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“Water, in all its forms, fills the landscape. What was ice at night now flows and pools, seeping into the ground, providing nourishment to to forest. High above, moisture steams in the sunlit canopy. Spring thaw is upon us.” – Ed Lehming The forest seems to be transforming every day, shifting from its winter repose to spring activity. There are times when I simply stand in the forest, quietly, and take it… Read More
“As winter releases its grip, memories of warmer are revealed” – Ed Lehming I’ve spent a lot of time recently walking around my town. Primarily due to convenience and partly because the late winter forests have been fairly uninspiring. I’m always looking for unusual things that might make for an interesting photo. Many times, I will see something that catches my eye and I spend more time observing the scene or object,… Read More
“And this is how the forest changes, one step, one day, one moment at a time. ” ― Ed Lehming The time of change is at my doorstep. Though flurries still fill the air from time to time, the inevitable change is palpable. Paths once completely ice covered are now more passable. Mud and leaves fill the spaces between, and the ice slowly recedes. Even the evergreens are a bit brighter, as the sun… Read More
“Mist to mist, drops to drops. For water thou art, and unto water shalt thou return.” ― Kamand Kojouri While the snow is gone in all but the deepest woodland areas near home, that’s not the case a few hours drive north of here. Yesterday, I drove north to switch out some artwork in a co-op gallery I am associated with in Bancroft, Ontario and had the opportunity to drive around and… Read More
“The common eye sees only the outside of things, and judges by that, but the seeing eye pierces through and reads the heart and the soul.” ― Mark Twain I had no idea just how interesting something as mundane as melting ice could be. The image I chose for today is a large slab of lake ice which had begun to melt. The gradual melting process showed some very intricate crystalline structures… Read More
“By March, the worst of the winter would be over. The snow would thaw, the rivers begin to run and the world would wake into itself again. Not that year. Winter hung in there, like an invalid refusing to die. Day after grey day the ice stayed hard; the world remained unfriendly and cold.” ― Neil Gaiman February has been an odd one here on Southern Ontario. After the snows of December,… Read More
“Silence can always be broken by the sound Of footsteps walking over frozen ground In winter when the melancholy trees Stand abject and let their branches freeze ” ― Merrill Moore So typical of the past week, this cedar bough, coated with a glass-like film of ice, the result of an evening of freezing rain and a gradual morning thaw. What drew me to this composition was the warm morning light and delicate… Read More
“Water that never moves.” I say to him. “It’s fine for a little while. You can drink from it and it’ll sustain you. But if it sits too long it goes bad. It grows stale. It becomes toxic.” I shake my head. “I need waves. I need waterfalls. I want rushing currents.” — Tahereh Mafi I’ve always enjoyed moving water and photographing it. I gain energy from it, as the quote above… Read More
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” ― Anne Bradstreet After what started off as a gorgeous March, with above normal temperatures and bright sunshine, things changed mid-month, and we got into a cycle of cold days, snow flurries, and some freezing rain. This turned the nice dry trails back to a mix… 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
“One must know the so-called ‘lesson of a downpour.’ A man, caught in a sudden rain en route, dashes along the road not to get wet or drenched. Once one takes it for granted that in rain he naturally gets wet, he can be in a tranquil frame of mind even when soaked to the skin. This lesson applies to everything. ” – Yamamoto Tsunetomo Above is a photo from the past… Read More
“By March, the worst of the winter would be over. The snow would thaw, the rivers begin to run and the world would wake into itself again. ― Neil Gaiman Bubbles, trapped in ice, glow beneath the icy waters of the spring thaw, like a wraith, lit by some inner glow. Mid-February this year brings an early and rapid thaw. Cold water flows with life over frozen creeks, softening the shapes trapped below, beckoning… Read More
“How strange that the nature of life is change, yet the nature of human beings is to resist change. And how ironic that the difficult times we fear might ruin us are the very ones that can break us open and help us blossom into who we were meant to be.” ― Elizabeth Lesser I was considering numerous titles for this images. There is a lot happening here. I was considering “Transitions”,… Read More
“Ice contains no future, just the past, sealed away. As if they’re alive, everything in the world is sealed up inside, clear and distinct. Ice can preserve all kinds of things that way- cleanly, clearly. That’s the essence of ice, the role it plays.” ― Haruki Murakami, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman A temporary reprieve from the cold of winter, hinting at a more prolonged thaw and the promise of spring ahead. Ice… Read More
“The magical way the wintertime warms you up is through its frozen beauties!” ― Mehmet Murat Ildan Yesterday, was a spectacular day! Here we are in mid February and the temperatures hit 12° C. The light was glorious and the outdoors beckoned me. So, with camera bag in hand, I set out to enjoy the day and see what it would reveal to me. Since the temperatures last week were around -30°… Read More
The photo title says it all. An image of a pine tree reflected in an ice puddle on the trail. Here we are, early February and much of the scant snowfall we’ve had has melted off, running into creeks or pooling in icy puddles. The light this day was wonderful and lit the pines up with a soft glow. It was this ‘glow’ that attracted me to look closely at the puddle and… Read More
This morning, the pond at Goodwood Conservation Area had no snow on it (it was -10 C). The pond was covered with these branched holes. I’ve looked them up and seen several theories as to what causes them. Most attribute it to a hole forming under the snow as it melts, which creates the branches or conduits. As the snow melts and the ice reforms, it fills in with darker, harder ice…. Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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