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“As winter begins to yield and days lengthen, the tires forest still offers splashes of colour. The intensity and profusion varies by year, but there are always pockets of brightness, reminders of vibrant life past, and promises of life to come.” – Ed Lehming This winter has felt exceptionally long. There have been some beautiful, bright days, but snow came in large storms and made travel to my favourite spots a bit… Read More
“Among the shadows of the cold forest, the winter beeches shine with unexpected light, filling the darkness with brightness and joyful energy.” – Ed Lehming Today I’m sharing another image from yesterday’s frigid hike to Walker Woods, a large forested tract close to home that I visit often. The forest itself is largely ‘plantation’ red pines.That is to say, pine trees that have been planted to reestablish lands that had been largely… Read More
“On even the coldest winter days, the warm glow of the beech leaves radiate with a warmth that makes my very soul glad. I cannot help but smile with joy when I am blessed to be among them.” – Ed Lehming I’ve posted about the beauty of beeches in the winter on many occasions, yet I continue to find myself drawn to them. They provide me an inexplicable sense of joy in… Read More
“The bright beech trees have been my constant bright companions. In the dullness of winter, their brightness and colour has offered me hope and cheer.” – Ed Lehming As this past winter has evolved, I have been particularly aware of the many bright beech trees that, in past years have, for some reason, garnered only my passing interest. This year, I have actively sought them out and included them in many of… Read More
“Droplets of orange hang on fragile branches laden with heavy snow, like splashes of sunshine, competing for my attention with the white brightness of the new fallen snow” – Ed Lehming As I consider winding down my recent series of re-imagined photos, I keep coming across a few gems that I had overlooked, most of them featuring beech trees and their glorious winter foliage. They seem to have become my focus over… Read More
“Midwinter and February’s golds bring colour and gladness to the otherwise stark forest.” – Ed Lehming I’m continuing with this series of ‘painterly’ photos, which due to the environment I’ve been immersed in lately, have taken a shift to more of an orange and purple palette. For a change of pace, I decided to return to a trial system that I have not been on for a few years, making it familiar… Read More
“Like the welcome of a warm fire, the beech trees glow in winter’s sunlight” – Ed Lehming The wonder of beech trees keeps my attention. As I review recent images, they always make me look twice. In this ‘re-imagined’ image, a particularly bright beech dominates the scene. What I have found most interesting, apart from the fact that beech hold most of their leaves all winter long, is the diversity in pigmentation…. Read More
“Before me, the beech blazed in bright golds, shimmering as the gentle breeze caressed the snow laden leaves. The world was wide awake and filled with joyous energy and brilliance.” – Ed Lehming It appears this series will be continuing for a while, I have so many wonderful images from this gorgeous December morning earlier this week. I thought I had captured plenty of wonderful scenes during this hike and was mere… Read More
“The forest fills with fresh green growth, as the cycle of growth begins anew, and with it, the inevitable return of insects.” – Ed Lehming This image is now approaching a week old and represents the first solid growth of beech leaves in my area. On previous posts I have commented on the cool and dry spring we’ve had. Two weeks ago it snowed. Then seemingly overnight the temperature climbed into the… Read More
“All things change, it is inevitable, even the things that appear to be constants eventually pass into history. The cycles of time and nature cannot be stopped.” – Ed Lehming I’ve written a few times about the beauty of beech leaves in the dead of winter. As other leaves have long since fallen to the ground, these leaves cling to the branches with incredible tenacity and offer much needed brightness to otherwise… Read More
“Within the autumn forests, trees put on a final brilliant show of colours to brighten our days as the days shorten and sunlight fades” – Ed Lehming Can you imagine an autumn without colour? An autumn where the days simply become darker and the leaves drop to the ground as dried green husks? Thankfully, that is not the case and as days become shorter and the temperatures cool there is still the… Read More
“The ghosts of winter cling stubbornly to thin branches, fluttering as bright reminders of days gone by.” – Ed Lehming As the days warm, the ghostly and diaphanous leaves of the beech begin to fade. Throughout the winter their brightness was a welcome respite from the cold, gray, and seemingly lifeless forest. They have survived the winter winds, snow, and ice, though the season has clearly taken its toll. The leaves, once… Read More
