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“On my forest journeys, the trees are my constant companions. Their aspect changes, depending on how you see them. They are the same, but appear different. Perspective changes everything.” – Ed Lehming I have avoided this type of shot because it seems a bit ‘put on’. I look at these images on web sites and Instagram with some interest but tend not to spend much time with them. A few days ago,… Read More
“As I wander the forest, immersed in her peace and comfort, I realize that what makes this place filled with life so precious, is that I am also among friends.” – Ed Lehming While I was reviewing images from my latest hike, I came across this image and spent some time considering it. It’s not something I typically do, looking up among the towering pines. This day, however, the wind was quite… Read More
“Spring is on our doorstep; the season’s snow melting under ever increasing sunlight. The forest stirs from it’s winter sleep.” – Ed Lehming It’s nearly the middle of March, the change in the air is tangible, the days are getting longer and gradually milder, and there is new birdsong in the air. This image was made yesterday morning as I hiked a local forest. It was quite an experience; the forest still… Read More
“At the centre of the pine grove it stood, massive, ancient, and humbling. A massive maple, the likes I have not seen; the King of the Forest had my undivided attention” – Ed Lehming I have seen this tree from a distance for year, set deep in a recess of plantation pine. I could see hints of it through the tall trunks but had no idea of its sheer size and majesty;… Read More
“Often, revisiting images or memories with a fresh eye can yield pleasant surprises.” – Ed Lehming I am not a photography ‘purist’ by any stretch of the imagination and I’m finding that the more photos I make, the more I want to stretch the bounds of what a photograph is and can be. By definition, photography is: the art or process of producing images by the action of radiant energy and especially… Read More
“I enter December with hope and delight. The dull days of late November are past and the bright snowfall of December cheers my soul.” – Ed Lehming The journey down December trails continues as I keep taking pleasure in reviewing my photos from my December 2nd hiie through a local conservation area. As is evidenced in the photo, I was not alone and several others had enjoyed the trails before my arrival… Read More
“Before me, the beech blazed in bright golds, shimmering as the gentle breeze caressed the snow laden leaves. The world was wide awake and filled with joyous energy and brilliance.” – Ed Lehming It appears this series will be continuing for a while, I have so many wonderful images from this gorgeous December morning earlier this week. I thought I had captured plenty of wonderful scenes during this hike and was mere… Read More
“A return to memory, the chance to relive and reimagine an experience does not happen often in real life, but there is a joy in revisiting memories through photos that has a firm hold on me” – Ed Lehming Since I was a child, I have enjoyed looking back through family photo albums. I am fortunate that I have a family that has been able to document so many events through images…. Read More
“On revisiting places and memories, we are reminded of what was. We should not dwell on these things, but recall fondly the place these things had in forming the present” – Ed Lehming I have shared images of these dead pine trees a few times in the past. I came across them several years ago and they stood out to me because they are such a stark contrast to the living forest… Read More
“Autumn, the final brilliant show of the trees I have know all summer. Shine brightly, fill my senses, for I will miss you in the chill of winter and remember your beauty fondly.” – Ed Lehming It seems to me that the annual autumn show of colours was particularly bright this year. Birches competed with the beeches in their bright tones of yellow and orange. Even the light reflecting from the tree… Read More
“It’s the unusual, the ‘out of place’ that gets our attention and prompts us to ask questions.” – Ed Lehming While driving through Prince Edward County, a large peninsula in south-eastern Ontario, some of the main roads run through a fairly large patch of marshland, rather, swamp, since it is filled with shrubs and trees. What makes this so unique is that the swamps, which seem to be wet all year round… Read More
“As the seasons changed, winter slowly released its hold on the land, receding in patches and revealing the first signs of spring, like a curtain being slowly drawn.” – Ed Lehming I chose this image today because I was very pleased with the composition and the elements that I wanted to communicate. I also did something that I often experiment with but rarely publish. The original photo was processed using the Prizma… Read More
“The pines stood defiantly on the hillside, their bark long since stripped by disease and the elements; exposed to the sun, and rain; vulnerable. Yet, they stood, despite what had befallen them.” – Ed Lehming I’ve photographed this grove of pine trees on many occasions over the past few years. Their appeal is that they stand out against the rest of the forest. They are a strong contrast to their surroundings; tall… Read More
“In the deep of winter, colour and sound fade to nothingness. The world becomes muted and silent as it slumbers beneath the snow” – Ed Lehming As a lover of light and colour, winter can often be the hardest on me, especially when seeking inspiration and beauty. In the winter months, it’s not just the drastic reduction of colours, but also the silence. So many times, the only sound I hear is… Read More
