Gently Sown

Bowed

Behavior Observed

Cradled in the tulip leaf, these big drops stand in line, neat and orderly. Clustered around them, the baby sprinkles are more scrambled yet remain close. I love how the background echoes the drops' form. Like the youngsters on the leaf, the bokeh is not so orderly and seems to multiply the original shapes with a little chaos.

My macro lens was perfect for drawing close enough to see this most interesting pattern of behavior. Any other lens in my gear bag would not have allowed for this perspective.

All Shook Up

In the past couple of weeks it is as though the snow globe that is our world has been shook up, mixing the seasons about. Now we begin to settle and see what is to see.

Toasted Almonds

Signs of Spring

Today is a chilly day by last week's standard, but springtime nonetheless. I took a break from some studio work to poke around in my backyard to see if spring would show itself to me. I didn't have to look too hard.

Along our railway ties that surround our patio, patches of moss have begun to grow. The green colour breathes life into the air and sparks hope for more of the same.

Spring is a season brimming with new life, new beginnings. This reminds me of God's mercies, new each morning, not only in springtime.  Like signs of spring, I don't have to look too hard for these either. They are all around me. Thankful.

Spring Rain

Static or Stream

Static or stream? Yes.

Colour Dance

Gentle Morning

Mornings are not always so gentle but today's was. As I viewed this image at the beginning of my day it helped set the tone of gentleness.

The colors are soft and soothing. The petals move, just slightly, more of a sway than anything else, maybe a rocking motion. I find myself rocking back in time, slowly and gently.

I must admit I am on a bit of a layers kick. I am enjoying seeing some of my archived images transform into something other than what they were, or rather, something more of what they were.

Strung with Light

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

She Loves Me

She loves me. She loves me not...

The petals have been plucked. They float and dance, giving us no indication of the young lad's returned love. We are in the middle of the pages of this love story, left to imagine and create to our hearts' delight.

Light and layers are important contributors to this composition. Shot with a window backdrop, the petals become translucent as they hold to the window's surface. Using layers in processing allows for creating even more of a dreamy and ethereal image.

Light's Breath

I can feel it, Light's breath. Gently washing over me, it is warm with a soothing flow. It finds its way to the cold corners and shadows around me, surrounds me and fills me all at once. It caresses my cheek and I know its presence.

I layered a texture over top of this image. It was just the right touch to bring out the feel of the foxtails, the gentleness of the breeze and the brightness of the light.

Garden Dreamer

Her eyes grew heavy. No longer able to keep them open she lay her head down in the garden and drifted into another land...

Daisy Duo

Here are a couple of pictures that will surely bring a little sunshine into your day. The macro lens allowed me to focus in on the splash of sunshine while leaving the petals soft and soothing. Tender and touchable both, these daisies do delight.

A little tip for photographing a scene that has a lot of white:

Push the whites to the right.

This is in reference to your histogram. Be sure your camera's histogram graph shows that the whites (which on a largely white landscape will be the spike of pixels towered high on your graph) are as far to the right of the graph as possible without going over. Adjust your aperture or shutter speed to accomplish this.

Often we'd like to see the bulk of the pixels right in the middle of the graph. This is not so with a bright white image. If you leave the camera to decide this on its own, you will find that your whites are grey, not bright and clean. Try this tip and see the difference for yourself.

Lily

Pussy Willows

Here is another sure sign of spring. The Pussy Willows are out. Beautifully soft, they bid winter a gentle farewell as they quietly tip toe into the landscape. The hush is in lovely contrast to the many other displays in the new season emerging.

What a wonderful time of year to be out there looking and seeing and watching for changes. It is a time when banks of snow are replaced by grass within a span of a few short days. It is a time when sidewalks often empty except for the daily commute to the bus stop become busy with roller bladers, walkers, toddlers, giggles and glee.

Rest has done its work and we are rejuvenated.

Ladybug on a Winter Day in Winnipeg

Technically today is actually a winter day. The snow is all but gone. The forecast was for a high of +26 degrees Celsius. The geese have returned and I see the ladybugs have also begun to emerge...along with many pasty white legs on the trail today!

Soothe

Esplanade Riel

Purple Puddles

Mystery

Mystery. How do you capture mystery? Not all images need this to be part of their story but some do.

I have found that discarding colour can help focus the attention on what might be there, by way of lines and textures seen more prominently in black and white.

Less is more. Leaving out faces is a powerful way of conveying mystery. It leaves room to imagine and it also leaves room for the story to become part of the viewer's. We must be careful how we do this so the image isn't only an image without a face.

Here are two examples where I think mystery is found. In both images, the lines and textures, shadows and shapes all point to what is not there, but in a way that it is not missing. In the first image, we see some of the face in the shadows, just enough to speak of age and perhaps mood as well. In the second, we see none of the face but we see the earring and that is enough to open the door to imagine more.

Allowing the viewer to search for clues within the image and then piece the story together in their minds, colored by their own experiences makes room for a larger, ever expanding composition. The mystery grows for the photographer when the image begins to include more experiences and possibilities in what becomes a collaborative work with the patrons.

