Archives
“The sun caught the remaining crimson leaves of the blackberry bush, reflecting it like a bright red beacon in the shadows.” – Ed Lehming It’s a fairly common occurrence, this time of year, to see a bright splash of colour caught in the sun. With the many beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds combined with the low, soft sunlight, these colours show up in strong contrast to the darker background of the forest…. Read More
“I stand on the edge, that place between light and shadow, where the darkness prevails and light is mere steps away. I choose the light.” – Ed Lehming I have stood in this place many times. It’s a place of transition, the place where thick forest opens into a bright meadow. As you approach this place, even on the dullest day, there is always a strong contrast between the forest and the… 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
“Nature is filled with cycles, as one thing passes from this world, another is ready to take its place. Each eager for it’s time in the sun” – Ed Lehming I find myself returning to this place frequently, primarily because of the stark contrasts i find here. The hillside is filled with several standing dead pine trees. By the bleached look of them and the deterioration of the bark, I’d say they… Read More
“Golden light beams forth from the hillsides behind the tall pines, competing with the sunshine at my side; a competition for my attention.” – Ed Lehming This is a scene very typical of a local conservation area that I hike on a regular basis. Every visit I make offers some new scene of beauty that make me wonder if I had simply missed it on a prior passing. There is something along… Read More
“High above, the raven skims the treetops, gliding silently on wings of dark silk” – Ed Lehming After some time in the woods of Secord Forest, a local conservation area, I emerged into the brightness of an overcast sky and watched two ravens circling above me. After awhile they both perched at the top of trees near the forest edge and began ‘talking’ to each other. Those familiar with ravens will know… Read More
“Amidst our comfortable habitations, we need to be reminded that nature is always wanting to take back what is hers” – Ed Lehming As a photographer, I like contrast, I look for it as I create my images. So, when I’m faced with other contrasts, I take notice. While on vacation in Cozumel this past January I could not help but notice how the resort had been literally carved out of the… Read More
“The stars looked down at me from infinite space. We are tiny, they said, but you are insignificant.” ― Shane Maloney On the first day of my Iceland trip, something that came to my attention, almost immediately, was the incredible contrast in scale between the land itself and man-made things, particularly houses, which seem so insignificant against the mass of rock and ice that surrounds them. Here, a farm which has guest cottages,… Read More
“The truth is that everyday and everyone is different. We just like to think that they aren’t.” ― Anthony T. Hincks As promised, yesterday’s flower, with a light background. Keep in mind, this is the exact same shot, with the same settings and lighting. The only difference is that I removed the black velvet background that I use for my studio shots, revealing the white card-stock panel that holds it up in my… Read More
“Because you don’t notice the light without a bit of shadow. Everything has both dark and light. You have to play with it till you get it exactly right.” ― Libba Bray As I’ve said many times this past year, it’s amazing what we see and don’t see, or rather notice. In the case of these poplar trees, which I have passed through immeasurable times, the camera picks up on light changes that… Read More
“In the end there is only light and dark. And the two are not so far apart.” ― Thomas Lloyd Qualls Yesterday it was the roses putting on their show, today, a single lily decided to open fully. Until that point, I had no idea what colour it might be, other than something pale. This one, as you can see from the photo is white with a pinky-cream tone and even some… Read More
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. Front doors of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Toronto, Canada I still find it odd, having lived just outside of Toronto most of my life, in Scarborough as a youngster, and just north of the city as an adult, that I have… Read More
“Distance sometimes lets you know who is worth keeping, and who is worth letting go.” ― Lana Del Rey This is a bit of a shift for me today. I went back in my photo archive, looking for some colour and came across this image I made in the spring. The title came to me as soon as I saw the image, recalling how I composed it, deliberately leaving the dark area between the… 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
“The fields…are white already to harvest” (John 4:35 KJV), or as other versions put it, “ripe for harvest.”…One part of the harvest metaphor we may have missed was the importance of timing-there is a season for both sowing and reaping, and sometimes there is a season of simply waiting and watering.” ― Keri Wyatt Kent I just got back from a few days in Ontario’s Bruce County. The region offers rolling farmlands,… Read More
This week’s submission to Norm 2.0‘s Thursday Doors. I was out a few weeks ago, walking Toronto’s Bloor Street West, looking for photo opportunities. The doors pictured above belong to St. Paul’s Church and I had stopped to photograph just the door earlier in the day. As I was walking back to my car, I noticed this gentleman standing outside the church, very focussed on his cell phone. The title “Call from… Read More
“We live in a world of contrast and it’s sad we are among people who can’t seem to grasp the differences surrounding them.” ― Dominic Riccitello An interesting view, looking between the vineyards at Konzelmann Wineries. As I drove down the appropriately named Lakeshore Drive, I looked to my left and noticed the CN Tower and skyscrapers of Toronto, some 32 miles distant, on the horizon, between the orderly rows of grapevines. I… Read More
“As the soft spring sun begins to set, an ethereal light strikes the trees and boulders on the far shore, setting them ablaze in gold. The dark, cold, meltwater rushes by in a mad dash through ancient rocks. Intent on the calm of the lake below, where they foam and swirl, momentarily, then merge with the now still waters that preceded them. The day ends, in peace, and light, and water.” – Ed Lehming… Read More
In November 2014, I was walking along a ridge on the Fraser Lake Camp property, near Bancroft, Ontario and became fascinated with this line of leafless trees on the top of an adjacent ridge. They stood silloetted against the slate-gray November skies, as a narrow beam of bright sunlight lit up the yellow hay stubble just in front of them. The result was a layering of cold blues in stark contrast to the… Read More
Another visit to High Falls, the outlet of Baptiste Lake and the beginning of the York River. I keep trying to imagine the waterfall as it would have been before the dam was built above it. That would have been a sight to behold. As I noted in an earlier post, the dam was built to protect the town of Bancroft, some 5 miles down river, from being flooded in the spring… Read More
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with family and friends at Ontario’s Sauble Beach, on Lake Huron. It began as a wonderful hot summer day splashing in the surf and playing hours of volleyball. The forecast was for thunderstorms late in the day. We watched across the water as the sky gradually darkened. The storm approached over the lake like a black wall, slowly creeping our… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
Recent Comments