First Trip of Spring

Happy Spring! It's now official, and what's more, yesterday was the first day that really felt like like spring to me: the sights of the woods starting to green up, the smells of freshly mown lawns and new growth, the sounds of motorcycles on their first rides of the year. To celebrate the season, I took a little jaunt over to Saint Edward State Park for some spring scenery.

First, a closeup of some Indian plum flowers (Oemleria cerasiformis). I think this is one of my best of these flowers. F/5.6.

The next close up is one of red elderberry, or Sambucus racemosa, just beginning to open. I like the sense of depth I was able to achieve with this; also, the vertical leaves look a bit like upraised arms. F/4.5.

Here are some more Indian plum flowers with a mossy cottonwood trunk in the background. F/3.5.

Here's one with a wide depth of field, with Indian plum leaves and flowers in the foreground. This one was difficult to pull off, due both to the depth of field and timing the shot to a moment when the leaves were all still. The final product is a bit busy, but reasonably successful. It might look less busy enlarged and printed. F/25.

Finally, some new leaves with the mossy forest in the background. At this particular vantage point - for the entire hike, really - I was taken by the bright and almost luminescent appearance of the new growth, which the filtered sunshine helped to accentuate. F/5.6.