In writing, there is a saying that I think of often - Show, don't tell. In photography, it is also true in some cases. Like I said earlier, less is more.

Vibrancy

We are skipping spring altogether and heading straight into summer this weekend! Though the gardens are still empty of flowers, my archives are not.  Looking through my images of summer days past, I found many floral photos. This one caught my eye because of the tiredness around the edges coexisting with beautiful vibrancy.

Flowers have a way of saying something to me in just the right way. How I would like to shine in spite of being tired, or maybe sometimes because I am tired. To continue to love the world around me even when I feel weary is what I want to do. And the weariness? Wouldn't it be great if it was because I was doing exactly this, loving the world around me with all of me?

Fire

Boots

I did not use any photo layering.
These boots were captured as they were.

Using reflection to create an image all on its own can be a great deal of fun and makes for an unusual if not interesting photo.

These boots were sitting on a hardwood floor. I noticed the reflection and began to play. What I ended up with was this image.

Reflection has a way of freeing the imagination to wonder.

Renewal

Shadow of the Cross

Quietly

...He leads me beside quiet waters.

Psalm 23:2

Abstract Petals

Outside In

Walking by the Manitoba Theatre for Young People at The Forks in Winnipeg, this window's reflection caught my eye. The sky was most certainly inside this theatre!

The sky showing through the window seemed just right with all the potential and promise packed into this venue.

Take the time to gaze into the windows as you carry on with your day today. What do you see? Look again. Look closer. Imagine.

Spring is in the Air

We spent the afternoon outside today over at The Forks in Winnipeg. The weather was exceptional. I loved seeing the buskers, hot dog carts, puddles and puddle jumpers as we took in the tease of summer.

Over on the river, the ice held out for one last pass for this adventurous cyclist. How often does one have the opportunity to shoot a cyclist as they ride on the river? I couldn't resist. Given the fact that there was open water on this river, this path would soon be pulled into those pools and disappear into spring. The cyclist, though a little daring for my liking, probably had a great ride, assuming he or she managed to avoid the pools ahead!

Water Falls

Water doesn't just fall straight down. The shortest distance between two points is not its only route.

Sky High

Ember's Glow

Spring is Around the Corner

I looked at the weather forecast for the next week or so and decided that I must do a springtime post! The temperatures are supposed to soar and I cannot wait!

Looking through my archives for just the right image that says "spring" I found this cheery tulip. Not only happy, it is also dramatic, which is what the change to next week's temps will be if in fact the forecast is right. The contrast in this image is just right for representing the change from this week's toques and toboggans to next week's sunglasses and spring jackets.

Playing in the Light

There is so much play and movement in this image. The light swirls around the tulip and the tulip plays back. Happy interaction is caught with my lens, yet carries on, totally unaware of my intrusion. I intentionally chose to remove the colour as it was not important to this composition; it distracted.

NYC

Rain first arrived in NYC and then we pulled in. We shared our day in the city with the drops and drips and took in the sights and sounds as best we could.

Originally I thought the pictures would be disappointing because the rain was. Seeing the haze and low lying clouds reminds me how it felt, jumping over puddles and sometimes into puddles. I remember buying four umbrellas as we stepped off our bus into the driving rain. I can almost see our tour guide holding her umbrella high so we could see where she was. Seeing Lady Liberty standing tall in the rain and wind somehow made her presence that much more impressive.

As it turns out the rain took nothing from our experience but only added to it.

Chicago

Legs To Stand On

Sometimes it may require thinking in a new way to see that we really do have legs to stand on. We can feel so boxed in and paralyzed by circumstances and situations. What if we saw things from a different perspective?

Here, I've turned a photo upside down, creating a completely different kind of image that reaches beyond the confines of what was.

Imagine

Imagine the possibilities and promise in this day and beyond. Allow your heart to hope in what is true and sure and also unseen. There is more than what we see. The sky is not the limit. My friends, there is so much more.

This is a picture I took using a zoom effect in camera and also layering in processing. Both lend themselves to imagination and invite us to consider the possibilities and promise we do not see.

Winter's Woodlands

In the Ditches

Southern Manitoba was hit with a big snow storm yesterday. After cancelling our drive out to the Whiteshell yesterday we drove out today. Along the way we saw the eerie remains of the storm. Cars were in the ditches, buried deep. I sure hope those drivers and passengers didn't get hurt and were able to find warm shelter last night.

We didn't only see the storm's strength in the ditches. This fox sat right by its den and was in no hurry to have us see him enter his home.  Enough was enough and after many pictures he dove into his fox hole and was gone. What a beautiful animal!

Spring

Emerging from the cold and sometimes dark season of winter, spring waits on my doorstep. I've long thought that our seasons are quite distinct but I am beginning to learn that each of the seasons flow into another, sometimes with overlap and mingling lasting longer than a short while.

Today the snow is falling pretty heavy. We're not yet at spring but it is close. I certainly have the welcome mat out on my step. Inside I have a pot of beautiful tulips, given to me by a dear friend. I look at the tulips and see new life and hope...springtime.