Signals of Spring

Today’s Post by Mildred Alpern

“Little faces looking up

Holding wonder like a cup,” a variation on Sara Teasdale’s poem, Barter

Signs of spring are popping up, and the best way to spot them in New York City is to casually walk the side streets of a local neighborhood where residents spruce up their settings. Tourists often think of NYC in terms of hectic Times Square, but the city is made up of infinite neighborhoods, each distinctively homey. Surprises abound in the Upper West Side locale where I live. Notable are window attractions. Geraniums grace windowsills. They open to the warm sunlight in decorative pots.

On the street level of brownstone homes, an outdoor planter filled with pansies adds vibrancy. These flowers have a variety of color in patterns that appear kaleidoscopic. The unfurling petals and bordered edges make their little faces intriguing to shoot. Even a drenching rain adds to the overall beauty when it splashes the pansies with oversized drops that sparkle like Swarovski crystals.

There are always photographic gems to discover, unexpected but visible, within a short distance from home. Unplanned destinations and a lens or two often yield some keepers.

All photos were taken with the Olympus E-M5 Mark II. The geraniums with the Olympus M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 lens with an exposure of 1/320 sec at f3.5, – 1/3 EV and ISO 500; the pansy planter with the Olympus M. Zuiko 12-40mm Pro lens at 40mm with an exposure of 1/3200 sec at f/6.3, – 1 1/3 EV and ISO 500 ; the Drenched pansy with the Olympus M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 lens with an exposure of 1/200 sec at f/3.5, -1 2/3 EV and ISO 500.

Mildred’s book Haiku and Images is available on Amazon and is filled wit h beautifully reproduced color photographs along with original haiku underneath, embellishing the image and deepening its meaning. Pick up a copy to give as gift for yourself or a friend.