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“The forest is alive, it’s a living thing. See it and feel it. As the cold sets in, it may feel more dormant, but there is still more going on that may not be so obvious.” – Ed Lehming This may be a final nod to the season of leaves and color for a few months, but it seemed worth the post. As those who have known me over the years know,… Read More
“The final sunny fall day before the snow arrives and the lake pulses in anticipation, as if aware of the coming change, filling the bay with echoes of its life” – Ed Lehming This image was made yesterday. The forecasts called for snow today and I wanted one final day among the remaining colours of autumn. Many of the leaves had already fallen but pockets of colour remained along this point. Copper-tones… Read More
“The freeze is on, winter has us firmly in its grip, and the world is transformed from liquid to solid, seemingly overnight. The horizon is filled with ice and illusions” – Ed Lehming The title for the scene seemed fairly obvious to me, looking across Lake Ontario, particularly, Athol Bay in Ontario’s Prince Edward County. This bay is bounded by Lakeshore Lodge Point to the north and Salmon Point to the south…. Read More
“Life changes in a heartbeat, what was once so close and familiar can change and become distant, seemingly out of reach, like a distant horizon. We know it’s out there, but it takes trust and time to get there.” – Ed Lehming Today was a tough day. This is the day my mother’s life ended. I look out the window of my hotel room, and the mountains of the Okanagan that have… Read More
“The view was surreal, there were mountains where the water was, only a few days before. The world had transformed fully to winter” – Ed Lehming As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, these lake mountains, or cryo-volcanoes, are something that’s unique to the Great Lakes, as far as I know. They probably occur in any cold weather, fresh water lake that is big enough to generate the wave force to create them…. Read More
“Water, in its many forms, continues to amaze me. From warm gentle streams in summer to the surprising frozen cryovolcanoes of the shelf-ice of the Great Lakes, water is ever changing” – Ed Lehming Today, I went for a walk along the shores of Lake Ontario. My destination, once more, was Lakeshore Beach in Sandbanks Provincial Park, which I have written about quite a bit lately. Just a few weeks ago, the… Read More
“Even on the coldest winter days, time spent outdoors and be a joy” – Ed Lehming This photo resonates with me for some reason. I was wrapping up my photography of the raging waters at Prince Edward County’s Lakeshore Beach, and I took a final look across the beach. The beach stood empty. Then, a few minutes later, two people came across the dunes and proceeded with their stroll along the beach…. Read More
“What appears to us as tenacity is often simply adaptation.” – Ed Lehming This cottonwood tree, seemingly overwhelmed by the ever-shifting drifting sand, is not alone. These trees have adapted with a root system that allows for fluctuations in sand depth. I’ve seen the tree trunks several feet above the sand, as if the trees are on stilts, and one like this buried to an equal depth. The root wood adapts, becoming… Read More
“Colour and movement danced before me as the waves wove a pattern of unexpected brightness under a winter sky, not yet locked in ice; they put on a final show for me.” – Ed Lehming I love water. I love how it moves, the sounds it makes, and the constant sense of being a living thing. I also like to accentuate movement by adding movement of my own. Intentional Camera Movement (ICM)… Read More
“The first real snows filled the gaps in the dunes, drifted snow covering the drifted sand. A seasonal change” – Ed Lehming I’ve been enjoying reviewing the images I made several days ago. That day brought some significant changes to an established photographic method and style. To get the images to communicate the nature of the environment, I had to change how I communicated as well. As those who follow this blog… Read More
“Seasons blend on the now barren beach and grasses dance in the mix of sand and snow” – Ed Lehming I’m continuing this series of images from December 2024 with this shot of the sand dune fringes. While the trees block the majority of eroding winds, it is the grasses that hold it all together. This variety of beach grass is known as Marram Grass Ammophila, and I never gave it much… Read More
“I’m continually amazed at how subtle changes in light can transform a landscape.” – Ed Lehming I’m continuing with my recent photo series of images made over two days at the local Sandbanks Provincial Park. It’s a big change for my photo practice. I have spent the past thirty years surrounded by forest trails and deliberately sought out waterfalls. Sandbanks is completely different. It is a 15-minute drive from my new home…. Read More
“Our views are influenced strongly by the past. Breaking the habit of the familiar is not easy, but opens up new possibilities” – Ed Lehming The evolution of this photo has been an interesting exercise for me. Over the years, I have developed certain “styles” that I go to because the results are pleasing to me. However, I don’t believe that doing things the same way is necessarily a good thing. There… Read More
