Archives
“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
“Solitary. But not in the sense of being alone. Not solitary in the way Thoreau was, for example, exiling himself in order to find out where he was; not solitary in the way Jonah was, praying for deliverance in the belly of the whale. Solitary in the sense of retreat. In the sense of not having to see himself, of not having to see himself being seen by anyone else.” ― Paul… 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
“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
“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
“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
“Our green valleys will be greener once we fully grasp the infinite vitality of the green!” ― Mehmet Murat Ildan Despite the clouds of mosquitoes that call this forest home, I enjoyed, with the help of a good bug repellent, observing all the fresh new growth emerging from the brown litter of last year’s leaves. There is still a lot of brown showing interspersed with rapidly expanding carpets of foliage, like the Oak… Read More
“The columbine and iris bowed down to make way for bolder sprays of red valerian, and a mingled profusion of clustered Canterbury bells and sweet william, pale blues and pinks intertwined, danced at the feet of more stately spears of deep-purple foxglove and monkshood.” ― Susanna Kearsley On the trend of pinks and pastels, yet another beautiful native spring flower, the Wild Columbine (aquilegia canadensis), is found on rocky outcrops in the Bancroft,… Read More
“If you want a happy ending, it just depends on where you close the book!” ― Orson Welles A final image of trilliums for the season. This has been a fine year for them. Moderately warm days brought on a slow bloom and cool nights preserved the delicate blossoms. As I roamed the forest a few days ago, I could not help but make a few more images to look back on… 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
“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
“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
“Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” ― Georgia O’Keeffe Yet another, early emerger, Blue Cohosh. This beauty emerges from the forest floor looking more purple-blue than this image indicates. However, I wanted to capture the delicate flower and blue fruit. When they first sprout from the ground,… Read More
“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.” ― Susan… Read More
“When the time has come, every leaf turns to face the sun!” ― Akilnathan Logeswaran “Ramps” or wild leeks (Allium tricoccum) are native North American plant and among the first plants to appear in moist woods, once the frost comes out of the ground. Because of the mild start we had to March, I thought I’d go out to see if anything had started to push through the ground yet. To my… Read More
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.” ― William Blake I absolutely love the William Blake quote above. It goes beyond simply this image. Number 6 in the… Read More
“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe One of the many benefits I find when hiking is the abundance of free art nature provides me. As I walked a forest path a few days ago, the ground was just starting to melt, but it… Read More
“To dwellers in a wood, almost every species of tree has its voice as well as its feature.” ― Thomas Hardy As I walk the trails, I can’t help but be amazed at the colours and textures of the stumps and standing dead trees along the way. I’ve started a collection of these aged and aging forest statues, each so unique in its appearance, yet somewhat similar. Some are recognizable as wood, while… Read More
“Beneath your burdensome regrets and who you think you are through the lens of past mistakes, there is someone beautiful who wants to emerge.” ― Bryant McGill Spring has arrived! Though, somebody needs to inform the weather. In stark contrast to last week, this one has been quite chilly. Despite the sun shining brightly and turning open trails to mush, the forest floor remained locked in a shallow frost. At least enough to create… Read More
“Life is only a flicker of melted ice.” ― Dejan Stojanovic Along the trails lie small depressions, filled with water, and lined in ice. The ground beneath still frozen as the sun gently warms the ground, freeing the scene from winter’s hold. This scene, though it repeats every year, was particularly interesting, since it was such a mild winter and the only significant snowfall happened only a week ago. The result was… Read More
“I will not be just a tourist in the world of images, just watching images passing by which I cannot live in, make love to, possess as permanent sources of joy and ecstasy” – Anais Nin It is a joy to experience, at the deeper level, some of the scenes I come across in my journey through life. Places my feet have travelled many times, at once become magical with the addition… Read More
This photo was made in early November and autumn had settled in comfortably, for an extended stay. The days had already shortened enough to bring out amazing, bright colours, but the air was warm and comfortable. Best of all, the bugs were gone; even the dopey fall wasps. Along a minor path of the south-east corner of the East Duffins Creek Headwaters trail is this beautiful grove of maples, interspersed with beech trees. The maples… 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
The final installment of my raindrops in fall series, for this year. This photo was made a few seconds before my “Unexpected Beauty” image. The difference is really the background. This one is a bit darker and lacking the blue background of the forest. It does show more of the raindrops, which is what initially drew my attention. I did not want to open close the aperture too much because I wanted… Read More
It’s fall. Time for me to get out into the woods and just enjoy being there. It’s been a late fall here and the temperature is still mild, considering the time of year. We’ve been visited by a few flurries and light frosts till last night. The colours are spectacular and trees slow to shed their leaves. Essentially, ideal fall conditions for photography and just enjoying nature, in all its glory. I… Read More
I find myself going back to my photo abstractions frequently. They bring me great pleasure, in that I never know quite how they will turn out. Don’t get me wrong, these are very deliberate photos, and I have a vision in my mind of the outcome. But, the random elements; light, speed, colours, and focus, all add their own unexpected twist to the final composition. Case in point with the image above, I… Read More
A slightly different view of the forest for you to ponder. I spend a lot of time in the forest hiking and making photographs. People ask me where I find the wildflowers that I photograph. My response is, “Along the way”. I see them, because I know what to look for, where to look, and when to look, since I have experienced them in previous walks. Many of the flowers only bloom… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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