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“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… Read More
“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… Read More
“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…. Read More
“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… Read More
“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… Read More
“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… Read More
“God draws near to the brokenhearted. He leans toward those who are suffering. He knows what it feels like to be wounded and abandoned.” ― John D. Richardson A scene from along the roadside in rural Ontario. When I see stuff like this , I wonder what the story is. How did this old car get to its final resting spot under the canopy of the ancient maple. Did it just die… Read More
“I thought how lovely and how strange a river is. A river is a river, always there, and yet the water flowing through it is never the same water and is never still. It’s always changing and is always on the move. And over time the river itself changes too. It widens and deepens as it rubs and scours, gnaws and kneads, eats and bores its way through the land.” ― Aidan… 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
“My favourite plant is the foxglove. I think they are a perfect balance between being a garden plant and a wild plant, as at home in woodland as they are in a city.” – Clive Anderson Keeping on my recent departure to flower photos, above is a wonderful foxglove blossom that I found at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario. The gardens are divided into several sections, which cover a… Read More
“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” ― Maud Hart Lovelace A few days ago, I had the great pleasure of attending my youngest daughter’s High School graduation. It seems another chapter in our lives has drawn to a conclusion and another begins. As a gift for her graduation, her boyfriend gave her a beautiful bouquet of roses, including these… Read More
“Then the singing enveloped me. It was furry and resonant, coming from everyone’s very heart. There was no sense of performance or judgment, only that the music was breath and food.” ― Anne Lamott 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 the old… Read More
“A lie has many colours, while white is the only faithful colour of truth.” ― Munia Khan This year has been an interesting shift for me, photographically. I tend to lean towards natural places, such as forest trails, rivers, and lakes. This year I’m finding myself also taking in more man-made gardens and cultivated flowers. Perhaps this is because I’ve been spending more time in my own backyard and going to botanical… Read More
“Spring turns to summer and delicate pinks and whites, give way to bright reds, oranges, and yellows, as nature shifts her palette to match the temperature” – Ed Lehming Today’s photo is another attempt to understand and enjoy the world of macro photography. The bright Orange Hawkweed (Pilosella aurantiaca) is a smallish meadow flower that is common in this area through June and July. It blooms a few weeks later than it’s yellow relative,… Read More
“… the world can give you these glimpses as well as fairy tales can–the smell of rain, the dazzle of sun on white clapboard with the shadows of ferns and wash on the line, the wildness of a winter storm when in the house the flame of a candle doesn’t even flicker.” ― Frederick Buechner Yes, I know, I have lot of photos from Secord Forest, but why not. This little slice… Read More
“Everything made by human hands looks terrible under magnification–crude, rough, and asymmetrical. But in nature, every bit of life is lovely. And the more magnification we use, the more details are brought out, perfectly formed, like endless sets of boxes within boxes.” ― Roman Vishniac A return to the garden, where early summer flowers are beginning to show their stuff. This beautiful white cosmos was glowing so brilliantly in the morning sun,… Read More
“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” ― Alice Walker This diminutive member of the geranium family has been on my mind since I first encountered it a few weeks ago. I’m finding I’ve missed seeing so many of the smaller wildflowers in the past, then, suddenly, they are everywhere and in unexpected places. The first time I… Read More
“Do not let your difficulties fill you with anxiety, after all it is only in the darkest nights that stars shine more brightly.” ― Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S Hmm, this sounds like the title for a love story involving some damsel and some adversary. This single daisy shone like a beacon in the distance, against the dark forest, as I turned a bend in the trail a few days ago. It… 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
“If you wish to make anything grow, you must understand it, and understand it in a very real sense. ‘Green fingers’ are a fact, and a mystery only to the unpracticed. But green fingers are the extensions of a verdant heart.” ― Russell Page Are they boots for the garden or boots as a garden? These retired boots are part of a whimsical garden display at Burlington’s Royal Botanical Gardens. They caught… Read More
“Many collectors died in the process of searching for new species, and despite persistent reports that the men died from drowning, gunshot and knife wounds, snakebite, trampling by cattle, or blows in the head with blunt instruments, it is generally accepted that in each case the primary cause of death was orchid fever.” ― Eric Hansen Perhaps I got a touch of the aforementioned ‘orchid fever’. I have to admit, I’ve been… Read More
“The Church does not dispense the sacrament of baptism in order to acquire for herself an increase in membership but in order to consecrate a human being to God and to communicate to that person the divine gift of birth from God.” ― Hans Urs von Balthasar I can’t fully explain what it was that attracted me to this composition. Yet, I find myself processing that very though in this post. The… Read More
“Someone was playing piano nearby and the music drifted slowly in and out of my mind like the ebb and flow of ocean surf. I almost recognized the melody, but I could not be sure, it slipped like a cool and silken wind from my grasp.” ― Chaim Potok Today’s image is another foray into the world of macro photography and I’m loving the effects and subtle details the naked eye misses…. Read More
“I live in my own little world. But its ok, they know me here.” ― Lauren Myracle Another garden venture into the world of macro photography, which I am enjoying since it often brings about unexpected results. Like this little bug, which has made it’s home, deep inside the flower. I didn’t see him, even when composing the shot. I still have lots to learn, as I have just started out with… Read More
“I must have flowers, always, and always.” ― Claude Monet This strange, flowering bush has fascinated me for some time. The blossoms form from the outside of the flower disc. I had a hard time finding good specimen this year but the photo above should suffice. The central bud clusters are rimmed with beautiful white blossoms. At first glance it would appear to be a form of dogwood, that is till you get… Read More
“In June as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them.” – Aldo Leopold Late spring, and green palettes are dotted with bright pinks, yellows, and whites, like patches of icing. They fairly glow in the bright sunshine. On closer inspection, these splashes of brightness are surprisingly complex. I would not have… Read More
“The little boy nodded at the peony and the peony seemed to nod back. The little boy was neat, clean and pretty. The peony was unchaste, dishevelled, as peonies must be, and at the height of its beauty. Every hour is filled with such moments, big with significance for someone.” – Robertson Davies I’m not sure what the formal designation for this variety of peony is, but in my home it’s know as… Read More
I have to admit, my venture into blogging took me some time and encouragement from a few fellow bloggers, at times when I was ready to give up. So, a big thank you to everyone you has enjoyed my photos and thoughts and especially those who have encouraged me to persevere through “No Views” days. I’m hoping that my photography and writing continue to improve through this experience and interaction with my fellow… Read More
“There are moments when I wish I could roll back the clock and take all the sadness away, but I have a feeling that if I did, the joy would be gone as well. So I take the memories as they come, accepting them all, letting them guide me whenever I can.” ― Nicholas Sparks While on a recent excursion to Lynde Shores, a conservation area on the shores of Lake Ontario,… Read More
“Only when we pay attention and notice small moments, do we make the connections that lead to a change in our perspective.” ― Andrea Goeglein It’s pretty amazing what you see over a 5km forest hike, especially in a forest as diverse as Secord Forest. Which, fortunately for me, is only a few kilometers from my home, which makes it a super convenient place to go, without a lot of preparation. Back… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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