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Tyee News
Art
Environment

Have a Photo That Really Says Spring? Send It!

We’re collecting readers’ pix of the season of rebirth. Because wow do we need ‘em.

David Beers 31 May 2022TheTyee.ca

Dave Beers is founding editor of The Tyee.
A ladybug, its bright red shell dotted with black spots, sits among colourful flower petals.
The Tyee’s Steve Burgess got up close and personal with this avatar of blooming hope. His wonderful photo gave us an idea. Photo by Steve Burgess.

It should be noted that spring is underway. Let me rephrase that. Given the tough news and rough times we’ve been enduring, it can seem miraculous that our Earth has made another rotation around the Sun and here we are, somehow, once again amidst the season of rebirth. In short, Hallelujah.

To be honest, we might not have even stopped to sniff the flowers if Steve Burgess hadn’t drawn our attention to the ladybug in the photo above. The Tyee’s longtime columnist is as good with a camera as he is with a wry one-liner, and when he posted this image on social media, it gave us an idea.

Dear Tyee community. Send us your favourite photo that says spring has sprung.

We will gather them for a photo essay to run here on The Tyee in the coming days.

Hey, isn’t summer fast approaching and aren’t we a little late with this idea? Maybe, but spring came so late to Vancouver, where many members of our team live, that summer still feels like a far off maybe. And so fine. When and if summer does arrive, we will take further solace in the fact that Earth does indeed continue to revolve around the Sun.

In the meantime send those photos to editor [at] thetyee [dot] ca as jpegs.

Make the subject line: Spring!

A good size for the photo is around 1,000 pixels wide. It doesn’t have to be a super dense file. A megabyte or two is fine for internet publishing.

We’d also welcome your thoughts about the photo. Tell us in your email where it was taken. What it says to you. Is it ok to identify you and where you live? If so include those facts.

We asked Steve about his ladybug photo and here’s what he had to say:

“As a dedicated amateur photographer I am always scanning for the elements of a good photo — in my case that often means bright colour. Biking past Vancouver’s Coal Harbour Community Centre I saw these beautiful beds of pansies and forget-me-nots and stopped to search for the extra element that would complete the picture — perhaps a bee or, best of all, a ladybug.

“For me, photography takes the place of meditation. It turns off the world and puts you squarely in the moment, searching for and composing your picture. The feeling that I have taken a good shot is one of the most satisfying I know.”

If you are a kindred spirit please send us your own photographic ode to the restorative powers of spring. We are eager to share it with all our readers. May a thousand smiles bloom and just as many hearts melt. [Tyee]

Read more: Art, Environment

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