Winter Six
Welcome back! This will be a very short one.
Such an odd winter, mild, but icy, and it really hampered my choices, and, if I’m honest, dampened my enthusiasm. Last fall I’d been looking forward to a winter camping session at some point. But it never worked out, either not enough snow, or snow that immediately turned to ice.
However, I lucked out one Friday, when a snowstorm started just as work was ending. I scrambled to sign off, raced to Assiniboine Park, and tried to make the best of the intense conditions. The fading light worked in my favour as I could keep the shutter speed low to accentuate the driving snow.
As I was crunched in the snow trying to frame up this shot and keep the snow off the camera lens, a lone jogger came by. He was clearly also in his element, and we exchanged the thumbs-up of mutual madness.
Further down the road, I shot this with the intention of turning it into black and white, which I prefer. But I’ve been told I’m wrong about that, so I’ll present both and you can decide:
A few weeks later on a grim morning in Bird’s Hill Park, a light dusting of snow helped soften and define the landscape textures:
One of the last cold mornings, a clear sunrise with the moon on its way to bed:
And finally, this was one of the last mornings with any significant snow on the ground. Every square centimetre of what remained was scarred and pocked with the passage of one animal or another. In a way, the scene encapsulated the entire winter, like an executive summary. The sky had a rich moody colour that I’m not sure comes through here, and the wind smelled like change:
I’ll leave it there for now. I hope everyone has an enjoyable spring!
Cheers!
