Thursday, February 11, 2021

Playing in the Snow

Snow

I seem to be in the minority, but I really enjoy the snow! The past few years have been quite a disappointment in that department, but Mother Nature seems to be anxious to make up for it in 2021. We have already had far more snow than all of 2020 and, I believe, 2019 combined. Do not quote me on that but it might not be an unreasonable guess. If anyone knows the total snowfall for Monmouth County in each of the last few years, let me know in the comments below.

When pressed, I will tell people that winter is my third favorite season however, it finishes a strong second as far as excitement for photography and inspiration. Yes, it is very difficult to work up the courage to go outside in sub-freezing weather with frozen water falling from the sky, but I find myself drawn to it. Full disclosure – I much prefer the dry, white puffy snow than a wet snow but I will take what I can get.

The images shown here were all created in January and February of 2021 and there will be more to come. As I sit writing this, we have a fresh snowfall with more predicted for next week. They, also, have all been taken in my yard or in the woods just outside my yard; thus, they could be considered part of my “Backyard Boredom” project. You can read more about that project here and here.

The pine sapling is about two feet beyond my property in the woods belonging to Shark River Park. The two versions were made just two days apart – one during a very wet snowfall and the other a day after the storm. They are from slightly different perspectives, as you can see from the background, but both show off the graceful curvature of the trunk.

The holly tree was what drew me outside that day, I did not see the pine until I was already out photographing it. This was made after the first storm. We have quite a bit of holly growing around here; I have two large trees in my back yard, a small one just outside my bedroom window and countless trees in the woods. I do not recall seeing this little one before, so I do not know how long it has been there. The background was a bit busy, so I decided to use my widest aperture for shallow depth of field and over-expose a stop or two for a high-key image.

Looking out my back door one day I saw this clump of dead maple trees hanging from one of the trees. They made such a stark contrast with the dark trees and white snow I grabbed the camera and headed out. I had to bump up the ISO to 400 because I was handholding and did not want to worry about camera-shake.

The last image is a small evergreen tree in my side yard. This was made during the same storm as the snow-covered sapling I lead off with. This image was a bit more challenging because to the immediate right of this tree is a chain link fence and the background is very busy due to the park woods. I wanted to use a slow shutter to show the falling snow, while blurring the background as much as possible. The compromise was f/8 which was enough to keep the entire tree in focus yet lend sufficient blur to the background. I am particularly happy with the motion of the falling snow.

If you enjoyed this post, please do me a small favor and share it with others. You will find buttons for many of the popular social media platforms at the bottom of this post. Thank you!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed the images.


    Technical information:
  • Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i (crop sensor - 1.6 factor)
  • Lenses:
    • Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
    • Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III
  • Tripod: MeFOTO Roadtrip Classic
  • Vello White Balance Card Set (Medium)
  • Unless otherwise stated - all images - ISO 100
  • All focal lengths are as-recorded - the full-frame equivalent is in parentheses.
  • Focus and exposure were done manually*. The shutter was tripped with a wired remote.
* - I set the focus and exposure manually but that in no way means you have to do that. I was playing with exposures and it is easier to do so in "M". I typically use "aperture-priority" when I am out.



Sunday, February 7, 2021

Shadows and Snow - in abstract

Abstract in Nature

There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality. - Pablo Picasso⁠

I do not do a whole lot of abstract photography but every once-in-a-while I get inspired. Last week we were hit with a Nor-easter that brought with it about six or seven inches of snow. This was the first substantial snowfall we have had in quite some time as the last two winters were not very productive in that aspect.

While looking out my back door - looking for deer in the woods - I noticed the lilac bush was throwing some beautiful shadows across the snow. The snow had created some subtle "waves" and after a few days of warm followed by cold there was a thin layer of ice crystals giving it a little bit of sparkle. There was nothing else I could do, the next thing I know I am putting on my boots, grabbing my gear and heading to my back yard. It was fairly warm - about 50° so I didn't bother taking time for a jacket, this is t-shirt weather in January! 😆

How many of you shoot snow scenes? How often are you disappointed with the results? I spent a lot of years when I was learning the craft wondering what I was doing wrong. This was in the days before YouTube had 1,000's of tutorials telling you how. I have gotten better over the years but just recently added a "secret weapon" to my arsenal - a set of white balance cards. This is a set of three (3) plastic cards - black, white and 18% gray. When I went out to shoot I laid the cards out in the snow in approximately the same light I was going to shoot and took a frame. This was my reference for color balance. I then filled the frame with just the 18% gray and took notice of the exposure. I now had my "base" settings. This is the first time I used the cards - I received them as a birthday gift in December - and they worked like a charm.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed the images.

    Technical information:
  • Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i (crop sensor - 1.6 factor)
  • Lens: Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
  • Tripod: MeFOTO Roadtrip Classic
  • Vello White Balance Card Set (Medium)
  • All images - ISO 100
  • All focal lengths are as-recorded - the full-frame equivalent is in parentheses.
  • Focus and exposure were done manually*. The shutter was tripped with a wired remote.
* - I set the focus and exposure manually but that in no way means you have to do that. I was playing with exposures and it is easier to do so in "M". I typically use "aperture-priority" when I am out.

If you enjoyed this post, please do me a small favor and share it with others. You will find buttons for many of the popular social media platforms at the bottom of this post. Thank you!



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