Spring has Sprung - Photography

Spring has Finally Sprung

After a long and cold Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, with a late surge of freezing weather courtesy of the Beast from the East and a rare double dip of snow in London, spring has finally sprung. I was recently in my hometown of Liverpool visiting family and we took a trip to the Old English Walled Garden in Calderstones Park. The Calderstones are another story suffice to say they are a collection of stones which made up a Neolithic site in what is now the bottom corner of said park and the ancient location of a boundary separating three areas of the city.

Buds ahoy

The weather was still grey and overcast but the lengthening days and warming air are sensed by the plant's clocks and leaves begin to open, flowers begin to bloom. I took my camera and a standard kit lens with me. On reflection, I would have taken a macro lens too, but at 18mm in decent light, some close up images can be gleaned. I am always happy to see the fresh green growth of spring. The beginnings of new life which within weeks erupt into carpets of fresh, bright green.

The Moment Before

It hasn't quite opened up yet. The landscape begins to feel different and when you look closely leaves are unfurling tenatively, early flowers use the opportunity to catch the breeze. It's a magical time and one that augurs long days, short nights, warm air and insects buzzing in every direction, nesting birds call out to let each other know who is around. It's a permanent reminder of childhood. I had my two young daughters with me. They both stare in wonder at the leaves as I still do.

Earliest Memory

My earliest memory was of looking up into the canopy of trees, the bright green colours overlapping and creating shades as masses of leaves blew in the breeze. Dappled sunlight mesmerising my little mind. The leaves, so far up and high seemingly in another world and me laying in my buggy, looking on a spectator to the marvel of spring. I was approaching 1 year old. I could see my daughter having a similar experience as we walked through the park. I wondered if she too would remember.

Catkins and Moss

When I was a boy I had a fondness for catkins, moss, long grass. There was something quite different about catkins, like an exotic jungle flower in miniature. Moss, soft and lush looking like a forest in miniature. Long grass, soft and like a miniature jungle. Although my scale has changed, I still find these emblems of nature fascinating. Moss cushions, coats and wraps a garden in a permanent green velour. It's the stuff of enchanted woods. I suppose it's about wilderness. An environment slightly uncultured with it's own natural balance. Where there's moss, there's water and where there's water, there's life.

A Leaf Opens

When a leaf opens for the first time, it's translucent and small, emerging to take it's first taste of sunshine. Darwin discovered that the ends of the leaves are particularly sensitive to the direction of light and in a series of experiments dressed the ends of leaves with little paper hats and proved that plants follow the light. It was a classic experiment designed from observation and proven through application. I always think of leaf tips as kind of having simple eyes, even if it's only really conceptual. Perhaps the first sight.

Moss on a Tree

A world within a world. A tree becomes host to a range of other plants and animal species. With it's huge surface areas, nooks, crannies and many textures, leading up into the sky, the tree is an ecosystem. Moss grows happily on the bark of a tree where it can hitch a ride to the light. Like a mountainside with a mini forest, it's always a pleasure to see and I can't help but get up close. I bought my Daughter a proper magnifying glass, like my Grandfather bought for me. A glass one with high magnification. She had begun to explore scale. I smile and watch her discover the world as I did.

Spring is a brief experience

Before long all the buds have opened, the flowers pollinated by the wind and the insects. Leaves darken and it's summer. A time of ripening and maximum light. I often think about how the equatorial regions miss out on the experience of our very long days in summer. (nor our very short days in winter) and I think about how the seasons shape our experience of life. Before long, it's Autumn and the fruit is ripe

Here's to Spring

To Spring, one of the most magical times of the year. We celebrate with Easter from an ancient pagan tradition of welcoming the equinox and the onset of fecundity, hence rabbits and eggs. It's been part of the human experience for many thousands of years since we first set foot in the Northern Lands. It must have been difficult for our ancestors at first, unused to the grip of deep winter but also profiting from the long and warm, soft moss lined nights of spring, rolling into deliciously fruitful and bountiful summers and autumns where we fattened up for the long winter ahead on nuts and berries till we almost popped, falling into a slumber and probable semi hibernation... like we still do, but with TV