A significant snowfall earlier this month gave me the opportunity to snap some photos around the park at night.The sky was still overcast, and so without the flash, the only available light was from occasional street lamps along the path, and their reflection off of the snow. The amber lights cast a subtle golden hue over their surroundings which appear more intense to the camera's eye. The low lighting and absence of tripod also explains the hazy images and mottled appearance.
The night was quiet. The snow-laden branches muffled most of the sounds, including that of an excited Jack Russel Terrier straining on his leash to relocate familiar smells, now disguised by the snowfall. You can see a fuzzy Benny at the bottom of the photo if you click to enlarge it.
The yellow tones become more apparent as we neared the path's lamps.
The dock is one of two spots where we'll typically feed bread to the ducks. Benny, on the bottom right, knows he'll luck out and get a few clumsily dropped pieces. You'd think it was steak the way he gobbles them up.
The snow clings to the branches and helps light the way along the path.
A flash-lit shot, taken as we near a bend in the path.
Benny patiently waits for me to snap yet another shot.
No more yellow. I cheated with this image by desaturating the colour and repainting it with a blue hue, in Photoshop.
23 comments:
Wonderful photographs, Hil! And thanks for the exclusive showing :)
For once, the Bag Lady gets to be first - woohoo!
Were these taken before the "big melt"?
so beautiful. :)
• No problem, Baggie and yup, before the melt and subsequent deep-freeze! Thanks. :)
• Thank you Kelley. :)
I love the picture of the dock. The way the light plays off of the snow is really interesting. I tried several when we had our first snowfall and the results were quite different than I expected. Then, or course, I had a wonderful science lesson about light and snow from Willi!
Wow, these are just totally amazing! No snow here, so I'll just enjoy your beautiful pictures.
Your pictures are breathtaking. They (almost) make me wish I lived where it snows.
Your son sounds very thoughtful--there's nothing like someone who really nails it with their gifts; you know they really "get" you.
• Thanks for stopping by, Gawilli. That dock photo is one of my favourites too. I'm continuing to play with settings and hope to get a few decent night shots, but you're right, the results are always different than I'd expect.
• Thanks, Crabby. You're welcome to some of our at any time.
• Thanks so much, Jenn. I'm (almost) learning to like snowy winters too. ;) Please stop by again soon.
I love how they turned out. There's a moody romanticism to the pics.
Was almost worth the frostbite. ;)
Glad you like them, Frank. It was far warmer that night than what today promises - windchills of -21C (-7F). Brrrr.
Lovely, very cool photos Hilary! I really like the way you photoshopped the last one. The dock is really nice and I especially like the opening one of the branches and the light.
Your photos have such a breathless quality to them, it instantly makes me feel quiet & vast inside. My favs are the 1st, almost fairy-like, and the 2nd, reminds me of something from Dickens or Robert Frost. You live in such a wonderland, and you're the perfect Alice :)
• Thanks very much, Reb. I'm glad you enjoyed them. :)
• Thank you so much, Jo. That's just.. curiouser and curiouser! ;)
If anyone wants to read a wonderful blog by a true artist with her words and with paint, please check out Jo's blog called My Place for Whatever. You'll be happy you did. I started off with this post and was hooked immediately.
Thanks for that, Hilary...especially for the kind thoughts, I feel so lucky to have met you so early into blogging :)
Ditto, Jo. :)
Magical!!
Thanks, Kappa! :)
Excellent photos. What are you shooting with? (forgive me if I asked that before)
That is what Photoshop is for :)
Thank you, G-man. I'm far more familiar with Photoshop than I am with the actual photography. I'm using a 6.0 megapixel Canon Powershot S3 and still trying to learn my way around some of the basics. Thanks for stopping by. :)
in 6th grade, i had to memorize "stopping by woods on a snowy evening" by robert frost. these pics remind me of that poem.
yes, i can still recite the poem. i can't remember to pick up milk on the way home from work but i still remember a poem from 28 yrs ago.
How awesome to be able to take photos in the dark :-) Great pics.
• John, and here I forgot to respond to my comments. ;) Thanks for stopping by my snowy woods.
• Thank you, Awannabe. :)
This may sound clichéd but these beautiful images instantly bring Robert Frost and his "woods are lovely, dark and deep" to my mind.
Thanks so much, Moi. It would seem that you and Jo think alike. :)
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