These are the three things (that begin with the letter ‘f’) that get in the way of outdoor photographers: Food, Family, and Friends. As nature photographers, we want to be outside when there is the best light—sunrise and sunset—and this is usually around the time we want to eat some food: breakfast and dinner. Getting up early, means that if your family is along, taking care of kids also interferes—or at least means that your spouse has to be willing to take over that role. And friends, well, they want to stay up and visit with us, and you’ve got to go to sleep early to get up before sunrise.

Fortunately, sunrise is pretty darn early in Maine at this time of the year, and breakfast doesn’t really interfere. Here’s a photograph I snuck at 6 am this past weekend when my family was up  visiting family and friends in Blue Hill, Maine:

The first crocus of spring! It’s been a long winter and it’s nice to feel like the warmer weather is really on the way. It’s truly amazing that a little bulb can produce such a beautiful flower—and for that matter—that the universe exists at all. Reminds me of a quotation by Abraham J. Heschel:

“Just to be is a blessing; just to live is holy”.