“Winter’s parting left us traces of its touch; a bit of snow, a hint of frost, and cool breezes, as if someone had left a door open.” – Ed Lehming I wanted to revisit my beloved beech trees one last time before they wither into spring. Here, a closer look at the beautiful structure of the leaves, dusted in snow, from this past weekend’s unexpected dumping. The brightness of the pure white… Read More
“Through our dark times, if we have eyes open in hope, we can see glimpses of what might be, in what was.” – Ed Lehming The beautiful brightness of beech leaves in winter, and early spring for that matter is always a welcome sight. Even on the dullest snow-filled days, they glow with soft gold, a reminder of the rich colours of autumn. The sun, even in limited amounts, makes them seem… Read More
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” ― L. M. Montgomery As I prepare for my 2018 Studio Tour, it gives me time to reflect on present photos, as well as those from previous years and I am astounded about how many have been printed, yet I have not taken the time to comment on them. This image is one of those photos that for one reason or… Read More
“One day, all your worries will set like the sun does and deserved happiness will come gushing like waves at the beach do. All you need to make sure is that your trips to beach never end.” ― Jasleen Kaur Gumber Another glorious end of day at Sauble Beach. Even the gentlest dusk breezes move the water into waves that endlessly lap at the shore. Some, a bit more aggressively than others. I… Read More
“It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.” ― John Joseph Powell Today has been interesting. The week was filled with significant milestones: I posted my 1,00th post and hit my 4 years WordPress anniversary. Then, I took a bit a bit… Read More
“We’re always attracted to the edges of what we are, out by the edges where it’s a little raw and nervy. “ – E. L. Doctorow Similar to my photo from a few days ago “Transitions and Sunsets“, this is another transition photo, made on the same shoreline, at a different time. The elements remain the same, but the light and weather conditions are different. In this image, made mid afternoon, the… Read More
“I have lived long enough. My way of life Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf, And that which should accompany old age” – William Shakespeare The words to the Beatles, “Here Comes the Sun” echoes through my mind as I consider this image made on the trails yesterday. “It’s been a long cold northern winter”. Indeed, it feels that way. In reality, this past winter was relatively mild, delayed till late November in… Read More
“The joy you feel when you become a small life particle sun and share its brightness and warmth with those around you is indescribably great.” ― Ilchi Lee As the upcoming winter makes its presence known daily, with cold winds, sleet, and icy mornings, a bit of autumn still remains. Beech seems to have some extra ‘stick’ to its leaves. They are almost always the last to fall and bring patches of brightness… Read More
“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…. Read More
One of my favourite abstracts from this past autumn. This photo was made while hiking the Secord Conservation Area trails a few weeks ago. As noted on earlier posts, this year produced beautiful gold tones in the beech trees along the trail and the autumn sunlight filtered down to the forest floor, producing a beautiful soft, warm light. I used my vertical pan technique to produce the abstract blur effect which has… Read More
Generally, titles for my photos come fairly easily. Not so in this case. I looked at the photo over and over and nothing seemed appropriate. It’s also a fairly tall composition, which I have stayed away from, unless absolutely necessary. After a while of looking at the elements, I thought, “This looks like a carnival, with all the bright colours mixing together.” This is a hillside along one of the Secord Conservation… Read More
Did I mention I love the light in the fall? During one of my hikes this fall, I was covered with a glowing canopy of golden beech leaves, brightly lit by the sun. All the light around me was this beautiful, warm yellow/orange and the entire forest just glowed. Amid all this warmth, it was difficult to isolate a single image that showed the source of this wonderful light. This image is… Read More
Yes, I know, two posts in one day. 🙂 I had the opportunity today, now that it is starting to at least look more like spring, to go for a hike around our local reservoir. It’s a beautiful little sanctuary, with diverse plants and wildlife. The hiking trail offers me a nice place to unwind, and photograph, even during a busy day, because it is so close. I was not expecting to… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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