Beech leaves are popping out right now. I’ve often photographed fall beech leaves with their coppery hue and late winter marcescent leaves of papery tan fading to ghostly white, but I’ve never shot a fresh, new leaf as it emerged. The fine hairs on the surface remind me of a baby’s skin!
Sony A7II, Sony 90mm macro lens, ISO 1250, f/13, 1/125″ exposure.
We have two buckeye trees on the property—the one by our back deck that I featured the other day sporting a mantle of snow, and one out by the pond. Both are beginning to leaf out. Buckeyes are prodigious and fast growers, and the bud pictured above will magically transform into a 16″-24″ long stem of new growth and leaves over the summer season. It’s a spectacular thing to observe.
Sony A7II, Sigma 100-400mm lens @ 400mm, ISO 800, f/6.3, 1/320″ exposure.
Yup, it’s May 9 and we picked up 3.4″ of snow overnight. The emerging buckeye buds on the tree off our back deck seems to nicely sum up today’s struggle between the seasons.
Sony A7II, Sigma 100-400mm lens @ 400mm, ISO 800, f/8, 1/200″ exposure.
The willows along the fence line bordering our neighbor’s field are bustin’ out! A close-up view of the buds reveals their intricate flowering structure.
Sony A7II, Sony 90mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/8, 1/200″ exposure.
The spring beauties are in full and abundant bloom in the woods up behind our house. There’s a veritable carpet of these little blossoms in a particular spot along the trails that I run in the morning, and they make for a sweetly fragrant run!
Panasonic GM5, Lumix 12-32mm lens @ 32mm, ISO 400, f/8, 1/250″ exposure.
The willow buds that I photographed just peeking out a couple weeks ago are now in full “fireworks” mode. A touch of rain and a fly fill out the composition.
Panasonic GX8, Olympus 60mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/8, 1/500″ exposure
The bloodroot down by Fargo Brook is starting to push its way up out of the soil. This little shoot was less than a half-inch tall.
Panasonic GX8, Olympus 60mm macro lens, ISO 1600, f/8, 1/125″ exposure.
We’ve had a couple of robins hanging around all winter (judging by their accents, I’m guessing that they were Canadian…) and they’ve probably headed back north across the border to their summer nesting grounds. I’ve been hearing a lot more robins now, and I’m pretty sure that this fine bird is one of our own migrants returning for the summer. It was quite willing to let me get a good shot as it poked around in one of the apple tree in our front field.
Panasonic GX8, Lumix 100-300mm lens @ 300mm, ISO 800, f/8, 1/1300″ exposure.
The ostrich ferns are unfurling along Fargo Brook. It wasn’t until I processed this image that I realized it suggested the letter “F”
Nikon D600, Sigma 105mm macro, IOS 1250, f/4, 1/500″ exposure
John Hadden Photography 