We are only 6 weeks away from summer solstice and the longest day of the year but I still get frost alerts almost daily. That is not really unique to this year and one does not usually clear the frost safety until after Memorial Day here in Western New York. Other than the cold mornings, the days are warm now and nature has sprung to life with greenery and blooms everywhere.

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To acknowledge that, I have updated the slideshow on my homepage to be warmer and more welcoming especially for the locals who are probably done with winter at this point. And you can tell by everyone working on their yards or in their gardens. There's clear excitement for the lively season of spring.

Cherry Tree Blossoms in BuffaloBuffalo History Museum

Cherry Tree Blossoms, Buffalo History Museum, Buffalo, NY
Photographed with a Nikon N75 on Kodak Gold 200 film and developed in Cinestill C-41

For today's post, I have selected couple photographs from the Buffalo History Museum where the annual cherry blossom festival always provides beautiful views and summarizes what I tried to type up above into a single scene. It's a happy place!

Cherry Tree BlossomsBuffalo History Museum

Cherry Tree Blossoms, Buffalo History Museum, Buffalo, NY
Photographed with a Nikon N75 on Kodak Gold 200 film and developed in Cinestill C-41

I posted other photographs from this location in the past but these are more in line with my return to film over the past few years. These were captured on a consumer grade Kodak Gold 200 film with a Nikon N75 plastic fantastic camera that was released by Nikon in 2003 as their last consumer film camera model before the digital revolution killed off that product class.

Film StripKodak Gold While you are reading this blog post and looking at the two photographs on a screen of a digital device, know that it lived as analog for a little longer that usual these days. Light hit a rectangle of light sensitive 35mm color negative film and changed its chemical properties forever. Then, the developer continued that chemical reaction and brought the "captured" light back into life, and the fixer made sure the chemical reaction was stopped and the photo on the film became permanent. After that point, I scanned the photo in and converted it into over 400 million of ones and zeros :-)

Are you curious about the old-fashioned art of analog photography? I wrote an article for Emulsive a while back that should provide you with all you need to get started. And if it leaves you with questions, please, feel free to contact me via this website or on Instagram or Facebook.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

Do you enjoy reading my photography blog? Would you like to see more photographs from Buffalo and Western New York? Visit my Buffalo Cityscapes and Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! For more travel photography, my Travel Photography gallery offers an interesting mix of places all around. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.

Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them (commission earned) and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything at all. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how large, no matter how small. Thank you!

Letchworth DaisySpring is in the Air Catkins, Green ThemeSpring is in the Air Swallow Hollow DandelionSpring is in the Air

Alive!Spring is in the Air Lush Green RavineSpring is in the Air

We're traveling again today, this time to the north of the Czech Republic. There are a few fairy-tale rock cities over there. And that is both figuratively as well as literally as some Czech fairy tales were actually filmed there. And if anything is surprising to me it is that it was not even more. 

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However, the rocks are not the main focus of this post. The rocks are only in a supporting role here. The main character of today's story is a beautiful small lake called Pískovna, formed by the flooding of an old sandstone quarry. It's this lake that will both welcome you to the Adršpach-Teplice Rocks National Park as well as say goodbye at the end as it sits at the trail head into the city.

Stormy over PískovnaCzech Republic

Stormy over Pískovna, Adršpach-Teplice Rocks National Park, Czech Republic

As you can see, we caught the lake as a rain storm was passing over turning this picturesque body of water with turquoise water a bit more dramatic, quite fitting the rock cliffs on the opposite side.

In a Fairy TaleCzech Republic

In a Fairy Tale, Pískovna, Adršpach-Teplice Rocks National Park, Czech Republic

The walk around the lake is only about 20 minutes and it's definitely worth it, at least in my opinion. You will get a few wonderful views of the lake as you circle it and it's a great complement to the rock city you are either heading into or have just left.

Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you! (#etbtsy)

Do you enjoy reading my photography blog? Would you like to see more landscape photographs from places beyond Western New York? Visit my Landscapes Faraway or Travel Photography galleries and enjoy! Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.

Do you like my free content but are not ready to buy a photograph for your walls yet? Using my links to do your shopping helps me share more photographs and write the stories behind them. And it costs you nothing. You just need to start your shopping by clicking on an advertised product or use the Amazon search box in bottom left. It does not matter what you eventually buy as long as you start here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how small. Thank you!

Ballooning above ŠpinkaCzech Republic Squeezed Between RocksCzech Republic Path through Fields of GoldCzech Republic
 

Chvalkovice Wind Mill at DuskCzech Republic Rolling Hills of Southern MoraviaCzech Republic

I know that most people look towards summer for warmer days after the cold winter we had but with winter making a (hopefully) brief appearance tomorrow I figured I would sneak in a few more winter themed photographs.

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I really enjoyed our 2020/21 winter. While hesitant to arrive in December it showed up in January and stayed with us for many weeks. What I liked the most was that despite the few warmer days our snow did not melt several times like in the past few years.

Snow is the key winter ingredient to me. It coveres the land, the dirt, the mess and everything looks clean and neat. Add some nice freezing air and the experience of hiking or just walking outside becomes more intense. And cool it down further and the sound of snow creaking under one's boots makes it just about perfect.

Farmhouse in WinterKnox Farm

Farmhouse in Winter, Knox Farm, East Aurora, New York
Photographed with a Zorki 4 on Kodak Double-X 5222 black and white film and developed in D-23

Winter also dresses up the landscape for a completely different look. Colors disappear, ground gets covered in a white blanket and why even bother with color film? This winter, I placed all of my color film either in th freezer or on a basement shelf and went 100% black and white. That has a wonderful benefit. Other than sharing the scanned photographs here and on social media I can take my black and white negatives to the darkroom and make traditional wet prints without a single step passing through a computer or a smart phone! And to me, that is a wonderful feeling during these times filled with technology and everything around us going digital.

Fence in SnowKnox Farm

Fence in Snow, Knox Farm, East Aurora, New York
Photographed with a Zorki 4 on Kodak Double-X 5222 black and white film and developed in D-23

Knox Farm is one of those places that look great all year round. Every single season brings its special look and winter is no exception. Look at the photo above. That fallen fence just would not look the same with green grass under, would it? Or the hay bales below. The snow just beautifully sets them off!

Hay Bales in SnowKnox Farm

Hay Bales in Snow, Knox Farm, East Aurora, New York
Photographed with a Zorki 4 on Kodak Double-X 5222 black and white film and developed in D-23

There may be another benefit to winter, at least for me. All of the beautiful places have fewer people as they choose to stay warm in their homes. And that is just fine with me. I have always enjoyed natural places without crowds and they are harder and harder to come by.

Battle LostKnox Farm

Battle Lost, Knox Farm, East Aurora, New York
Photographed with a Zorki 4 on Kodak Double-X 5222 black and white film and developed in D-23

I hope you have enjoyed today's stroll through a simplified winter landscape and will come back to my blog for another visit soon. It will gradually turn to spring and summer themes but who knows, there may be one or two more cold posts.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

Do you enjoy reading my photography blog? Would you like to see more photographs from Buffalo and Western New York? Visit my Buffalo Cityscapes and Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! For more travel photography, my Travel Photography gallery offers an interesting mix of places all around. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.

Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them (commission earned) and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything at all. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how large, no matter how small. Thank you!

White Trail of WondersBirdsong Park Through the Winter LandscapeBirdsong Park Birdsong Gate in WinterBirdsong Park

Winter EntranceWoods in WInter Spooky Winter WetlandsSwamp in Winter