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“The whiteness of winter has more to reveal about how we see the world. If we take the time, and look carefully, the white exhibits treasures that we don’t even notice on casual observation.” – Ed Lehming Perhaps one of the most difficult things to photograph successfully is a bright winter scene. As we look upon the world, it seems filled with pure and unending whiteness, broke up by shadow in the… Read More
“Hints of colour on crisp winter days inspire me to look for more, to imagine the world alight with brightness” – Ed Lehming I’ve found myself stretching and experimenting with my photos lately, not satisfied with the image, “as-is” but wanting to expand it, to glean more than the base photo offers me. I’m taking the bright elements of the photo; the bright birch bark, the warm orange and copper of the… Read More
“A multitude of colours and textures lays at my feet, a scattered sample of the colours which fill the autumn forest. A chance to consider the incredible multitude of shapes, textures, and tones the forest has to offer me this day.” – Ed Lehming I was considering how I would approach this image. As with many things that I photograph, I’m often not sure at the time what, exactly, is drawing me… Read More
“Autumn’s bright colour makes everything bright” – Ed Lehming This long-dead tree sits along the roadside leading to my daughter’s house. In most seasons it stands as a stark memorial of a once wonderful maple tree. Every year it deteriorates a bit, dropping limbs and shedding bark. There is not much left other than the trunk and a handful of branches. I do notice every time I drive by it because it… Read More
“Glad memories of days recently past bring joy as I recall days of travel, friends, and the bright colours of distant lands.” – Ed Lehming This seems like a distant memory right now. In the days of self-isolation I’m recalling our recent trip to Spain with such fondness. Even though today dawned bright and cool, the colours and activity of our first full day in Spain comes back. I find myself looking… Read More
“The surprises light offers are endless” – Ed Lehming Today’s image has a direct connection to the one I posted yesterday. Namely, the interesting colours that winter can offer. This is the first image I made as I embarked on a 6 km hike at a local conservation area. I used my standard camera setting for my deliberate camera movement pans, but this image was slightly overexposed. I would normally have deleted… Read More
“Winter is not all bleak and gray, if you look closely, subtle colours abound in the most wonderful places” – Ed Lehming Well, after a long hiatus, I have returned to my photography and writing. Last year was ‘disruptive’ at best. Too many changes came at me too quickly and left me overwhelmed and uninspired. I was ‘retired’ from work briefly and It took me some time to come to terms with… Read More
“It’s when rock breaks its silence that it crumbles to dust.” ― Anthony T. Hincks Today’s image is a closer look at the massive, dark cliff visible in yesterday’s post. This cliff, Lómagnúpsnef (nef is Icelandic for nose), dominated the horizon for a long time, ever brightening with more details emerging from the shadows as we got closer to it. There are many more details that I’m aware of, now that I’m not behind… Read More
“In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones. Without their leaves, how lovely they are, spreading their arms like dancers. They know it is time to be still.” ― Cynthia Rylant Today I decide to make a short departure from my Iceland Journal, though that will continue for some time, as I continue to process the images and memories. While I revel in those times, not so long ago, nature reminded… Read More
“Her blush was the color of a coral reef, but smooth.” ― Aimee Bender I simply love the many muted colours of spring. Understated blues, yellows, purples, and oranges, all make their appearance in the garden. Yet pink, as pale as a blush’s beginning appeals to me most. There is a natural softness to this colour, especially on these blossoms which move from a bright and warm yellow, through white and then terminate… Read More
“Art never responds to the wish to make it democratic; it is not for everybody; it is only for those who are willing to undergo the effort needed to understand it.” ― Flannery O’Connor Well, back to reality. I live in a land of four seasons, often extreme and more often, surprising, offering unexpected gifts. I got out on the trails again. The trails, at this time of the year, are downright treacherous,… Read More
“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” ― Lauren DeStefano I’m considering starting another series based on this past weekend, enjoying the Bancroft Area Studio tour and the natural beauty of the North Hasting Highlands area, which we drove through as part of the tour. This has been a very strange… Read More
“After the Rains” – San Jose del Cabo, Mexico Nikon D800 Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 112 mm 1/100 sec, f/4.8, 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 see a tree as blue, then make it blue”. – Paul Gauguin I posted this image to my Facebook page last week. It’s my first attempt at painting, of the non-digital type, in thirty five or so years. The last time I picked up a paintbrush to create art was back in high school and honestly, I was not very good at acrylics, favouring sketching and watercolours. Primarily because I… Read More
We were born before the wind Also younger than the sun Ere the bonnie boat was won As we sailed into the mystic Hark, now hear the sailors cry Smell the sea and feel the sky Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic And when that foghorn blows I will be coming home And when the foghorn blows I want to hear it I don’t have to fear it and… Read More
