Random Snap: Days of Spring

This is the wrong light for this, so please ignore the photographic aspect. I just wanted to point out what the picture shows. There are a few days every Spring when the later-leafing trees are still bare, and the earlier-leafing trees are starting to bud and have that delicate light yellow-green color. So the opposite shore of the lake is dotted with pale green cotton balls against the gray-brown of the bare trees we see all Winter. This transition doesn't last long. You might notice it a few times and then bang it's gone.

It looks best in late-afternoon overcast light when everything's wet, with a storm-dark sky behind it; but, when the light was right I was on an errand and couldn't go back to the place with the view. This sort of gives you the idea, but isn't "the" shot.

The older I get, the more I love the turn of the seasons. And I've always loved it, so the love is deepening. I would never want to miss April here where I live.

By the way, I just bought a new lens. Can't wait for it to get here! More on that later.

Mike

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[Allan Ostling]

I bought a new lens, too, the Nikkor 32mm f/1.2, for my Nikon 1 V3. I wish I could try it out at your lake, with the light yellow-green trees on the opposite shore.

[Robert Hudyma]

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[Rick in CO]

The light green leaves of early Spring can be made to appear nearly white in a B&W photograph - not just by digital but also in the "wet" darkroom. In your photo the white houses would compete against the effect.

[Olivier]

Like you, I welcome the pace of the seasons. This may be what I missed most when living in Singapore. We had only two seasons: hot and humid, and hot and very humid.

[Fred Haynes]

Lovely picture, I like it. But I know what you mean about lighting. It’s only in my latter years that I’ve come to value the right lighting, whatever that is.
Now I’m too old to chase it. There’s a spot not far from where I live, that gives a similar view, with water and buildings and trees on the far shore. And I’ve never been in that position to see it with the light I want.
I can’t say light is everything, but it comes close.
Fred

[Daniel]

"Wrong Light"?

Convert to B&W and you might find it works just fine.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

This is why I tried to find photo books by locals when I was traveling somewhere interesting. Sure, I would take pictures, sometimes some decent ones, but I didn't have the months or years in the location to know things like that, know when to be in what place to get which particular fleeting moment down on film.

[Jamie Pillers]

I beg to differ. That IS the shot... lovely!

[Dan Khong]

I'm guessing you bought a Pentax 70/2.4 lens - the one good for portraiture and has amazing bokeh.

Anyhow, I'm happy you survived the winter. As I recall a few months ago, you were quite apprehensive. Then the pool table got you busy and I'm sure you are now champion material when the town pool hall reopens.

[Roger Bradbury]

Many hedges around here have a mixture of blackthorn and hawthorn trees. They are pretty stock resistant; the clue's in the name.

The two types of tree are related and look pretty similar. Even the flowers look almost the same; fairly small and creamy white. But blackthorn flowers starts flowering in late March (though it's been late this year) and the flowers come before the leaves.

Hawthorn leaves appear before the flowers, which should be here in May. Both types are often and deliberately planted in the same hedge, because the random clusters of blossom look so nice and you get an extended flowering season.

It's great to see, every spring.

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[jp41]

Mike, I like this scene/composition; it definitely has potential with the right light. Is it near where you took the ice fishing image that was posted on Feb. 14th? ( https://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/.a/6a00df351e888f88340263e990064d200b-popup )

[Different spot, same lake. --Mike]

[Robert Pillow]

Under street light, leaves that color in early spring appear to be covered with snow.

[ChrisC]

You could try infra-red when it is not too cloudy. Perhaps that would give even more contrast between the early and late leafers. But that is a whole other black hole to venture into.

I find that infrared can work nicely in light that is normally considered too harsh.

[Ken]

I'll second Jamie Pillers.

This hazy light seems to just "fit" the subtle tones in this landscape. Better light would probably work better after more trees have leaves and the overall scenery is greener - and also with fall colors. But that would be a different photo with a different mood.

[Peter Komar]

I happen to like the photograph just as it is, the shades of light green are quite nice and overall conveys a sense of Spring. Why convert it to B&W or something it is not ? We are at times overly critical of images we should just enjoy for what they are.

[JH]

Definitely better converted to B/W. The leaves look too yellow and the fields too green to my California-adjsuted eyes, but B/W is very nice. Could have been taken by an view camera a century ago!

[Lynn]

For a great example of being there for the best light, see this recent photo essay in the New York Times. Wonderful.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/travel/sussex-bicycle-portraits.html

[Mike Shwarts]

I love the light green leaves of early spring. Especially when they are back lit by the morning and late afternoon sun. It can be difficult catching with the camera what the eye and mind sees.