The Joy of Four Seasons – Part 2

After living twenty years in unbalanced climates, like Goldilocks, we found one that was ‘just right’. 

One thing I like about Mid-Atlantic Maryland is that it has four regular seasons.  The spring is glorious because the region has so many flowering trees in addition to bushes and all manner of ground flowers.  The summers are occasionally awful and we hit 100 degrees almost every year. However, we are far enough north to allow cool fronts to pass through so there are breaks from the stinky hot days.   Autumn is a blaze of color in many places.  Our low mountains to the west throw sheets of color across the landscape and fall auto trips can be spectacular.  Finally, the winters are reasonable.  I know that’s a subjective term…one person’s light jacket winter is another’s four-layer ordeal.  We get snow…sometimes a lot.  But it isn’t frozen in place until April.  There are enough mild days to melt the snow fairly soon…unless there’s a lot. 

We live on the edge of a nice little lowland hardwood forest…thankfully, too wet to develop.  Six years ago, I started to shoot the same locations on days that illustrated the seasons.  Turns out there are five shots since winter with and without snow are both pretty distinctive.

Once the scenes were selected and the first shots were made, I had to make note of where the camera was positioned.  I also had to be sure there were landscape features permanent enough to last all year so I could put them in the same place on the edges of the scenes.  That information was enough to be able to return to the same spot and duplicate the picture. 

Here are some Portraits of Nature…the stuff of poetry.

Where the Path Crosses the Bridge, Columbia, MD, Late Winter 2005

Winter lies too long in country towns;

hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen.

Willa Cather (1873-1947), My Antonia

Where the Path Crosses the Bridge, Columbia, MD, Spring 2005

A little Madness in the Spring

Is wholesome even for the King.

Emily Dickenson (1830-1886)

Where the Path Crosses the Bridge, Columbia, MD, Summer 2005

In summer, the song sings itself.

William Carlos Williams (1883-1963)

Where the Path Crosses the Bridge, Columbia, MD, Autumn 2005

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower

Albert Camus (1913-1960)

Where the Path Crosses the Bridge, Columbia, MD, Winter 2006

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant;

If we did not sometimes taste of adversity,
prosperity would not be so welcome.

Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672), Meditations Divine and Moral

If you live in a place where the seasons make a favorite spot look different and special, try making a series of portraits.  Your house and landscaping, a public fountain or landmark, your favorite tree can all look terrific in the right composition in the different seasons.