There’s something special about the two week period when one season blends into another, particularly winter into spring. This liminal period is capable of showing us the subtlety that winter lacks…

(200 words, a two-minute read)

Something wonderful happens to the winter sky towards the end of February – there is a weekend during which the light energy doubles – it’s the largest upward gradient in the year. We all feel it; people start saying “spring’s just around the corner!” For the photographer, the new energy fills the landscape with a different kind of contrast.

The colour of stone is brighter, seeming to give off light, again. The sky is deeper, as though full of the energy promise to come. The first flowers rise through the cold and greet us. How could we not feel alive?

It’s a brief period in which the fractal shapes of trees are still fully visible. But, mere weeks away, the view through them will be obscured by a tapestry of vibrant green. Life is coming…

Stephen Tanham is a Director of the Silent Eye, A journey through the forest of personality to the sunrise of Being.

All images by the author and copyright.

©Stephen Tanham, 2021.