Got a hot photo tip from a good friend of mine (thanks, Mel!) that at Sandbar Lake Provincial Park the marsh marigolds were out and the bugs were not! So I grabbed my gear and rubber boots to check it out.

I was surprised to see how abundantly they grew in this swampy area just adjacent to the picnic pavilion. The sun was setting and I tried unsuccessfully to catch some of the yellow blooms in the glow of evening sun. The colours were actually captured more truly in the shaded areas. I played around a little with the polarizing filter which helped to reduce some of the glare of the wet forest floor and gloss of the leaves.

The iPhone does a decent job of capturing them too (with a little filter touch from Instagram)

Although I didn’t notice a particular fragrance to the area (apart from damp dirt) there were some distinctive sounds. While I stood to shoot, I could hear the drumming of grouse in courtship nearby. When I decided to move, the earth seemed determined to hold me fast. It took significant effort to release my boots from the suction of the muck.

Sights and sounds of spring!