“And that afternoon, as the sun slanted low through the changing autumn leaves, I remembered to savor the moment, soak in the beauty, breathe deeply and feel the immensity of God.” ― Cindee Snider Re The next component to nature’s fall palette around here is orange. Interestingly, when I got closer to this branch for a bright orange maple tree, I found a surprising amount of green and yellow, with patches of… Read More
“Fall colors are funny. They’re so bright and intense and beautiful. It’s like nature is trying to fill you up with color, to saturate you, so you can stockpile it before winter turns everything muted and dreary.” ― Siobhan Vivian Today I started photographing fall colours a bit differently. Rather than the broad sweep of forests in full colour, I decided to look a bit closer at the branches that create this… Read More
“Just as a painter needs light in order to put the finishing touches to his picture, so I need an inner light, which I feel I never have enough of in the autumn.” ― Leo Tolstoy I’ve titled myself a ‘photo opportunist’ a few times. Really, it’s all about being prepared for any eventuality. This means knowing my gear, settings, and my surroundings. A lot has to do with experience, most bad… Read More
“Whatever your passion is, keep doing it. Don’t waste time chasing after success or comparing yourself to others. Every flower blooms at a different pace. Excel at doing what your passion is and only focus on perfecting it. Eventually people will see what you are great at doing, and if you are truly great, success will come chasing after you.” ― Suzy Kassem Those who follow my blog will recognise some of… Read More
“A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space — a place not just set apart but reverberant — and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.” ― Michael Pollan I thought I would try this technique on leafy plants and expand from my blossom photos. We have several varieties of… Read More
“Of all the flowers, the rose speaks to me, especially, of love. The delicate petals, layer by delicate layer, draw me to the heart, while the fragrance entrances me with its subtle sweetness. Promising future passions, while echoing back to tender memories” – Ed Lehming I had not, till now, deeply explored my thoughts and feelings on roses. Those feelings are complex and tied together by many threads of memory. My father… Read More
I have several interpretations to the OPEN theme. It could be open to any category of post or it could be the ‘opening’ of something, like a door. In this case, it’s the opening of the natural spring cycle in my area of Canada. Throughout the winter, this large creek lies frozen. Within a few short weeks it transforms from ice to a living place once more (another opening of sorts), as the… Read More
“Given the right lighting, all the colors in the world can be seen in a white object.” – Michele Cooper This time of year tends to be fairly challenging as far as finding interesting things to photograph. The ground tends to be muddy and accessing some areas is tough. There’s also the prevalence of browns and grays with very few bright colours. Yet, if I look around, I can still find some… Read More
“When you see a fish you don’t think of its scales, do you? You think of its speed, its floating, flashing body seen through the water. Well, I’ve tried to express just that. If I made fins and eyes and scales, I would arrest its movement, give a pattern or shape of reality. I want just the flash of its spirits.” ― Constantin Brancusi I could not believe the colours on the… Read More
“Ice contains no future, just the past, sealed away. As if they’re alive, everything in the world is sealed up inside, clear and distinct. Ice can preserve all kinds of things that way- cleanly, clearly. That’s the essence of ice, the role it plays.” ― Haruki Murakami, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman A temporary reprieve from the cold of winter, hinting at a more prolonged thaw and the promise of spring ahead. Ice… Read More
A final (possibly) view to the autumn of 2015, though there are so many more memories to share. The image above was made on one of the many wide trails that criss-cross through the Durham Forest. I like the feel of this scene. The wide trail meanders through the forest, following the general contours of the land. There is something about a meandering trail that I like. Perhaps it’s that there is… Read More
This photo is a slight flashback to mid-November, when I went on a long hike through the Durham Forest, south of Uxbridge, Ontario. At the time, we were in the midst of a wonderful, extended fall and many of the maple and beech leaves were still on the trees, but enough had fallen to let ample light into the forest. I had been hiking for a few hours and decided to take… Read More
Every now and then, a splash of colour catches you, unexpectedly. That was the case a few days back when I was hiking the Seaton Trail, near Whitevale. Let’s keep in mind that was the first week of December. Last year we had already experienced a few substantial snowfalls and cold temperatures, well below freezing. This year, we are still well above freezing but everything has had a good frosting. So, with… Read More
This photo is pretty much a summary of how autumn has played out for me. We have had an extended season, with mild weather, sunny skies, and leaves that seemed to cling to the trees for weeks, despite frosty nights, rain, and wind. Unlike a typical fall, where I’m looking out the window, anxious to get out and make photos before the conditions fade, this year yielded day after glorious day of… Read More
I’ll admit to it. I’m often looking for images to use as wallpapers for my desktop. I guess I have a bit of desktop ADD. I don’t like looking at the same images over and over and am always looking for something new and close to me. There are many times where I see a suitable subject and photograph it, with the sole intention of creating a desktop wallpaper for myself. This… Read More
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