Somedays you get to retrace steps you’ve walked a thousand times before.

If you’re lucky you’ll have a camera with you so you can capture those little details you’d not noticed before or record the ones that feel like they’re etched on your soul.

I must confess – I very nearly wiped clean the whole memory-card the day I took these, even before I’d properly looked at them. I’d had a lovely day out, but honestly, I’d seen these sights and taken these photos so many times before. I stopped myself though and went with it – I’m pleased now I gave them a chance; sometimes a little dose of the familiar can be a great way to de-stress.

 I took these on Saturday afternoon with my Canon 5D MkII and my trusty 50mm f/1.4 lens

I loves me a snowdrop. They’re a beacon of hope and springiness at the end of a cold and dismal winter.

They are, however, short little blighters and very inconveniently placed close to the ground. And me – I’m totally averse to mud in any and all forms and seeing as that’s where they thrive there was no way I was getting anywhere near the ground to snap this pretty bunch I spotted last weekend.

Instead I switched my camera to manual focus, did a rough measurement with one eye shut (that always helps) from me to the flowers, dialled the distance into the lens, held the camera close to the ground and shot a few photos into the unknown and hoped for the best!

They aren’t too bad – not perfect by any means, however my knees are spotless!

Taken with my Canon 5d MkII and 135mm f/2 lens

Apologies for the slim-pickin’s here lately – I am decidedly under the weather still which is EXTREMELY ANNOYING.  I mean, its been weeks! After a full day at work I just flake out – it’s all I can do to demand my peeled grapes and Turkish Delight. However, I’m pleased to report that my Moleskine notebook (medium sized, squared paper, coffee-stained) is steadily being filled with loads of cool ideas, plans and things to do “when I’m feeling better”.

One thing though that will always lure me from my malaise - even on a grey old Sunday - is the prospect of a trip out for coffee and photos. Consider this fair warning; there’s going to be a huge amount of blossom appearing hear over the next few weeks!

We drove all over the place trying to find some early sprouting signs of spring and it turned out the best specimens were outside the train station in the middle of town. I guess that makes sense – trees in suburbs/cities are chosen for their good looks plus it’s a few degrees warmer here than it is out in the sticks…

All taken with Canon 5D MkII and Canon EF 135mm f/2 lens