valour.”
― Monika Zands
I keep reminding myself to look around me, carefully, appreciating the common things.
Recently, I’ve been doing some macro work as well as playing with layers in Photoshop to isolate my subjects. Today, I moved to the studio and played with lighting to combine these two photographic styles. I’ve been inspired by the works of a photographer on 500px who creates masterpieces (in my opinion) with flowers and studio lighting.
Drawing on that inspiration and gathering a few day lilies from the garden, which I always take for granted and essentially ignore as a ‘filler’ plant, I set up my lights, carefully positioned the lilies in a tall vase, and set about experimenting with ideal camera settings. Within a few tries, I had something that I was happy with and moved over to my iMac to check them out. The result is posted above.
I don’t think I’ll ever look at Day Lilies the same way again. They are stunning, seemingly on fire with colour and light.
Interestingly, I never saw myself doing much studio work, preferring to be outdoors in a canoe or on a trail somewhere. This might be a new rainy day pastime for me.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 110 mm
1/140 sec, f/14.0, ISO 6400
High Resolution image on 500px:
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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http://www.edlehming.com
“When you feel life at crossroads, you need higher perspective view.”
― Toba Beta
This image is a throwback to last summer. I was at a business meeting on a high floor of one of Toronto’s office towers and kept being captivated by the view, spread out before me like a buffet. I just kept being drawn to the lines of the buildings and the gorgeous sky.
At lunch, I took the opportunity to make a few photos of this beautiful scene with my phone camera. It’s a great view, you can see Union Station to the right hand side with the Royal York hotel just across the street. it’s times like this that I am grateful for my iPhone camera.
It always struck me as odd, as I sat in Toronto’s boardrooms just how disinterested people seem to be in this beautiful city and wonder, “Did they just get numb to it, or is there an expectation that business must go on, undistracted?” I, for one, love the views and am perfectly happy for a bit of distraction. I’ve witnessed glorious sunsets, billowing storm clouds, and thick layers of fog, rolling in like waves, during my times downtown. All through quick glimpses through boardroom windows as business goes on.
If I had a window office on, say, the 45th floor, I’d definitely be taking a few minutes every day to charge my batteries with a bit of scenery, otherwise, why even bother with windows.
iPhone 5s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @29mm
1/1250 sec, f/2.2, ISO 32
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“If you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it’s not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.”
― Jodi Picoult
I’ve been having some fun experimenting with the lilies in my yard. Yesterday, I caught them, mist covered in morning light, a bit softer and warmer, never noticing the subtle change in colour to more of a peach colour.
A few days prior, I photographed the same lilies, two still in bud. I liked the composition but had trouble isolating them from the background foliage, while using a smaller aperture to keep the entire blossom in focus.
So, I thought I’d isolate them be separating the pinks from the green via layers in Photoshop. I created a simple layer mask and switched the background to a darker black and white, making the lilies pop out from the background. I like the look and will continue to play with this, as I think it has potential to be more.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 140 mm
1/160 sec, f/14.0, ISO 3200
High Resolution image on 500px:
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“The simple things come back to us. They rest for a moment by our ribcages then suddenly reach in and twist our hearts a notch backward.”
― Colum McCann
Sometimes, it’s the simple beauty that is so close and so familiar that we take for granted, rather, seeking something exotic and exciting in so many aspects of our lives.
I’ve found myself in this situation so many times with respect to my photography. Surely, at least based on the gorgeous images we are inundated with, there are so much more beautiful things to photograph, in exotic and far flung locations?
Why is this? I walk into my backyard and survey the flowers and plants growing there, wondering if someone else, in a distant country is having the same thoughts and feelings? Then, I realize, that for that person, my location is far away and exotic. The plants, so commonplace in my garden are inaccessible to them and I need recognize just how special the here and now are.
Then, I look again at these lovely pink lilies, dripping with morning dew, and am thankful for this simple beauty, that requires no travel to enjoy, other than a fews steps down to the yard. I also consider the many recent forest hikes and all the wonder the world presents me with, here and now. I suppose I slip, occasionally, into the ‘grass is greener’ mentality, looking for ‘better’ when I already have treasure in my sights, daily.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 125 mm
1/80 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“We live and breathe words. …. It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone. They could be honest with me, and I with them. Reading your words, what you wrote, how you were lonely sometimes and afraid, but always brave; the way you saw the world, its colors and textures and sounds, I felt–I felt the way you thought, hoped, felt, dreamt. I felt I was dreaming and thinking and feeling with you. I dreamed what you dreamed, wanted what you wanted–and then I realized that truly I just wanted you.”
― Cassandra Clare
A very short post today, off to my nephew’s wedding in Hunsville. Recalling my own wedding 25 years ago and the dreams we had, many realized, some still in the works.
I chose this rose image, from my recent journey into macro photography, to represent the future, a bit soft and dreamy, and glowing brightly.
My wishes for wishes for David and Katelyn are many years of love, happiness, and dreams realized on their big day.
