Long Winter Roads
We were travelling from Winnipeg to Northern Alberta... 13+ hours on the highway in a blizzard. Whipped out my camera out of boredom, but I`m so happy I did....
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We were travelling from Winnipeg to Northern Alberta... 13+ hours on the highway in a blizzard. Whipped out my camera out of boredom, but I`m so happy I did.
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Jan, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo on a Saskatchewan (Canada) highway during our 14 hour trek to Alberta. We'd already been driving hours through a blizzard and it was finally starting to clear up when I noticed the cargo in front of us was icing over.Time
This was taken in the late afternoon, an hour or two before sunset, as we approached the Saskatchewan/Alberta border.Lighting
It's not obvious in this picture but it was still snowing (even though we'd already passed through the worst of the blizzard), which was diffusing the harsh light of the sun and casting this cold, foggy feel as we continued south. I'd always been taught to avoid shooting under harsh light conditions (which exist mid morning-afternoon when the Sun is overhead) but nature made this the perfect opportunity to capture the cold at this time.Equipment
I shot this with my (then new to me) Nikon D7100 and 18-105mm VR lens. No additional equipment.Inspiration
Well, I couldn't believe how awful and cold the weather had been for us on this drive and I'd been taking videos with my cellphone throughout all the worst parts, but what I really wanted was to capture the cold in a way that whoever I was showing this image to might actually feel it. The videos weren't cutting it, so I unpacked my camera and started shooting through the windshield (which I hate doing). When the blizzard calmed down enough for me to see that the semi-truck in front of us was actually starting to freeze over, I seized the opportunity to capture it. It also totally blew my mind that someone would be working in this weather - the weather had dropped to -50 degrees Celsius!Editing
There was some post-processing in Photoshop CC, mostly sharpening and saturation adjustments.In my camera bag
My camera bag is a mess! I have my body, then my Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens, some filters, a cleaning kit, my Speedlite 320EX, and finally just a bunch of spare batteries and memory cards that spill out when I open my bag. I usually carry my tripod by hand.Feedback
Thankfully, I was shooting from the comfort of a warm and cozy car (heat on full blast) and could shoot comfortably knowing my husband was operating the vehicle safely (according to weather and road conditions). I would never advise shooting from the middle of an icy road, mid-blizzard, or while trying to operate a vehicle. I also missed a couple shots because I was fumbling with my settings... looking back, I wish I'd suffered a couple underexposed photo's to get a couple different angles - but I missed those opportunities because I was looking at my camera instead. I'm still very happy with the final product, though! And every photo is an opportunity to learn, even when I'm shooting them myself.
