Flat Light

Yesterday, I learned that it is difficult to take good photographs and help others take good photographs at the same time.  I volunteered to help Cherrie Corey with her Photo Foray, to help some of the newer photographers.  It was fun to share some of the lessons that others taught me.  I know the questions I asked them, help me think about my own photographs.

The most recent snow storm had just stopped, but the sky was still dark and foreboding.  That didn't stop some people, who were out cross country skiing or snow shoeing.  This family that bundled up their young children and took them along for the ride caught my eye.

Since the light was pretty flat, I focused more on photos with high contrast between the snow & the subjects.  I had challenged myself by only bringing two lenses that I have used much recently - my 100mm macro lens and my wide angle lens.

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Today's walk reinforced the value of coming back to the same place frequently.  Two days ago, the river was mainly frozen over; today it appeared navigable.  One of the beaver lodge's had been totally surrounded by ice; today there were signs of recent construction work on the lodge since the snow stopped.  Unfortunately, we were all looking towards some bluebirds feeding, when the beaver surfaced, saw us, and gave a loud tail slap, before diving under water to get away.

Even with the flat light, there were points of beauty to enjoy.  These ranged from the snow delicately balancing on plants, to the different colors of ice.






Just as we were packing up to leave, the clouds started to part ever so slightly to give a glimpse of the sunset.  It was like a promise that there would be more interesting days for photography in the future.