Nikon D800
Schneider-Kreuznach Exida-Xenon 50mm f/1.9 @ 50mm (14mm extension tube)
1/60 sec, f/1.9, ISO 4000
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke
Just east of Bancroft, Ontario is a north-south connector road known as Boulter Road, which, naturally takes you to, and through, the small town of Boulter. The road travels north from McArthur Mills and offers spectacular views of the high rolling hills so typical of this area.
The warm summer days are upon us and the typical Ontario ‘summer’ clouds float lazily in the skies. It’s been dry and the grasses begin to yellow as they go dormant, flecks of wildflowers brightening the scene further, waiting for rain.
As I look back on this image, I can almost hear the crickets chirping and the cicadas buzzing in the heat. A very pleasant day indeed.
It’s not a very dynamic photo by current internet standards. There are no awesome sunsets, shimmering lakes, or rugged mountains, but it does remind me that I live in a wonderful part of the world that I can enjoy for what it is.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/320 sec, f/9.0, ISO 200
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“When we tug at a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world.”
― John Muir
I’ve spent a lot of time of the trails this year, watching the earth grow greener with every passing day. The brown forest floor literally exploded with life, which kept expanding,growing, thriving and eventually blossoming with flowers, providing beauty for me and nectar for bees and butterflies.
The forest has drawn me into her bosom like never before. I’m noticing fine details, taking the time to really see the complexity and interconnectedness of the soil, the plant, and animals. This really surprised me, as I have always considered myself an ‘outdoors’ person. Yet, now I find myself going deeper, learning about the plants names, their cycles, and environment at a whole new level.
The image above speaks to me of this journey, taken as a whole, it’s a forest trail, yet when carefully considered, the individual elements reveal themselves, drawing you into the details and shadows. Where the trail leads in unknown, yet not a thing to be feared, into the green.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/60sec, f/2.8, ISO 320
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“She is free in her wildness, she is a wanderess, a drop of free water. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules or customs. ‘Time’ for her isn’t something to fight against. Her life flows clean, with passion, like fresh water.”
― Roman Payne
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.
The colourful door above belongs to an art gallery of artist friend Linda Lang. The gallery just recently opened in Maynooth, Ontario and is called Linda Lang’s Brush with the North.
Linda has a spectacular gift for painting images of the Arctic, capturing it’s raw beauty in her magnificent paintings. The Arctic has become a place which is extremely special to her. She has made several trips there and is documenting the significant changes happening there due to climate change through her art.
Linda recently began renovations to this century old, former stage coach stop, transforming it into an art gallery, classroom, workshop, and studio. If you happen to be in the Maynooth area, please drop in and view her art as well as those of other local artists.
iPhone 5s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @4.2mm
1/320 sec; f/2.2; ISO 32
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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http://www.edlehming.com
“The river moved so swiftly and yet it had no purpose other than to flow, just flow.”
― Gioconda Belli
During a recent backcountry drive, I tried to retrace my route to a little gem of a park I found a few years back. There is no road sign identifying the park, just an unmarked road that leads to a beautiful groomed park on the shores of Papineau Creek, near Maynooth, Ontario.
Just before the creek enters the park area, it flows through a short set of rapids. On a hot summer day this was a nice spot to stop and cool down by the water, make some photos, and just enjoy the refreshing sound of the water as it gurgles over the rocks.
It was quite a bright day and without a neutral density filter, it look a bit of effort to get my shutter speed down enough to soften the flow of the water. I used strategic timing of passing clouds to finally get the results I was after, keeping the rocks nice and sharp and highlighting the movement of the water.
Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G I AF-S VR Zoom @ 110 mm
1 sec, f/32.0, ISO 125
For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it.”
― John Green
This must be the most photographed tree in Markham, a community just south of my home. This oak stands at the top of a convenient mound, nicely isolating the tree from any distracting background. It’s not a true ‘solitaire’ by my definition, as there is a companion tree not to far from it, but it neighbour is not nearly as nicely shaped as this one is.
The tree stand on this hill, in the middle of a local farm field and the road runs next to it, offering many opportunities to pull over and make a photograph. Many times, while driving past, I’ve witness a photographer or two capturing their own image of this beauty.
I made this image a few days ago, on a warm early summer morning. The sun was just high enough to light it well, without being overly bright and still casting some warm hues on the leaves and the freshly harvested field. All that’s missing, in my opinion, is s few puffy summer clouds and I would be happy to stare at it for hours, almost feeling the warm sun and hearing the insects buzzing.
Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G I AF-S VR Zoom @ 220 mm
1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 200
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
“When one tunes in into nature’s frequency, life becomes change, change becomes hope!”
― Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel
This has been a year of change and experimentation for me. It’s all been fairly carefully thought out and exciting. I’ve experimented with new photographic techniques, such as macro photography and new ways of editing, like using some Photoshop plugins to create paintings from my photos. I also experimented with some new varieties of plants in my gardens, breaking away from my go-to plants and placing splashes of colour and multiple layers in the flower beds.
