Tag: winter

Wednesday Window – pt 35

Join this Wednesday’s Window journey showcasing some frosty beauty and diffraction amidst the chill of winter mornings.

As part of the grand, albeit quiet, return engagement with the blogosphere, I came across a recent photo of a window, so it only makes sense to continue the series of Wednesday Window posts.

Those who have enjoyed (endured) the recent spate of rather chilly, frigid days will relate to this window…

Crystalline Morning

During a stretch of exceptionally cold days, there were mornings when the sun would shine through the garage door window to present structures of crystal and beauty. The form may be attractive, but going outside on one of these mornings was not the most welcoming feeling!

This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.

Sunday Serenity

A snowy beach experience from a decade past. Serenity wraps its blanket around our shoulders.

On this relaxing recovery Sunday afternoon, it’s time to go back to a snowy beach from ten years ago. I’ve posted other photos from this amazing day of chilly, snow-covered photography. As we neared the end of that day, there was time to appreciate sunset from a frigid beach.

Here’s a moment from that afternoon…

Beach and Sun

As this day was filled by moments to appreciate Nature in all her majesty, I couldn’t help but take in this scene in serenity.

Waves lapping on beach
Frosty breeze across my face
A Winter’s Sunset

These words seemed to capture the moment.

Wednesday Window – pt 18

The recent snowfall inspired reflections on nature’s resilience, highlighting a past photograph of a mill in Northbridge, Massachusetts, overtaken by vegetation.

My inspiration for this week is the snowfall that we had over the past weekend. Even though it was just a couple of inches, it made for a tricky driveway clean up, as it was wet and heavy snow. In my search for some more snow-inspired images, I went back to a number of New England mills that I photographed over the years.

In 2009, I came across this during a February day…

Frosted Mills

This detail from one the buildings in Northbridge, Massachusetts, just caught my eye with its takeover by Nature in multiple ways. Vegetation knows how to take over any area that is not tended by us, humans. It leads the unstoppable advance that will take place no matter what.

Let’s embrace Nature and nurture her, as she inevitably embraces us.

This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.

Return of Spring

After a brief struggle with Winter, Spring has returned to New England, bringing warmth and sunshine.

After a couple of days during which Winter tried to claw its way back, Springtime returns once again in New England! The Sun is featured prominently today and temperatures are on the way up!

To celebrate this moment, I thought of this image…

Return of Spring

This is an image from 2013 and a side-capture from a photoshoot for a yet unfinished project. Yes, it is a rather intricate project, for which I have all the source material, and need the inspiration to complete my vision.

Playing with the contrast between the regeneration of Nature against the impact of time and elements on the human-made structure, I placed my wager on our dear Mother. After all, it is Nature that brings us both hope and (sometimes) despair, elates us and depresses us. She is the true force of our lives…

Will Spring Appear Soon?

A visit to Bear’s Den Falls in New Salem, Massachusetts, seeking to capture its snowy beauty after recent snowfall.

As we’re getting to the tail end of Winter, I took a drive out to New Salem, Massachusetts. I had the goal to explore what Bear’s Den Falls looked like in the snow, as we had a good bit of snow over the past week, and the sun was out! I also took into account that we had some warmer days, and was hoping for a bit of volume.

This is what I found…

Bear’s Den in Winter

As you can see, the falls are still ice and snow covered, which reduces their effect in a photo. Also, there was still a lot of debris from the high winds that went through the treetops over the past week.

I will definitely want to return to find something closer to this…

Bear’s Den Summer

There will be more opportunities in the months ahead!

Regardless, it was a nice day to go for a drive and hike the ice and snow to see Bear’s Den. And in my explorations, I did find another photo opportunity.

I will post that one in a little while!

Snaefellsnes Sunset

Photography in Iceland during winter offers advantages. One of these is that dramatic sunsets and sunrises are more easily available.

A possible advantage of photography in Iceland during winter is that you don’t have to stay up late to catch a sunset. Similarly, there was no need to get up early for a spectacular sunrise! Shooting days in February are a lot shorter than those in July or August! With the Sun a bit lower in the sky, the hours in the day are all amazing.

