With spring being a mixed bag this year, chances are you’re hiding indoors right now looking at a dubious sky and needing some cheering up. So here are seven images plucked from the archives that all have more or less of a spring in their step.
I still don’t know quite how this water gained that almost-metallic pale blue texture–seemingly hard and soft at the same time. But I like it.
Exif*: 300mm; ISO 100; f/5.6; 1/100
Exif*: 300mm; ISO 100; f/5.6; 1/100
Fritillaria meleagris–sometimes called the Snake’s Head Fritillary. An amazingly textured, delicate flower, popping up for a look at the world (or down at the world) around Easter. Fill flash used here, and a composition that took longer than you might think.
Exif: 24mm; ISO 100; f/8.0; 1/200
Exif: 24mm; ISO 100; f/8.0; 1/200
The inevitable daffodil. To make it a little more interesting, put the camera on the ground, and shoot upwards with the sun right behind the flower. Takes a few goes, but worth trying.
Exif: 24mm; ISO 100; f/8.0; 1/200
Exif: 24mm; ISO 100; f/8.0; 1/200
Spring’s not all sunlight and daffs. Under a thundery sky, gliders at Kenley airfield lie in wait. Long shot along the runway—it amazes me that people land on this.
Exif: 300mm; ISO 100; f/5.6; 1/800
Exif: 300mm; ISO 100; f/5.6; 1/800
Sheep don’t generally chase you. Unless provoked. In other news: six year old boys are provocative.
Exif: 85mm; ISO 100; f/4.0; 1/1000
Exif: 85mm; ISO 100; f/4.0; 1/1000
I confess I’d never seen this plant before. Its exotic, unfurling weirdness was identified on Twitter as a Gunnera. Handy when that happens.
Exif: 63mm; ISO 100; f/4.0; 1/50
Exif: 63mm; ISO 100; f/4.0; 1/50
There’s this famous boat race on the Thames. But immediately before that, there’s this one. Traditional Watermen’s Cutters, fully decked-out, thundering down to Mortlake. The guy who rows in the bow usually has a camera.
Exif: 50mm; ISO 160; f/8.0; 1/200
Exif: 50mm; ISO 160; f/8.0; 1/200
(Clicking on these pictures should open them up in a lightbox–you can then use arrow keys to jump between them.)
*What the Exif notes mean: this is detailed data about how the photo was taken–first, the focal length of the lens, then ISO (the sensitivity of the sensor: low number for bright conditions, high for dark or indoors), then f number (the size of the hole that lets the light into the camera: low = big, high = small), finally the exposure time (how long the shutter is open) in seconds.