Here I managed to combine several new things into one. The image is a close up, not quite a macro, image of one of my new plants, a pink verbena. I liked how the bright pink just jumps out at me, so I decided to isolate it further, as a colour layer and kept the background back and white. I like the result. Change really can be good!
Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G I AF-S VR Zoom @ 300 mm
1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 720
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
“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.
― Anne Frank
Such a menacing name for such a beautiful, delicate flower. But, the Dogbane plant’s latin name, apocynum cannabinum, means “poisonous to dogs”.
This is another new plant to me. I noticed the white/pink blossoms as I was photographing a nearby creek, so I made a photo of the flowers and leaves, intent on identifying it at a later time.
This year, I have been much more deliberate about learning about the plants and animals I encounter during my time in nature. I’ve spent my whole life enjoying the outdoors, hiking, hunting, and fishing ,but never really cared much about the names of the lesser known plants. It’s been a great year and I have expanded my knowledge significantly. I’m also more observant about the cycles of these plants and where to find them. It has given me a great deal of pleasure and sense of being connected with the cycles of nature.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200 mm
1/125 sec, f/5.0, ISO 200
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
“While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see.”
― Dorothea Lange
I find myself working with photos that did not quite communicate my vision as intended. I see so much more in my composition, but struggle to articulate just what that is. When that ‘something’ does not present itself, or can’t be extracted in the final product I call these my ‘seconds’. I don’t delete them, but rather, I hang onto them with the intent of revisiting them at some future date as my editing skills grow or I am better able to extract that ‘essence’ that I first saw or felt when I made the image. There are also some great plugins out there that enhance the image enough for me that I get closer to what I wanted.
My recent go-to is Topaz Impression, which allows me to create painterly effects that are closer to how I imagined the image when I composed the shot .
The irises pictured above grow along the shores of a small lake where our family spends much of the summer. My days are generally spent reading, canoeing, and photographing. I do like combining the latter activities and find some nice images offered me as I glide slowly along the shore.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 200 mm
1/160 sec, f/13.0, ISO 5600
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
“Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.”
― Erol Ozan
Back to Slabtown, who’s only claim to fame, at present, seems to be the bridge that crosses the York River. In days gone by, it must have been a thriving mill town. Today, not so much. At this point in the river’s journey, it has just passed through the Great Bend. A long, fairly slow flowing section of the river.
It’s nice to be able to view different portions of the river as they pass below the roads. I’ve paddled sections of it and every bend is a new experience. Here, the river widens before entering the Conroy Marsh, eventually joining the mighty Madawaska River.
It was a great experience taking a couple of short backroad drives, to explore the area we have spent summers in for the past thirteen years. Most of that time was spend with our children and not so much just venturing out to new territory.
Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G I AF-S VR Zoom @ 70 mm
1/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200
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
“When someone you love says goodbye you can stare long and hard at the door they closed and forget to see all the doors God has open in front of you.”
― Shannon L. Alder
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 favorite door photos from around the world
The image above is of yet another fine door at St. Mary’s Anglican Church, in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The door is an oddity, as there is no step down (I was going to title it “Mind Your Step”), and it’s sealed off on the inside. I imagine it must have been a door to the Incumbent’s residence in days gone by. I will need to ask about that.
In any case, it’s a beautiful door and is nicely complimented by a set of wonderful windows and framed below by a lush garden at this historical church in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 78 mm
1/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200
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
“A fine work of art – music, dance, painting, story – has the power to silence the chatter in the mind and lift us to another place.”
― Robert McKee
I could not resist posting one more dogwood image before the season passes. The image above was transformed into a painterly image using Topaz Impressions software in Photoshop. I can’t paint well and this plug-in allows me to create images in such a way as to satisfy the painter trapped inside me.
For me, it’s about how the image or moment made me feel and I try to convey that feeling through my images, be it a photograph or, as in this case, a painting or likeness to one.
How do you feel about this treatment?
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD As @ 32mm
1/60 sec, f/4.0, ISO 200
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
“Until a seed falls to the ground and dies, it does not become a tree that later yields many fruits and multitude of seeds. We must embrace the thought of death for us to have greater lives.”
― Sunday Adelaja
We used to call these ‘giant dandelions’ as kids. Why not, they certainly look like dandelions, even the blossoms look like overgrown dandelions. The Goat’s Beard seed head, looks like a gigantic dandelion. This image is not even a macro, it was made with my 70-300 zoom at a high aperture to show all the detail. I looked at it in amazement. It’s almost perfect, not a single seed has departed. It’s beautifully full and round, I can see right to the centre.
The wonder here was that this was not an isolated specimen. There were three or four to chose from, the sun was bright and clear, making for ideal conditions for this shot, along the roadside near Slabtown, on Boulter Road.
This is another image from my day trip through Bancroft’s back-country.
Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G I AF-S VR Zoom @ 240 mm
1/60 sec, f/16.0, ISO 500
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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