“There is a magic in new snow. There is a cleansing, and a freshness that transforms the landscape and, despite the cold temperatures, it warms our weary souls with its brightness and purity.” – Ed Lehming It has been a while, many days of business and work, but I finally got out to create some images. Not just a few snapshots to say I’ve been photographing, but a deliberate time set aside… Read More
“How I see things, it’s important to me, often it’s a struggle to communicate that.” – Ed Lehming On a recent trip to California’s Central Coast, we stayed a night in Avila Beach, a small and quiet beach community. It’s very picturesque and has an interesting history, which I may touch on in a future post. The purpose of this post, is to share how I have been using AI tools, for… Read More
“It’s a strange thing, that an ending brings such joy. Sunsets draw people to the waters edge. It’s almost a time of reverence. Such beauty, different every day, and the calmness that ensues as light fades and bathes the worth in gold.” – Ed Lehming I have to say, my visit to Moonstone Beach last month was an absolute pleasure. I have not been spending nearly enough time outdoors with my camera… Read More
“There are details in the darkness, if we just care to see” – Ed Lehming Here I am, back at blogging. It’s been a long time and there have been many changes along my journey through life and I felt that now was an opportune time to get back into sharing my images and thoughts about them. To start, I wanted to share an image I made last week, while standing above… Read More
“There is a joy and adventure in travel. Each new road opens up new possibilities and adventure. – Ed Lehming There is something wonderful about discovery, even in seemingly barren places like the interior plains of western Iceland. I made the photo that inspired this digital painting during a trip to Iceland with my son in October of 2018. The landscape, like much of Iceland, is simply “raw”. We had been driving… Read More
“It is in the darkest hour, when we are faced with our deepest most wrenching fears, that we are given the greatest strength. The choice is whether we succumb to the fear or rise with courage to face our truth and shine our brilliance as our sword of valour.” ― Monika Zands I keep reminding myself to look around me, carefully, appreciating the common things. Recently, I’ve been doing some macro work… Read More
“When you feel life at crossroads, you need higher perspective view.” ― Toba Beta This image is a throwback to last summer. I was at a business meeting on a high floor of one of Toronto’s office towers and kept being captivated by the view, spread out before me like a buffet. I just kept being drawn to the lines of the buildings and the gorgeous sky. At lunch, I took the opportunity… Read More
“If you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it’s not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” ― Jodi Picoult I’ve been having some fun experimenting with the lilies in my yard. Yesterday, I caught them, mist covered in morning light, a bit softer and warmer, never noticing the subtle change in colour to more… Read More
“The simple things come back to us. They rest for a moment by our ribcages then suddenly reach in and twist our hearts a notch backward.” ― Colum McCann Sometimes, it’s the simple beauty that is so close and so familiar that we take for granted, rather, seeking something exotic and exciting in so many aspects of our lives. I’ve found myself in this situation so many times with respect to my… Read More
“If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke Just east of Bancroft, Ontario is a north-south connector road known as Boulter Road, which, naturally takes you to, and through, the small town of Boulter. The road travels north from McArthur Mills and offers spectacular views of the high rolling hills so typical… Read More
“She is free in her wildness, she is a wanderess, a drop of free water. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules or customs. ‘Time’ for her isn’t something to fight against. Her life flows clean, with passion, like fresh water.” ― Roman Payne 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… Read More
“The river moved so swiftly and yet it had no purpose other than to flow, just flow.” ― Gioconda Belli During a recent backcountry drive, I tried to retrace my route to a little gem of a park I found a few years back. There is no road sign identifying the park, just an unmarked road that leads to a beautiful groomed park on the shores of Papineau Creek, near Maynooth, Ontario…. Read More
“Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it.” ― John Green This must be the most photographed tree in Markham, a community just south of my home. This oak stands at the top of a convenient mound, nicely isolating the tree from any distracting background. It’s not a true ‘solitaire’ by my… Read More
“When one tunes in into nature’s frequency, life becomes change, change becomes hope!” ― Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel This has been a year of change and experimentation for me. It’s all been fairly carefully thought out and exciting. I’ve experimented with new photographic techniques, such as macro photography and new ways of editing, like using some Photoshop plugins to create paintings from my photos. I also experimented with some new varieties of plants in my… Read More
“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
Ed Lehming Photography 
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