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“To shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are.” ― Roy T. Bennett Shine, it’s what they do, is it not? On another gray winter day, I enjoy being able to create these images and hopefully, brighten others’ days as well. Creating these studio images of flowers has become almost second nature to me. They are so enjoyable to make and then look at, long after the flowers have wilted… 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 Today is a dull, grey day here. One of those days where it can’t figure out whether to rain or snow. So, what better way to brighten it up than with a flower. I spent a bit of… Read More
“There are just two directions in life, the one which is safe but boring, and the other which is delicate but exciting. Now ask yourself, which path will you go?” ― Joe Mari Fadrigalan Though not a wonderful specimen, there is still beauty here. I’ve actually spend the past week or so photographing flowers that were ‘recycled’ and a bit wilted. Yet, I still see beauty and those blossoms, for the most… Read More
“If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment.” ― Georgia O’Keeffe I’m continuing to enjoy these studio images. Isolating the flower against the black just keeps the attention on the flower. Even when composing the shot, I see shapes and textures I had not noticed before. I’ve also done a few more macro shots, which I will share at some point…. Read More
“I’ll admit that my garden now grows hope in lavish profusion, leaving little room for anything else. I suppose it has squeezed out more practical plants like caution and common sense. Still, though, hope does not flourish in every garden, and I feel thankful it has taken root in mine.” ― Sharon Kay Penman A photo of my neighbour’s hydrangea this time. You see, the hydrangeas we have are white Annabelles and… Read More
“Those who are resilient can more quickly regain their equilibrium and spring back when they are thrown off kilter by the storms of life.” ― Mary Buchan Yes, another flower. I’m simply enjoying this too much and am looking forward to going afield on my vacation time to capture more wildflowers, as opposed to plants from my gardens. But, they are handy and I like the results. I deliberately chose a less… Read More
“Long experience has taught me that people who do not like geraniums have something morally unsound about them. Sooner or later you will find them out; you will discover that they drink, or steal books, or speak sharply to cats. Never trust a man or a woman who is not passionately devoted to geraniums.” ― Beverley Nichols I found the quote hilarious. The quote is from Merry Hall, a book about the… Read More
“The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close-up. The shortcut to closing a door is to bury yourself in the details. This is how we must look to God. As if everything’s just fine.” ― Chuck Palahniuk Image number three in what has become my “Ordinary Flowers in a Different Light” series. Interestingly enough, this was a single blossom on one of my finicky clematis plants. They… 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
“We live and breathe words. …. It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone. They could be honest with me, and I with them. Reading your words, what you wrote, how you were lonely sometimes and afraid, but always brave; the way you saw the world, its colors and textures and sounds, I felt–I felt the way you thought, hoped, felt, dreamt. I felt I was… 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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” ― Mahatma Gandhi This is my very first attempt at macro photography. Simple image of bleeding hearts in my garden. I love the shape of the flower and the components that make it what it is. The blossom… Read More
“If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment.” ― Georgia O’Keeffe Until last weekend, I did not know these existed. I love dogwoods and have made many photos of the gorgeous Sierra Dogwoods of California’s Yosemite National Park as they gleam bright white against the dark pine forests. The first time I saw a photo of them, I knew I had… 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
“Spring returns, resplendent in pinks and white. Trees and shrubs glow in the sun, bedecked in bright blossoms and pale green leaves. The world awakens; the eternal cycle repeats. – Ed Lehming As I mentioned in my last post, I have not been to this botanical gardens since I was a young child. It was so nice to see all the blossoming trees. I was especially surprised to see redbuds, since I… Read More
“You saw a fluttering fan before her face and magnolia blooms and sleepy lakes under the moonlight when she walked.” — Zora Neale Hurston The last time I visited Edwards Gardens in Toronto I must have been about 6 years old. It used to be a favoured destination for my family, as both my father and grandmother were avid gardeners. I vaguely recall the place, remembering only the amazing patches of colour … 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
“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
Ah, spring! I went for an early morning walk this morning and was greeted by yet another gift of spring – a beautiful crab-apple tree loaded with delicate pink-white blossoms. The sun was just up and provided a wonderful soft light. I tried to keep as much of the flower-head in focus while keeping the background soft. I spent quite a bit of time with this particular subject and will be posting… Read More
Yes, I know, two posts in one day. 🙂 I had the opportunity today, now that it is starting to at least look more like spring, to go for a hike around our local reservoir. It’s a beautiful little sanctuary, with diverse plants and wildlife. The hiking trail offers me a nice place to unwind, and photograph, even during a busy day, because it is so close. I was not expecting to… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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