A small-man made cascade on Wilket Creek, which runs through this botanical gardens in Toronto. This is only a small section of an extensive walking / cycling trail system that runs through the Don Valley, a reminder of Toronto’s natural past.
This was really just an opportunity to do a long exposure to show off the gentle flow of the water. I’m enjoying having a lens that allows me to do this without the use of a tripod. Technology has come a long way.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm
1/60 sec, f/2.8, 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
“Spring returns, resplendent in pinks and white. Trees and shrubs glow in the sun, bedecked in bright blossoms and pale green leaves. The world awakens; the eternal cycle repeats. – Ed Lehming
As I mentioned in my last post, I have not been to this botanical gardens since I was a young child. It was so nice to see all the blossoming trees. I was especially surprised to see redbuds, since I was not aware that they could survive this climate. However, there were many specimens thriving here, including this trailing variety, artfully draped over a stone wall.
The soft pink blossoms against the gray stones are what first drew my eye to the scene and then it was just a matter of framing the shot effectively.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 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
“You saw a fluttering fan before her face and magnolia blooms and sleepy lakes under the moonlight when she walked.”
— Zora Neale Hurston
The last time I visited Edwards Gardens in Toronto I must have been about 6 years old. It used to be a favoured destination for my family, as both my father and grandmother were avid gardeners. I vaguely recall the place, remembering only the amazing patches of colour of mid-summer blossoms.
I went back yesterday, with my wife, as part of our 25th wedding anniversary celebrations. My goal being to conjure up old memories, and make some nice photos, as well as taking her to a place from my past that she had not visited yet. Not surprisingly, there were lots of tulips and daffodils but I was pleasantly surprised at how many of the park’s numerous magnolias were still showing off many healthy blossoms. Most of the trees in my neighbourhood had already shed their blooms and progressed to leaf.
The subject above was just starting to fade in patched but for the most part was still in glorious bloom. Having visited so many years ago, and in summer, I was not really expecting to see this wonderful colour and I am glad we dropped in here for a stroll among the trees and flowers.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 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
“Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.”
― G.K. Chesterton
The St. Lawrence Market in Toronto is marvelous for its sights, sounds, and smells. It hearkens back to markets of old, with vendors selling their wares in the hustle and bustle of a busy market.
When thinking of a title for this image I was going to call it “Everything Comes with a Price”, as I found the large price tags on every item on display extremely distracting. THis particular vendor is more of a ‘self-serve’ shop, where all the cheeses are on display and you can just pick one from the bin. The other cheese shops in the market have some cheeses in bins for purchase but have opted for the merchant model, where the cheeses are behind a counter and the cut fresh what you want and charge according to price and weight.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm
1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250
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
Morrice Hall, McGill University, Montreal.
Yes, I have a thing for large old doors. So, I am drawn to Universities, public offices, and cathedrals for my material.
Nikon D300
Nikor 24-70mm f/3.5-4.6 @ 28mm
1/160 sec; f/6.3; 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
“If you want a happy ending, it just depends on where you close the book!”
― Orson Welles
A final image of trilliums for the season. This has been a fine year for them. Moderately warm days brought on a slow bloom and cool nights preserved the delicate blossoms. As I roamed the forest a few days ago, I could not help but make a few more images to look back on later in the year. This pair, with the dead log in the background, offered a nice composition and good light. Now the season progresses and other subjects await.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 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
“For the newborn and wise, everything begins small.”
― Suzy Kassem
Once more, the unexpected, on a very familiar walk. I’m not sure where this little fellow started out from, but he’s about the size of a quarter and looks to be freshly hatched. He was sitting on a gravel walking path and eventually made it to this grassy section. One thing is for certain, he has a long and perilous journey ahead of him, as sea gulls are always on the prowl for turtles after the spring hatch and it was a long way to the safety of the pond. Hopefully, he made it.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 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
“Art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness. It trains the mind through the eye, and the eye through the mind. As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life.”
― John Lubbock
The wonder of spring, as the forest explodes in greens and yellows, never fails to impress me. Tiny buds burst open and within days, full sized leaves adorn the branch. What I like most is how pure and unblemished these new leaves are. They glow with health, but only for a few days and the cycle towards the inevitable winter begins again.
