Photography is a year-round activity but now, with spring at last approaching and the Easter holidays not far off, it’s a great time to get some really wonderful photos. More daylight, more warmth means more colour. New life, new growth means a new energy. It’s a brilliant opportunity for the enthusiastic photographer, whether amateur or professional.

After the stark monochrome scenery of winter, spring bursts out with a glorious medley of sunshine, showers and rainbows, silver morning frosts and fresh green grass, catkins and pussy-willow, and bright daffodils and tulips. Photographers keen on landscapes, plants and garden shots are suddenly spoilt for choice.

Those interested in animals and wildlife also have a wealth of subject-matter as birds start nest-building, hedgehogs and squirrels come out of hibernation, and the fields and city farms fill with the new crop of lambs, calves and foals and chicks. A little patience can provide some truly amazing pictures here.

And then, of course, there are the children, dressed in brighter clothes, playing outdoor games, hunting Easter eggs in the garden, or sitting on the floor surrounded by tinfoil and half-eaten chocolate eggs. Some great opportunities are here for stunning photos, be they fun snaps or posed scenes for the family album.

Even an untrained amateur can take some really beautiful photos at this time of year. Many of them will be printed out and preserved as mementos. Some of these spring shots, though, will deserve special treatment – enlargement, framing, or maybe printing on canvas to preserve them as a permanent showpiece. Indeed, transferring photos to canvas in this way can turn that fleeting moment of spring into an impressive artwork or treasured family portrait that lasts for ever.

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