DPS's Assignment: Spring

The new assignment has sent me to nature several times to photograph the early signs of spring in the Baltic countries, in South Estonia and recently in North Latvia.

And it has made me think of the impact of spring on people on the northern hemisphere. What is the essence of spring?

And my conclusion is: it is all about breaking free. Free from ice, free from snow, free from the prevailing  darkness.

Waterfall in Taevaskoda, South Estonia at the River Ahja

Had this assignment been given a few weeks later, my conception of spring would have been far more delightful. I could have photographed flowers in their early buds, the blue sky, butterflies.

But at this particular time, the spring is still melancholic. Breaking free, like giving birth, is painful. It is devastating, and sometimes even ugly:

The wings of an icy swan

Water is breaking free, not with a bang, but in minute drops

Yet there are signs of a new life:

Willows are budding

Two cats basking in the sun in South Estonia

This year the winter has been exceptionally hard, there has been more snow than we can remember. And now, as the snow is turning into water, there are floods everywhere:

Taken from the River Gauja in Latvia

House at the River Gauja in Latvia

Yet, the spring fills us with joy, finally the rivers are free from ice, they are running with mighty force:

River Ahja in South Estonia

River Amata in Latvia

And what is most important, finally there is light, every day more and more!

The Erglu cliffs bordering the River Gauja in Latvia

River Gauja in Latvia