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“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… Read More
“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… Read More
“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… Read More
“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… Read More
“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… Read More
“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… Read More
“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… Read More
“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…. Read More
“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… 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
“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… Read More
“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,… Read More
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… Read More
“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… Read More
“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,… Read More
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… Read More
“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… Read More
My first submission to Mannequin Monday on Piran Cafe The eyes are a bit too lifelike. Nikon D300 Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 122 mm 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
“The most fulfilling adventures happen when you start your journey without knowing where you’re going, because only then are you free to experience the unexpected detours you’re meant to take.” ― A.J. Darkholme Ah, yes, the unexpected, one of my greatest delights. I set out to make photos of fish spawning in a local creek and come across a large, beautiful cluster of spring flowers I have never encountered before. They looked a… Read More
“We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave a legacy of beauty and life for future generations.” ― David Brower Amidst the exciting rainbow trout run at Duffins Creek, other species of native fish are also in the spawn, including the White Suckers, pictured above, which are mixed among the trout as they work their way upstream. As I was walking the shore, enjoying and photographing the trout, I came… Read More
“When you do or think or feel something, do it with passion. Let it come from the heart. Put your heart and soul in it. And when you do, you will feel a river flowing sweetly through you and especially through your entire life. Life has much more meaning that way. ” ― Angie Karan A painterly image I made yesterday, based on a photo of two trout swimming upstream at the Whitevale… Read More
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ― John Lubbock When time allows, I like to visit Duffins creek and stroll the riverbank, especially at this time of year. The narrow wooded trail follows the shoreline, through grand cedar… Read More
Today’s submission for #ThursdayDoors.
“Such is the condition of organic nature! Whose first law might be expressed in the words ‘Eat or be eaten!’ and which would seem to be one great slaughter-house, one universal scene of rapacity and injustice!” ― Erasmus Darwin Ever have one of those days where, out of nowhere, something just sneaks up and gets you from behind? You can take small comfort that you are not this Wood Frog. I’d say our… Read More
“Come with me into the woods where spring is advancing, as it does, no matter what, not being singular or particular, but one of the forever gifts, and certainly visible.” ― Mary Oliver The inevitable cycle of spring continues with its succession of flowering plants. First to bloom is the Coltsfoot, the next, which just started to bloom yesterday, predictably, about a week after the Coltsfoot, is the Bloodroot – Sanguinaria canadensis. I love this… Read More
“The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It’s the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.” ― Napoleon Hill Though I saw no markers, my map showed this to be a cemetery, further investigation, this was actually the Old Lakeshore Road and it was… Read More
“Did you not look upon the world this morning and imagine it as the boy might see it? And did you not recognize the mist and the dew and the birdsong as elements not of a place or a time but of a spirit? And did you not envy the boy his spirit? ” – Jamie O’Neill Another image from my 2013 visit to one of my ‘sacred places’. The experience of spring… Read More
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