It seems like it has been an exceptionally long winter this year. Even though we haven’t had any really harsh weather, the long dark evenings and pervasive damp and cold conditions have seemed to be going on for so long. There are finally signs of spring coming through though.

I like this time of the year as the buds begin to grow on the trees. It is also leading up to the beautiful cherry blossom season. We’re still a few weeks off from that, but already in the parks here in Dublin City, the beginnings of the spring bloom are starting.

I was walking through St. Stephen’s Green the other day, which is the main park int he centre of Dublin city, and the buds were growing on some of the trees, and even some flowers were already showing. I had my A6000 with me and I was trying out my new (well, I actually got it second hand) Sony 35mm f/1.8 lens so I took some shots of the new life showing on the trees and shrubs.

I was going through the shots in Lightroom after I had downloaded them and I was trying a few different looks. I ended up accidentally applying the “Pear Drops” preset from my new Film Candy 2 Collection (yes, that’s a shameless plug) and I kind of liked the look so I used it on all of them and I thought it made a nice series on spring and new life. For those interested in what they looked like before, here’s the shots straight out of the camera:

I’m really looking forward to the end of March and April when the Cherry Blossoms will be in full bloom. I absolutely love Cherry Blossoms, and I had hoped to visit Japan this year to see them, but with all the hassle recently having to move house, it wasn’t really a possibility. Maybe next year! I had shot a video of the Cherry Blossoms in St. Stephen’s green last year, and I’ve posted it below. I’m going to try and improve upon it this year, and maybe catch some of the trees in other areas too.

If you want to see more of Film Candy 2 in action you can check it out on my Digital Download store. There's lots of examples of it in use. I'm also giving a 20% discount on all presets this weekend to celebrate the start of Spring. Just use the code: SPRINGISHERE at the checkout to get 15% off. This will be valid until March 7th.