So, I drink it in while it lasts and I save these moments, in photographs, to enjoy at times when I need to be reminded that the cycle will repeat.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 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
“See that path in front of you? That path has been laid before you, the one that you’re supposed to take, the one you’re told to take through life…just like everyone else. If you follow that path, you’ll be following all the rules, you’ll always know that you did what everyone wanted you to do and you’ll make it through…
See that path in front of you? I dare you to step off and make your own.”
― Travis Culliton
Looking out my home office window yesterday, as the dark clouds cleared and the sky brightened, I could not help but get outside for a few minutes to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. There is a nice trail system 5 minutes from home. So I took my camera to see what this day offered.
I’ve walked this path hundreds of times and there is always some slight variation in light, foliage, and viewpoint that makes each walk unique. I’ve also photographed these poplars on numerous occasions, including vertical pan shots like this.
However, this day, that slight play of light, new growth, and the bright green grass (including dandelions) made the element s align for this lovely spring image. It seems far too long since I’ve created one of these ‘painterly’ images, which I enjoy so much. Hopefully, this image of a bright spring day brightens someone else’s day.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm
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 (some images available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com
“Oh, the wonder of it! The outrageous beauty! God didn’t have to give us cherry blossoms you know. He didn’t have to make apple trees and peach trees burst into flower and fragrance. But God just loves to splurge. He gives us all this magnificence and then, if that isn’t enough, He provides fruit from such extravagance.” – Lynn Austin
I was not expecting to see cherry blossoms this year. All indications were that this would not be a good year for them and I believed the time to see them in bloom was past. Thus, I was very pleased to find this lovely display along the way. I recall there being a cherry tree here but I have missed the bloom for the past few years and did not really consider looking for it. It certainly was nice to come around the trail and see the tree decked out in a resplendent coat of white.
Even sitting here writing this post, I can smell the sweet fragrance of the blossoms filling the warm air as I notice all the fine details and rich colours that are often missed in the broader view. That is the reason I decided to isolate this single cluster, to allow me to look at it, undistracted by the larger show the tree had to offer me.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm
1/125 sec, f/13.0, 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
“In a rich moonlit garden, flowers open beneath the eyes of entire nations terrified to acknowledge the simplicity of the beauty of peace.”
― Aberjhani
Can you think of a more appropriate name for these delicate spring flowers, in tones of pink and purple? The Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) in my area seems to prefer the bases of Beech trees as their habitat, yet some small patches grow in the open. Most of the plants I came across ranged between nearly white to pale pink and patched with striped fuchsia. This particular specimen was light blue with purple tinges in the flower buds, thus the photo.
I enjoyed the slight ‘glow’ of the stems, as the filtered afternoon sun lit up the forest floor. The light this day was spectacular and really showed the colours and textures well. Apart for their unique colours, this small colony sat apart for others and allowed me to isolate them for other plants, which are becoming more abundant as temperatures rise in the forest.
Nikon D300
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm
1/125 sec, f/5.6, 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
“If you feel you have to open a particular door, open it, otherwise all your life that door will haunt your mind!”
― Mehmet Murat Ildan
I could not turn down the opportunity to photograph this bright display on a downtown Montreal street for this week’s Thursday Doors submission.
Mind your step 🙂
iPhone 5s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2
1/120sec; f/2.2; ISO 64
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 world is exploding in emerald, sage, and lusty chartreuse – neon green with so much yellow in it. It is an explosive green that, if one could watch it moment by moment throughout the day, would grow in every dimension.”
― Amy Seidl
Another image from this past weekend. The trees are a yellow-green with fresh leaves bursting from buds and pollen laden flowers. It’s not the best time of years for allergy sufferers but wonderful for the unafflicted.
I walked for hours, every bend in teh trail alive with new growth and bright morning sunshine providing soft backlighting. The leaves will only remain in this state for a few more days and will be full grown in short measure, fulfilling their role of drinking in sunshine and moisture from the air, providing nourishment to their host. For me , this is like an extended time-lapse. The expansion is so rapid, you can almost see it happening before your eyes.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm
1/160 sec, f/6.3, 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
“It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want—oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!”
― Mark Twain
Spring fever, that must be it. I spent this past Sunday, hiking some 14 miles, visiting all my favourite trails, seeking out the diversity of fresh wildflowers and foliage. It’s like the whole world around me suddenly bursting forth with life.