“A rock may seem a sound foundation but deep, nourished, and interwoven roots will hold surprisingly fast over time” – Ed Lehming This tree growing around a large boulder at the top of a hill got me really thinking, as I made this image a few weeks ago. It seems that the boulder would be a challenging place to grow. In fact, as I considered this image, I tried to think of… Read More
“Like most boundaries, they have two aspects. What is inside it and what is outside, it all depends upon which side you are on” – Ed Lehming I’m still in retrospect mode, moving through photos I made last year, considering the thinking behind their creation and the feelings I was experiencing when I made them. Much of this is influenced by the world around me, though I try my utmost to detach… Read More
“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.” – Herman Hesse As I start into 2019, I can’t but help reflecting on the profound influence trees have on me. I spend so much time among them, feeling their energy, sheltered under their… Read More
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.” ― William Blake Today, a brief reprieve from my my Iceland series, which is not nearly complete. Yesterday, as the early snowfalls… Read More
“In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones. Without their leaves, how lovely they are, spreading their arms like dancers. They know it is time to be still.” ― Cynthia Rylant Today I decide to make a short departure from my Iceland Journal, though that will continue for some time, as I continue to process the images and memories. While I revel in those times, not so long ago, nature reminded… Read More
“We must leave this terrifying place to-morrow and go searching for sunshine.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald Though the forest image above is far from terrifying, at least for me, it can be a dark, foreboding place to many people, especially when you look deeper into the forest, as the tree trunks weave ever tighter and form a dark wall. Yet, even this wall has a gap and the sunshine pours through it, streaming… Read More
“The dream crossed twilight between birth and dying.” ― T.S. Eliot This will likely be my final image from the ‘Night of the False Dawn”, as I have chosen to call it, though I did make many more images. This image shows a cluster of pine trees on the horizon with a background of brightly lit clouds. Keep in mind, this is around eleven o’clock at night. The light, as my previous posts… Read More
“Thank goodness for the first snow, it was a reminder–no matter how old you became and how much you’d seen, things could still be new if you were willing to believe they still mattered.” ― Candace Bushnell As my hike last weekend proceeded, the day warmed up just enough for the exposed patches of snow to melt, leaving only traces in the shadows, but enough to remind me that more is going to… Read More
“Because you don’t notice the light without a bit of shadow. Everything has both dark and light. You have to play with it till you get it exactly right.” ― Libba Bray As I’ve said many times this past year, it’s amazing what we see and don’t see, or rather notice. In the case of these poplar trees, which I have passed through immeasurable times, the camera picks up on light changes that… Read More
“The beauty of any first time is that it leads to a thousand others…” ― Pico Iyer This was the end of November, the first significant snowfall, enough to dust the ground in white and remain well into the day. It was also the last day of any noticeable foliage. The last leaf had fallen to the ground, adding to the blanket of rusty browns. It’s yet another transition time in the forest,… Read More
“Living with love for all humankind and worshiping nature’s immense beauty cures heartache and restores bliss. Respecting the splendor of nature awakens us to the beauty inscribing our own humanity.” ― Kilroy J. Oldster Every now and then, a quote just ‘fits’ the photo so well. The ‘aliveness’ experienced at moments like this, standing on a trail and bearing witness to such simple marvels is a spiritual experience. Even looking back on the… Read More
“That quotation about not having time to stand and stare has never applied to me. I seem to have spent a good part of my life – probably too much – in just standing and staring and I was at it again this morning.” ― James Herriot I thoroughly enjoyed just standing and staring at this scene. I liked the transition or ‘shift’ from deep green ferns at my feet to the bright… Read More
“A good roast of sun, it slows you, lets you relax–and out here if there’s anything wrong, you can see it coming with bags of time to do what’s next. This is the place and the weather for peace, for the cultivation of a friendly mind.” ― A.L. Kennedy I made this image on the Thanksgiving weekend, recently past, while on a hike with my son. Despite being well into October (Thanksgiving in… Read More
“Each time I see a beautiful sunset or sunrise, I have to pinch myself because I can’t believe that I’m awake and not dreaming.” ― Anthony T. Hincks Every now and then, you just have to pull over, enjoy, and take a picture. In this case, I was returning from closing down our camper for the season, it was later in the day and I spent about fifteen minutes driving west, into a… Read More
“The voice of beauty speaks softly; it creeps only into the most fully awakened souls” ― Friedrich Nietzsche Bright rays of sun reflects off the tree lined hillside within the Durham Forest. Patches of light shine in golds and silvers, lighting up patches of leaf littered ground and pockets of bright green undergrowth. I found some areas of the forest strangely devoid of undergrowth this year, which struck me as odd during… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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