Archives
“What lies around the next turn, we cannot tell for certain, but having taken the journey before, we can anticipate.” – Ed Lehming For today’s post, a very familiar site; one that I have photographed many times, seeing some potential in the composition; interesting lines, but never quite satisfying. I decided to transform this image from early December as well, to see what it would yield, and I’m very pleased with the… Read More
“In November, the earth is growing quiet. It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures. The bed is white and silent, and much life can hide beneath its blankets.” ― Cynthia Rylant I wanted to post another photo of the beautiful wintery scenes created by last Friday’s snow squalls. Though a bit early for my liking, heavy snows turned the world into a wonderland in mere minutes. The… Read More
“Let the colours of your ideas be red so that all can easily notice them! And what is red? Red is a scream, red is power, red is assertion!” ― Mehmet Murat Ildan A bit of a journey into the world of macro photography today. I’m still getting the hang of it but enjoying the results. This red begonia blossom is part of a floral display along the main street in my town. I… Read More
“Voiceless it cries, Wingless flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien I think I’ve photographed this tree about a dozen times. Sometimes, it’s still and brightened by a golden sunset, other times, it’s filled with birds, darting to and fro. But on this occasion, the strong winds of a hot summer day tossed it’s branches from side to side. I took the opportunity to capture this motion through a long exposure… Read More
“Everything made by human hands looks terrible under magnification–crude, rough, and asymmetrical. But in nature, every bit of life is lovely. And the more magnification we use, the more details are brought out, perfectly formed, like endless sets of boxes within boxes.” ― Roman Vishniac A return to the garden, where early summer flowers are beginning to show their stuff. This beautiful white cosmos was glowing so brilliantly in the morning sun,… 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
“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
“Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it.” ― Patrick Süskind As the days warm, aromatic flowers prevail, attracting bees and insects with their sweet perfumes. Pollinated flowers give way to fruits and… Read More
“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don’t they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.” ― Ray Bradbury Spring flowering shrubs and all their awesome scents are now on. It’s good to see so many bees out and about, including this carpenter bee, one of many enjoying the fragrant flowers of a local Russian Olive. The ornamental trees were planted along walking trails… 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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“All thoughts, secret or spoken, belong in a coffee table book written in Braille, so you can really feel the emotions.” ― Jarod Kintz I decided to start into this forum with my standard quote style. I find looking up suitable quotes to match my photos makes me think about the photo and the emotions it invokes in me and thus, enhances the image. And, I added a photo above of a local… Read More
“What is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?” ― Kahlil Gibran This year, I left a few dried hydrangea blooms in my garden. My usual ritual is to trim them all down in the fall. I’m glad I left them, they added some interest in this past, dull, nearly snowless winter, and created a nice franewirk for our recent freezing rain event…. Read More
“Nothing clashed because nothing had the strength to clash; everything murmured of safety among the hues; all was refinement.” ― Mervyn Peake In anticipation of spring greens and colours, I find myself back in the familiar and somewhat commonplace of local walking trails. In the middle of town, I find small sanctuaries of wildlife and the remnants of last years plants which have survived the winter. relatively intact. Though my eyes see… Read More
“Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are ‘patches of Godlight’ in the woods of our experience.” ― C.S. Lewis With spring just around the corner, this is the time of year where I go looking for signs of life re-emerging. The light is soft and indirect and casts wonderful… Read More
“Given the right lighting, all the colors in the world can be seen in a white object.” – Michele Cooper This time of year tends to be fairly challenging as far as finding interesting things to photograph. The ground tends to be muddy and accessing some areas is tough. There’s also the prevalence of browns and grays with very few bright colours. Yet, if I look around, I can still find some… Read More
Another image from last evening’s “Reservoir Walk”. I could do a whole book on this beautiful place, just minutes from my doorstep, and often overlooked, even by me. Just north of my home is a reservoir designed to control flooding in case of heavy rains. This reservoir is part of an entire conservation system install in the 50’s when hurricane Hazel caused tremendous damage in the area. The result is a wonderful… Read More
Similar to yesterday’s post, this photo was also made at Wendat Pond in the “Golden Hour”. This image took a bit more effort to set up, as I was deliberately trying to get the golden glow of the trees on the far shore as a backdrop and I was not very happy with my first few attempts. The bright glow I saw with my eyes was not being captured by the camera. So,… Read More
One of the things I also enjoy about spring is the fact that some plants seem to weather the winter quite well. Despite heavy snow and ice, these flowers heads have managed to make it through the winter intact. I often walk around Wendat Pond in Stouffville because the early evening light is so nice and offers some great composition opportunities. Yesterday was no exception. The sun was just starting to set… Read More
You never know what you might come across when you enter a natural setting. Today I took a lunchtime stroll to one of my regular haunts, the Stouffville Reservoir. Near the start of the trail there is a swampy area, where a small brook runs across the trail. This time of year it is particularly mucky and tricky to navigate. Generally, the water flows through at barely a meander and you might… Read More
What the heck, two posts in a day isn’t so bad, is it? After all, I missed Friday. I could not resist posting this photo of the Trout Lilies I mentioned on my previous post. There’s a regular cluster I go to every year and they never disappoint. It was earlier in the morning and they are not quite open yet. Give it a few hours and there will be several delicate bell-shaped… Read More
I was pleasantly surprised that the “Wake-Robins”, also know as Red Trilliums, were blooming today. I actually set out to look for Trout Lilies, which should be blooming today, and they will be, later in the day. They were just not open yet (post to follow tomorrow). The cycle of blooms is a constant and follows the same sequence every year, like clock-work. However, in some years the cycle is compressed into… Read More
I love watching the early plants emerge from the dead-looking ground in the spring. They follow the same pattern, year after year, whether it’s an early or late spring, the pattern remains consistent, though sometime s compressed or accelerated. This past winter was particularly cold and spring has been delayed by many cold spells. So, I walk through the woods in hopes of seeing those early emergences. I was very pleased to… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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