Here’s a shot that I captured as sunset was getting closer…

Snaefellsnes Sunset

We had been doing some photography around the black church in Budir, and it didn’t quite satisfy my inner eye. There were definitely some good shots among those, but nothing that pulled together the sense of drama that I wanted. So I went exploring across the snowfield to the west of the church.

This is one of the landscapes that I found. The light raking across the snow-covered field and already long shadows piqued my interest. This image stimulates not only the visual cortex, but also works its magic on my limbic system. There’s something with a bit of mystery here. That includes the footprints in the snow…

iPhone Friday

A chilly morning in Iceland just over a year ago made the perfect time to photograph Kirkjufell mountain at sunrise.

From last week’s warmth of Mumbai, India, we go to a chilly February morning in Iceland. This was just over a year ago, as my partner in crime, George Fellner, and I went to photograph the sun rising on Kirkjufell mountain. We scoped out the location on the previous day, so we had a good idea where we wanted to be. As Kirkjufell mountain is highly photogenic, there were several other photographers in situ.

Despite the competition, we found a pretty good vantage point…

Kirkjufell on Ice

We spent a good hour photographing majestic Kirkjufell in various stages of being illuminated. During this time, the ice flow provided a wonderfully muted reflection. That certainly increased the appeal of this vista for me. I love reflections, especially when they are a bit more subtle, such as in this image.

It was a good photo harvest during a chilly morning!

An Icy Waterfall

A visit to Skogafoss, a stunning waterfall in any season and just purely majestic in the frozen landscape.

Another day for a visit to the stunning landscape brought to you by Iceland. I know that I have said it myself, as it seems impossible to look anywhere and not see a waterfall. Waterfalls are a key feature of the Icelandic vista and many of them are just simply stunning to behold!

Here is today’s waterfall…

Skogafoss Winter Wonderland

Skogafoss is a phenomenal waterfall in its own right, and it’s easily accessible with a short walk from ample parking. After arriving in Vik on our first day in Iceland, we went for a short afternoon exploration; given the overnight flight, a short nap had been restorative, so our energy was back.

February weather was a bit overcast, but I could see some potential sunlight, so we stopped at Skogafoss. With micro-spikes on shoes, tripods at the ready and cameras in hand we approached the waterfall. We were rewarded with some light from the sky behind us, which provided warmth across the frozen landscape.

Yes, the drawback to accessibility is that there is nearly always a crowd, so I used them to provide a sense of scale. Also, look up high on the rocks to the right of the waterfall, where there is an observation platform!

This image is certainly one of those classic captures (at least it is in my collection).

Another Snowy Sunday

A snowy day from January 2015, traversing the shores of northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

As I’m trying to decide whether to clean our driveway now or later, I can’t help but think back to another snowy time. This goes back just over 10 years ago in January of 2015. After several days of tremendous snowfall, a number of us went out to photograph along the northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire beaches. As it was nice and quiet, it was a tremendous day for photography.

Here’s another one from that day…

Snowy Shoreline

There’s something rather soothing about a quiet day in the snow. Listening to the wind intone its notes. The soft crunch of stepping into pristine snow. It’s a kind of magic that I really enjoy.

Now, to make some noise with the snow thrower! Hope you’re having a great day.

Snowy Saturday

A short snowshoe trek with our local camera club in 2011 through Cascades Park, Worcester, Massachusetts.

As I’m looking out our windows over the snow-covered landscape, I decided to look back at a relaxing snowshoe trek from years past. This goes back to 2011, when a bunch of us from the local camera club ventured out in the snow. It was a nice, relaxing exploration of an area nearby and was a lot of fun.

Here’s one of those relaxing images that resulted…

Cascades Winter

To clarify, this is the cascades park in Worcester, Massachusetts. Not the more famous Cascade Range in western North America, which is an entirely different challenge.

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday and enjoy your day!