Each area is slightly varied, some low areas abound with life, ferns quite advanced in their growth, yet others, a bit higher in elevation, or in the shade, are delayed, with modest growth, still tucked under their blanket of dull brown leaves.
It was one of the warmer patches, along a hillside, bathed in sun, that produced this wonderful Ontario spring scene. A vast patch of mature trilliums, with their bright white faces and golden centres, shing to greet me. It felt like a wave of spring, flowing towards me. Thus the title, “Trillium Crest”.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 170 mm
1/320 sec, f/9.0, 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
“Ah yes, the beauty of nature…once we understand life’s delicateness, then we will surely protect and cherish all of its forms.”
― Shannon Leigh Warren
A male Canada Goose, stands guard of its nest, late day sunlight brightening the cat-tails of his construct.
He’s on the lookout for a rather large swan, who is nesting nearby and tends to disturb the peace of the Canada Goose’s nest on a regular cycle.
I stood on the shore and watched this unfortunate cycle play out twice. The female Canada Goose would sit on her nest, the male on watch. Then, the male swan would cruise by, driving the couple off the nest, temporarily. It’s really not the most strategic location and will likely cause issues for the geese for the rest of the nesting season. Surely a better location was available? Or, does the swan’s presence provide additional insurance?
Nikon D300
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 105 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
“I am learning my way toward something that will make sense of my life, and I learn by going where I have to go, with whatever companions I am graced.”
― Dean Koontz
At the base of a dead beech tree, these companions add brightness and life, among the dead and decomposing elements surrounding them.
For some unknown reason, the large beech trees in this local forest all died a few years ago. Many of them are very large and old, so it may just be a cycle, as there are many younger trees thriving in the same area. The die-off started a few years back and most of the elders are gone now, the bark peeling off their massive trunks, branches falling to the ground with every passing winter. I also suspect a new housing development nearby may have altered the water table, ever so slightly, as to affect the older trees. The forest seems a bit ‘wetter’ than usual.
Yet, among all this death, spring offers her bounty of fresh life, in the form of wildflowers, growing in abundance at the base of these dead trees. There are Spring Beauties (Claytonia virginica), also known by some as May Flowers or Fairy Spuds (the roots and flowers are edible), with their bright pink faces and delicate stems. Then there are also Trout Lilies with their mottled leaves and bright yellow flowers. Mixed in among them, though not pictured here are red and white trilliums, to name the most predominant in my area. It seems every year there are more, which is wonderful to see.
To think a few short years ago I would walk these same trails and never notice anything but the white trilliums. There is something to be said for slowing down and just looking. It’s amazing what we can see, if we take the time.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm
1/125 sec, f/5.6, 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
“I always wondered why God was supposed to be a father,” she whispers. “Fathers always want you to measure up to something. Mothers are the ones who love you unconditionally, don’t you think?”
― Jodi Picoult
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, and caregivers who have and continue to play this role.
I’ve been blessed with two mothers, as well as two grandmothers and my Mother in Law who have also played very significant roles in my life. I was adopted and spent the first part of my life with my adopted mother and my grandmother, who stepped into the role of mother many times, so the two are really interchangeable to me. Each had a significantly different approach to parenting and it all balanced out nicely. Both have since passed on and I miss them dearly.
My mother-in-law is far from the stereotypical image we are exposed to in movies and television. She is incredible caring and compassionate and I am happy to have her in my life (and she bakes one heck of an Elderberry pie).
Several years ago, I connected with my birth family. This connection brought me together with my birth mother and her mother, a second grandmother. One of the highlights of this connection was having my two mothers and two grandmothers meet, as well as my mother-in-law, who joined in on the marvellous day.
Connecting with my birth family has been fantastic and I am so happy to have that relationship. Sadly, my grandmother passed away last year as well and I wish I had had more time to be with her. She was such a loving person (and also baked one heck of an Elderberry pie)!
I could go on at length, but enough to say I am blessed with all these women who have played and continue to play such an important part in my life. I thank them for my life, for caring, admonishing, and most of all, loving me through all these years.
Happy Mother’s Day to you.
