Archives
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“… 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
“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
“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
“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
“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
Ed Lehming Photography 
Recent Comments