Snowy Shadows
After a record snowfall here in Arkansas the next morning dawned sunny and beautiful for taking photos of the winter wonderland left overnight...
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After a record snowfall here in Arkansas the next morning dawned sunny and beautiful for taking photos of the winter wonderland left overnight
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Mar, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Christmas Day 2012 had seen a huge snowstorm move in knocking out power and stranding everyone here in central Arkansas. The whole family was snowed in together with nowhere to go except where ever you wanted to walk. This small shed sits in our backyard and most days it would be just another shed that wouldn't even be noticed but on this day it proved to be a great backdrop for showcasing a beautiful snowfall.Time
Around mid-morning all ten family members and the granddog dressed up in our winter gear and moved outside to enjoy what for us is a rare treat. The power was out so there wasn't a lot to do but go outside and take in the beauty of the snow, make some snowmen and snow angels, and look at the wonderland that had been laid out overnight.Lighting
The day before as well as the early morning hours had been cloudy and the snow had fallen all through the night. By mid-morning the sun had broken through turned the landscape into a shimmering portrait of winter beauty. Morning lighting is usually one of the best for any landscape shot and this time Mr. Sun did not disappoint.Equipment
This photo was taken with a Canon Rebel T1i which was pretty new to me at the time. No flash, no tripod and since I was a fairly new photographer the camera was set on auto and I was just having fun with it.Inspiration
Well I think EVERY photographer loves a good snowstorm and so my computer is filled with hundreds of shots from this particular one. Even ordinary things look so tranquil and different when they are covered with snow. The snow on this day was very wet and clingy, coating every single surface including the vertical surfaces with inch thick snow. As you can see the storm started with freezing rain coating everything in icicles first and then the snow covered everything including those icicles. I was instantly drawn to that tree limb in front of the red barn, there were lots of pretty things to look at but this one seemed to be the best place to get a true photo of the massive amount of snow that had been deposited on the tree limbs. I feel that the shadows are one of the best parts of this shot and yet I don't really remember thinking at the time that they were going to be that significant. I was simply trying to capture how much snow there was.Editing
A little cropping and color balancing but again nothing fancy. This was one of the first photos I took that really made me want to learn more about photography so this only got a beginner type of processing. No amazing layering or cleanup type work. I loved the old barn look of the shed and the rough wood and peeling paint so this was basically a 'what you see is what you get' sort of photo.In my camera bag
My T1i with it's standard lens and a 75-300 lens, you'll always find my wide-angle lens and about 20 cleaning cloths since I have trouble keeping up with them. I always carry 4-5 spare batteries after finding myself several times staring at the perfect shot and out of battery and ditto for the extra memory cards. I carry my tripod in my car along with an auxiliary bag that contains lots of stuff I don't use much but can't leave home without. Finding a good camera bag is essential in my book and I've struggled long and hard but have finally settled on the Lowepro Passport Sling. I find it easy to carry and plenty of room for the essentials plus I can ditch the purse and carry my wallet and phone all in my camera bag.Feedback
This kind of shot needs a good snowstorm so you'll need to wait for winter. Just joking there but you do need to find something with some color, it is very hard to see the beauty of snow unless the background behind it is colorful. Out of the hundreds of photos I took on this day this is one of the best because of that colored background. Red is of course an awesome choice but anything that has a deep saturation of color will work. Lighting here is the key to getting those shadows that really show off the depth and coverage of the snow and this shed faces east which allowed me to use the rising sun to catch the glittering ice. Also be sure to look in places you wouldn't normally expect to find interesting things to photograph as snow really changes the landscape. Tree limbs are weighted down with snow and even ugly fence lines are beautiful covered in ice or snow The limbs in this photo are on an old walnut tree and they are usually much higher and would not begin to cast a shadow onto the shed. The ice and snow had weighted down the branches so that they were much closer to ground level allowing for the shadows directly behind the snow. In a nutshell this photo wouldn't have been possible without the sun so find the perfect backdrop, wait for that moment when the storm passes and the sun comes out and it'll be easy to capture the wonder of the snowstorm's beauty.
