When the sun came out after a morning of heavy rain, the light in the forest was dramatic. Intense and beautiful— light and shadow; texture and pattern; colours and hues.
light in the forest
morning light on camellias
Though the afternoon had been drizzly and the days fairly cool, the camellia doesn't seem to mind. She's blooming, determined spring is really arriving. I cut some and arranged them in the old white milk jug, and set them on the dining table. The next morning the sun was up before I was so I was greeted with this glimpse of beauty sunlit beauty.
Photo Notes: this piece is adapted from my original RAW photo using Lightroom and Topaz Impression.
beauty of the structure: nature’s designs
Walking along the Bodega Ridge trail this morning, the light and colours were stunning; the views spectacular. In addition to the more obvious sights drawing our attention were the low mounds of spring green moss glowing in the sun, the lichen draped branches in the forest, and this tangle of branches, baked dry in the sun, but retaining the extraordinary shape of its previous glory as a live manzanita.
The structure of these shrubs is hard to see sometimes when clothed in their ever-green mantle. But here, stripped bare, complex interior beauty is revealed.
For more photos of Bodega Ridge on Galiano Island, click here.
Morning’s Golden Hour
The colours of the morning sun most certainly are golden. Here the arbutus and cedars display their stunning colour, texture and shapes. The warmth of the colours belies the chill of the day.
Winter Colour
Colour and beauty are strewn everywhere— even in the depths of winter and in the unlikely and seemingly inhospitable spots— Its all right there for us to 'behold' .
During the past week of crisp weather, the frost coated most everything rendering the world in a muted colour palette. But as the sunlight warmed the places it shone, colours emerged more intensely than ever.
The photo above shows what I mean: the melting frost revealed the most gorgeous, brilliant colours of the small succulent plants that cling tight to the steep sandstone banks.
Tulips at Christmas
Amidst evidence of a feast already celebrated, the tulips testify to the hope of the season ahead.
the shape of things
A daily glimpse of 'the shape of things', in this case: our point— sculpted by storms and tides, the underlying rock and the soil's erosion, and the logs lodged against the shore to silver with age.
The shape of the point is determined by both the underlying rock, the storms' force and what the tides bring.
water, stone and light
...a glimpse of the afternoon light glinting on the dark water of our bay, creating complex patterns as it washes over tafoni textures. The fluid movement and dancing light is a stark contrast with the steadiness of the rock...
Red Breasted Nuthatch
The nuthatch population seems to be thriving as there are many at our feeders every day. They flit so quickly its hard to 'catch' them in a photo. I'm grateful that this one paused briefly, and posed in such a classic nuthatch posture. As a bonus for this shot, we can see something of what he's caught for his lunch.
Turkey Vulture
The Turkey Vulture is one of the strangest of the winged creatures here on the island. Its naked red head seems all out of proportion to the rest of it’s large body. Soaring overhead, its broad span casts a shadow on the grass, and at rest on the tangle of dead limbs, its folded pinions make the high collared look caricatured in drawings of vultures and vampires.
On its stark perch, the image above is one that, for me, holds an ominous tension. It is not what I would call a ‘beautiful’ bird, but it is a marvel of design and function, consuming carrion right down to the bone, finding its life in the scouring of the shore and forest.