Spring
The Early Stretch
One of the glories of spring is “new growth” – as flowers bud and leaves sprout in the woodlands. This is a twig bursting forth with new life; awakening from its deep, winter slumber.
A lot of my images are captured on hikes through the woods with my wife. When we hike, you can bet my camera is with me. I often stop in mid-stop and begin focusing on something that would seem painfully plain and ordinary to most people. In these moments, something has caught my eye and sparked my imagination. I see some shape or texture or exquisite light that I want to save – if possible. (It’s not always possible.)
Often the greatest challenge in photography is being able to capture, with a camera, what my eye sees. Sure, you can snap a photo of a scene or object, but the camera has a difficult time of capturing the essence and full spectrum of beauty our eyes can perceive. (With, no doubt, some artistic enhancement provided by the filter of our own soul.)
Let’s be honest. This is an image of a simple, ordinary twig. But there is something about the warm glow of late afternoon light that is revealing the texture of the leaves…something about the early stage and directional flow of the leaves. To me, this simple twig has a seductive quality to it. I’m glad I stopped to capture it.
You can view a larger, more detailed version of this image by clicking on it. When you do, a full-screen version will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Invitation To Spring
One of the most inviting indications of spring’s arrival are the cheerful daffodils. They are early bloomers and a sure sign of more spring beauty to come.
Normally I’m eagerly waiting for an opportunity to capture a few of these lovely flowers in our area of northeast Wisconsin. These, however, were captured a couple of weeks before the bloom in our neighborhood.
On a recent trip to southern California we visited the higher elevations around San Bernardino where they still had small patches of snow and were experiencing their own spring arrival. I snapped this pair blooming near Big Bear Lake.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Clump of Springtime
Some of the first bloomers in early spring, the Hepatica is a delightful wildflower find. This clump was photographed along a Wisconsin woodland path in April.
The Hepatica is in the buttercup family. It’s also known by some other odd names (at least, to me) such as liverleaf, liverwort and squirrel cups. I’ve read the “liver” names have to do with the shape of the leaves, which some believe resemble a human liver. I’ve also read some Cherokee and Chippewa tribes used Hepatica as a treatment for liver disorders and it’s still harvested for its medicinal values today.
You can view all the detail in this collection of Hepatica full-screen by simply clicking on the photo.
Technicolor Tulips
A delightful, vivid variety of blooming tulips photographed at the annual Tulip Festival in Pella, Iowa.
To get a large, full-screen view, click on the image and a larger version will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Exotic Flavor
It’s easy to get lost in a crowd, but the truly unique are easy to spot. I found this lovely example in the tulips of the annual Tulip Festival in Pella, IA.
You can view more of the delicate detail by clicking on the photo. A larger version will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Hanging Hearts
It’s not difficult to understand the thinking behind the common name of this garden favorite – bleeding heart. Its heart-shape pink or white blooms with a protruding tip make it a logical choice.
Bleeding hearts are a species of flowering plant in the poppy family. These bleeding hearts are from ,my wife’s flowerbed near our house.
You can view a larger version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options
Happy Faces
You can’t help but smile when you see the bright, happy faces of the delicate, blooming violas.
These are some of our favorites in the garden. They seem to be very prolific, popping up in the lawn and other flowerbeds where they weren’t planted.
For a better view, click on the photo and a larger version will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Segregated Spring
The tulips were brilliant at the Scholte House gardens. We visited there during the 2015 Tulip Festival in Pella, IA.
You can view a larger version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Star Power
The camera (or, more accurately, the photographer) did not fully capture the beauty of this flower. It seemed much more appealing to my eye than it does here, in digital form.
This is a new addition to one of my wife’s flower beds. Unfortunately, it got bit by the recent, late frost. It looks like it may recover so, hopefully, we’ll be seeing future blooms from this one.
If you have a larger monitor, you can view a larger, more detailed version of this image by simply clicking on it.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Spring Gathering
Hunting for morel mushrooms is a tradition of spring. Here are a nice batch found along a wooded path in northeast Wisconsin. There were actually two other morels in this pack, but I couldn’t fit them in the frame and still show the detail I wanted for this shot.
You can view a larger version of this image by clicking on it.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.