Sweet Jamaica

I love colour. I especially love sliding my macro lens into place with a satisfying *click*, and pointing it at flowers to capture simple, vibrantly colorful images… aaaand I live in a place where there’s snow on the ground for half the year. Woe.

Don’t get me wrong: Ottawa is a fantastic, beautiful city. Because it’s the capital of Canada, there are tons of amenities a similarly-sized city doesn’t normally have, but it’s cold and snowy, and there’s not a whole lot in terms of living vegetation for six months at a stretch. What is a lover of color to do? What any Canadian who rather unpatriotically dislikes cold and can afford to does: go south for a much-welcome respite. This year was my maiden venture to Jamaica.

Oh the heat! The sun! The lush, exotic vegetation everywhere! There were coconuts and bananas growing right below my window! I spent the week alternating between capturing moments like my 20-month-old plunking himself bare-bummed on the wave-washed sand (a precious memory, with the added bonus of being great blackmail material when he’s a teenager), happily clicking away on solitary strolls through the gardens, and putting the camera away and just enjoying my time with my family. After all, a break from the everyday with the people I love the most is the main reason I went on vacation: the chance to take pictures was the cherry on top (albeit a huge one).

 What about you? Do you have a favourite season? Is there a type of weather that just beckons you outdoors with your camera? Today why not share some words or an image from one of these forays?

 Image and words courtesy of Honorary Sister / Guest Blogger Shawna Cameron.

Comments

[Marcie]

I have to agree. I - too - love the heat and the color..but there is something soothing about the never-ending simplicity of winter's white and grey:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1079

[Julie]

This is lovely!

I think fall is when I feel like I need to be out shooting the most. But then after a long winter the beauty of spring makes me want to go outside too.
www.juliedaniellephotography.com

[elk]

shawna . what a glorious image of warmth and color in nature. Your post made me smile as I live in Texas and my favorite season to photograph is spring..but last week we had Ottawa-like weather..rare for us and a fun photo op!

http://redorgrayblackandwhite.blogspot.com/2010/02/r-r-e-by-e-l-k-on-flickr.html

[Darlene]

I just love your image! The colors are so creamy and happy. Makes me want to go some place tropical!

I live in the north as well, but not in Canada. I'm in Maine and we have a very long winter season. I have grown to love winter. It's quiet, magical and has a kind of peace not offered at other times of the year. And I have to say that the light of winter is just amazing.
http://www.whimsicalyearsphotography.com/blog/1436/winter-light-maine-lifestyle-photographer/
The post after this one also shows the colorful spell of winter.

[Katrina Kennedy]

I LOVE that point between spring and summer when things are green and the days are longer and warmer. The sky can be brilliant at night. We stay outside later and go to bed tired from the day's activities.

[Ari]

Love the colors in this picture, and oh my it makes me drool, ache, yearn for a macro lens!!

My favorite season is spring, I'm in Texas (as with another commenter - *waves*) and there's a very small window of a few weeks where the temperature is warm but not hot, and the flowers start blooming. I'm looking forward to it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousillusion/4363978918/in/photostream

[kristin]

we are back to winter here as well. much like you, a long long season.
fresh snow yesterday so i keep on looking for winter's beauty and hoping for spring.

http://www.bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=4364654767&posted=1

[bright and blithe]

Mine is most certainly Autumn...she whispers: http://brightandblithe.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/she-whispers/

[georgia]

marvelous photograph!

i have a love affair with the season of fall. it's probably when i take the most outdoor pictures. last fall, i did a series on my blog called "madly falling" of all autumn trees photos and such. this was probably my favorite post in the series of five:
http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/2009/10/madly-falling-part-two.html

[Shawna]

I am LOVING all the pictures of the different seasons! It's nice to know that not only are there people who appreciate the quiet grace of the frosty season, but also to be reminded of the fact that other seasons exist - something it's easy to forget mid-winter up here. Thanks for sharing folks!

[Crystal]

Oh how I love everything associated with fall! However, I am in Texas (seems like there's a lot of us on here) and Fall lasts approximately one week here. But I do get to venture up to Missouri in Oct to watch my hubbs run the KC marathon. :o)

http://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/199631/view/2299371/-1/1.html

[Leslie]

I love the warm weather and the colors of summer. For the past nine years I have been vacationing with a group of French girlfriends in the south of France. My camera and I love this time more than any other time of year. The colors and the temperature wrap you into a continual state of joy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thel-list/3765617280/

[jakki]

Gorgeous images above and from the comments! I'm a lover of spring and summer. Summer especially for my favorite subject, the sky and clouds...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/valeenwashington/2607608036/sizes/l/

but my first love is the "new" colors of sprint in the flowers

http://www.flickr.com/photos/valeenwashington/3985609740/sizes/o/

[Preeti]

Summer is my absolute favorite season! I live in the Northeast so we're currently in the middle of winter (with tons of snow this year!) but I spend so much time imagining what life would be like if I lived in California or somewhere with much milder weather!

Fantastic macro shot! It's like little atoms of color!

[spread your wings]

I really like this photo of yours - so much.

i have to say i love all of the seasons - truly
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/sets/72157623329916749/

[cindi]

It's changed as I've gotten older and moved up North from Texas to Ohio... It's given me a new appreciation for Autumn and Winter... http://cindi-aspiretoinspire.blogspot.com/2009/11/season-of-change.html

what a beautiful image you've chosen!

[Kathryn Wagner]

Living here in the Caribbean has shown me just the opposite - a renewed respect for the turn of the seasons at home in Virginia and the very occasional longing for a winter snow day. @bright and blithe: Fall definitely is my favorite time to photograph too, looking forward to making a shooting trip back this year.

[Holly]

I don't know that I have a favorite season for photos. I love the warm weather of spring and summer, the gorgeous colors of fall and the stark images of winter. But.....there is color in winter too, if you look around you.

This is mine:

http://themares.blogspot.com/2010/02/st-thomas-church.html

[Tracy]

I completely relate to this post! I was fortunate to escape to Mexico last month and wish I could have stayed longer! A couple of my favorite shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31417716@N00/4322478607/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31417716@N00/4323943521/in/photostream/

[Andrea KP]

For me it is definitely Spring that sends me into a frenzy of delight and action. I love the smell of the earth as it warms in the sun and the way the air feels clean. Vancouver is a fantastic place to be for Spring lovers, because spring can start as early as January (as it did this year!) and last until July when summer finally kicks in. It's not like springs in Ontario where I grew up where spring was sudden, explosive, and lasted about a month. Here in Vancouver Spring is a slow unfolding, an unfurling, a slow and nearly imperceptible creep of live, and vibrant colours:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4029/4350860152_f0f07a0ec3.jpg
large image

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amaranthroad/4350860152/in/set-72157623178368480/
on flickr

[rachel]

OH my word - I went to Jamaica last July on a mission trip... it is beautiful there. And the people are amazing.
i have a ton of pictures that i want to share, but this little guy's eyes are to die for:
http://rachelpartonphotography.blogspot.com/2009/07/lost-in-them.html

[Jenny]

Beautiful photo! Gorgeous colours! Oh funny, I just realized, I'm actually making a dress in those same colours.

Although I'm starting to embrace winter more (and it's about time as I live in Canada...Toronto, not Ottawa) I adore summer activities.

http://jenniferblaauwphotography.blogspot.com/2009/09/summer-of-discovery.html

[Bostongaljm]

I look out the window to see what the day might bring.


Winter in New England. So, I continue to watch for little glimpses that capture the most wonderfulness of the storm. This morning we woke to about 6 inches of fresh heavy snow. Love it!

http://bostongirlontheverge.blogspot.com