This is the third photo challenge my friend Cynthia has put out.  I'm starting this one off with the required self-portrait as it serves as a good starting point to explain my approached.  This photo was taken on April 1 of this year, after yet another snowstorm.  In fact, this has been either the 2nd or 3rd snowiest year on record.  In fact, I could have taken a very similar photo a week later as that's when we had another 8.5" of snow.  Even now, trees are barely starting to bud.

So, I realized very early that I wasn't going to be able to approach this challenge in a normal fashion.  Instead, I thought "why not try it in reverse?"  So, there is no greenery in any of these photos.  No leaves.  No plants.  Nothing that normally makes you think "green/spring".

So, I started off at home.  I enjoy interesting looking rocks and minerals.  The first image is a malachite ?geode? I've had for a long time.  The second one is a slab of jasper.

These are some alibrejes that I bought down in Sayulita, Mexico on one of Cynthia's photo workshops.

This is the next subject I knew I wanted to include.  It is a Jade Mountain that is on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  I'm constantly amazed at the detail that was included in this.  The first image shows one side of this massive piece of jade and gives a small sense of the amout of carving that went into its creation.  The others are details from different areas.

Since I was already at the MIA, I thought I might as well go and see their current show, which is on Chinese Ritual Bronzes.  After all, there had to be a lot of green there.  My favorite of these is the second one.  I love the shadows.

Mallard portrait

I still wanted to include some outdoor greenery if possible.  The obvious example was this mallard.  Unfortunately, none of the other birds or other creatures I expected to see were out, probably due to the cold.

Minneapolis at Night

The last image I knew had to be included was this one.  Street signs are a ubiquitous green and show up better at night when they are lit.  I've also wanted an excuse to capture an image from here for a long time (Franklin Avenue bridge over 35W for any locals).

So, those are the images I managed to capture for this challenge.  To give you a sense of what I wasn't able to include, here are some older photos that fit the theme:

kiwiThis image was inspired by Denis Brihat. He does amazing black and white images that he tints by replacing the silver with other elements (so his kiwis are green due to copper). kiwiThis image was inspired by Denis Brihat. He does amazing black and white images that he tints by replacing the silver with other elements (so his kiwis are green due to copper). kiwiThis image was inspired by Denis Brihat. He does amazing black and white images that he tints by replacing the silver with other elements (so his kiwis are green due to copper).

I did think about buying an avocado and including that, but none of the ones in the supermarket were ripe.  Instead, here's a kiwi I shot after my first workshop with Cynthia.  These were inspired by here friend and neighbor Denis Brihat.

Juvenile Painted Turtle

This is actually the first year I haven't seen painted turtles out yet.  I'm still surprised I couldn't include one.

snapperI came upon this snapping turtle while going for a walk in a local park. It was nice enough to stay fairly still so I could work to get some good images.

Snapping turtles are maybe more of a May reptile than April, but are so primordeal that it's worth including them in any collection you can.

Leopard Frog - Burnsi Phase

This Leopard frog might also be more of a later spring reptile, but oh well.  Besides, considering the blog title, I had to include a frog.

wood ducks

I was really hoping that some wood ducks would be out.  The above image was taken in April, so it was certainly a possibility. Green Heron

This guy would have been a great ironic image to close on.  It's a green heron, although I have no idea where it got that name since I've never seen any green on them.