“Is the spring coming?” he said. “What is it like?”…
“It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett
Interestingly enough, despite the cold April we experienced in my neck of the woods, the first white trillium blossom I found, appeared exactly to the date of last year’s. I though for certain that it would be a full week behind, but this beauty, and her companions, waiting to open up in the next day or two, are right on time. There’s no stopping the natural cycle.
In fact, I think this may even be the same plant that bloomed first, last year. The conditions must be just right in this particular patch, as the whole group of them is slightly advanced.
Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm
1/125 sec, f/5.6, 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
My May submission to One Photo Focus and ABFriday, where everybody processes the same image.
I had fun with the original by first cleaning it up a bit, cropping it, bringing out the shadows in RAW and adding a slight ‘painterly’ layer at 30%. Most of the work was done in bringing out the details in the shadows.
Original photo by Julie Powell
A beautiful mix of stone, brass and wood. Montreal City Hall – Front doors
Nikon D300
Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm
1/80 sec; f/4.5; 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
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the mind.”
― Luther Burbank
The Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) is among my top ten spring plants. It looks almost tropical, with its spotted leaves and bright flowers, yet it grows in abundance in the moist woodlands of south-central Canada.
It’s an interesting plant, as there are often vast patches of Trout Lily with no blossoms at all. The young plants are sterile and have only one leaf. The mature plants have two leaves and bear a single blossom. It’s also known locally as Dog-Tooth Violet, though I prefer Trout Lily myself, as I believe it’s the white variety Erythronium albidum that actually resembles a tooth, but who am I to argue with local tradition? The name Trout Lily comes from the spotted leaves which resemble a trout’s skin and seems so much more appropriate to me.
When entering the forest, the Trout Lily is tough to spot, then you see one, and then another, each seemingly trying to outdo the last in their beauty, the forest floor a blanket of green wild leeks with spots of yellow everywhere. I love this time of year.
Nikon D300
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm
1/125 sec, f/5.6, 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
“I can still bring into my body the joy I felt at seeing the first trillium of spring, which seemed to be telling me, “Never give up hope, spring will come.”
— Jessica Stern
The entrance of spring continues. After a day of cutting grass and getting gardens ready, I ventured out to a trail literally in my backyard. My hope was to see a few wildflowers emerging from their winter slumber, especially after this prolonged, cool, spring.
The regular patches I visit had a few sparse blossoms showing; they seemed thin and delayed, which did not come as a surprise. Given that, I followed the trail into the marshy woods and was greeted by an abundance of early bloomers. Among them, these beautiful Wake Robins or Red Trilliums, as some call them.
I love seeing these bright plants with their brilliant fresh leaves and red faces against the brown-gray background of the spring forest floor. It’s such a stack contrast between new life and the decay of the past. Needless to say, I spent quite a bit of time just drinking it in and making photos of the other species, which I will post over the next few days.
Nikon D300
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm
1/25 sec, f/11.0, 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
“Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.”
― Georgia O’Keeffe
Yet another, early emerger, Blue Cohosh. This beauty emerges from the forest floor looking more purple-blue than this image indicates. However, I wanted to capture the delicate flower and blue fruit. When they first sprout from the ground, the leaves are tightly bound in a frilly bunch and then open up into tender leaves. I’m always surprised to see these spring flowers survive late frosts unscathed, yet they do. Among the brightness of other wildflowers, Blue Cohosh is lost, until you look for it and suddenly, it’s everywhere. I’m blessed to have an eye for these understated beauties, which others pass by, never knowing what has been missed.
This particular specimen provided a unique composition as the plant appears to rise from a bed of bright green balsams, and an assortment of twigs, the young, slightly out of focus maple in teh background just adds teh finishing touches to this forest floor scene.
Honestly, I could spend hours drinking this in, watching new life fill the forest floor in a carpet of luxurious greens, with flecks for pink, red, yellow, and white as teh fresh wildflowers show their faces to a waiting world for the first time.
Nikon D300
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 165 mm
1/125 sec, f/5.6, 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
“You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.”
― Mary Oliver
While out walking the streets of Montreal this past week, I came across this interesting scene. In a park across from Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde, many of the trees were decorated with brightly coloured bird houses. I found this to be an interesting contrast against the backdrop of the cathedral. In fact, it was a nice touch of colour, as the trees have not leafed out yet, in our delayed spring.
If anyone reading this knows more about this apparent installation, please let me know.
“I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills
When all at once I saw a crowd
A host of golden daffodils
Beside the lake beneath the trees
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”
― William Wordsworth
At long last, I feel I might be able to say that spring and warmer weather are here to stay? I’ve posted about ‘false starts‘ and the change of seasons, the endless repeating cycles, yet consistent warm days elude me. This image was made nearly two weeks ago, a mere 50 kilometers south of my home, yet my own daffodils are reluctant to bloom.
Daffodils, like peonies, are one of those marvelous plants that keep spreading every year. I often see large patches and imagine them being planted many years ago and just spreading out, covering larger areas over time.
Judging the forecast and their current state, I’d say they will open in the next day and it ‘should’ be warmer every day next week. Here’s hoping.
Nikon D300
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 98 mm
1/320 sec, f/9.0, 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
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
– Wayne Dyer
April is a strange time to visit a botanical garden, since there are no blooms to enjoy. Yet, if you look closer, vestiges of last year remain in tones of brown, gray, and yellow. Yet, amid shrivelled shells and dried branches, hints for life begin to emerge.
I can’t recall the variety of tree that this is, but the bright yellow skeletons of last year’s blossoms glowed in the sun and drew my eye towards them. It was not till I looked closer that I saw the fresh green buds beginning to show, reminding me not to allow first appearances cloud my vision in all aspects of life. Nature has so much to teach us.
Nikon D300
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 180 mm
1/160 sec, f/6.3 +0.33, 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
An interesting side entrance to Notre Dame Cathedral in Montreal. It would appear the door was added as an afterthought.
iPhone 5s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2
1/125 sec; f/2.2; ISO 40
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
“Love should not cause suffocation and death if it is truly love. Don’t bundle someone into an uncomfortable cage just because you want to ensure their safety in your life. The bird knows where it belongs, and will never fly to a wrong nest.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson
As I stood at the base of the Whitevale Dam, watching the trout spawn, I noticed this little bird, perched atop a broken tree limb sticking from the water. It sat there, surveying its world for quite some time. Was it simply pausing for a moment from the busy task of nest building. I’m certain it was not lost, though it was looking all around, perhaps for a suitable place to start, for as the quote above states, the bird knows where it belongs.
Nikon D300
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm
1/1600 sec, f/6.3 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
“Seeing all life in perfect symmetry.
Perceiving each day with righteous clarity.
Living each moment in purposed reality.
Believing each day is the start of eternity.”
― S. Tarr
A unique way of looking at this heavily travelled bridge between Canada and the USA at Niagara Falls.
I’ve driven across this bridge many times and sat, lined up, for what felt like an eternity, at the border checkpoint both going to the US and returning home to Canada. With all the security on the surface of the bridge I was surprised at the complete lack, or apparent lack thereof, below the bridge. In fact, there is a beautiful walking/cycling path that I made this photo from, which allows you to see not only the details of the bridge supports but also the details and pathways on the far shore, which I had never noticed before.
Nikon D300
Tamron 17-50 mm f/2.8 @ 48 mm
1/125 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
“Little yellow flower
Like a dandelion shrunk
Yet she’s not its kin at all
She blooms there without leaves
Shows her face in early spring
Shines brightly like the sun
In my childhood, she was dear
Quite precious to be true
She it was who truly said
That spring had just arrived
I picked bouquets in my small hands
And brought them home to mom
Even now, quite old and grown
Coltsfoot is still quite dear
In early springtime it’s of her
That I try to catch a glimpse”
Coltsfoot is a pleasant little flower that I look forward to each spring. It’s the first to bloom and many people mistake them for dandelions. When the coltsfoot blooms, spring is just around the corner.
I found the beautiful poem above while looking for a quote suitable for this photo, which I touched up to look like a painting, Something I am quite fond of doing with some of my photos simply because I like the painterly look in some cases.
That a poem about coltsfoot exists is quite delightful and I’m surprised more is not written about it, as it was and is considered a key medicinal plant for treating lung aliments. To the point where the coltsfoot symbol was used to designate a pharmacy not too many years ago. The latin name Tussilago farfara is derived from latin tussis, meaning cough, and ago, meaning to cast or to act on.
Nikon D300
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 135 mm
1/125 sec, f/5.6 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
Ed Lehming Photography 
Recent Comments