Pentax Spotmatic F35mm Film Camera Not that I intend on counting all year long but let's make it to three. After sharing winter photos from Reinstein Woods and from Birdsong Park, in this third winter expedition we find ourselves on the shore of one of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie. It's been a while since sustained low temperatures brought a sight like this to us but the mid-January to mid-February stretch accomplished that. I always find the sight hard to believe, and rather otherworldly, like visiting Mars or Moon.

This roll of black and white film actually covered two visits. First, a very frigid gloomy morning with temperature just under 10ºF. Then a second visit a day later at noon, with clear blue sky, and balmy 20ºF. I have to admit, the degrees and sunshine made quite a difference.

Driftwood Roots in SnowHamburg Beach in Winter

Driftwood Roots in Snow, Hamburg Beach in Winter
Photographed with a 35mm Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F on Ultrafine Xtreme UXF 400 Black & White Negative Film

I wanted to make sure I did not let all of the whiteness disappear in a muddy dark grayness on the film and took an incident meter reading with my external meter. I usually check with the cameras meter that I'm within +2 EV or thereabout but the temperature held me back from additional fiddling. I simply set the shutter speed and aperture on the camera and proceeded with photography keeping an eye on the needle and keeping it at about the same spot exposure to exposure as I either included or excluded the sky and went closer or further from my subjects.

Shoreline Ice & Snow MoundsFrozen Lake Erie

Shoreline Ice & Snow Mounds, Frozen Lake Erie, Hamburg Beach, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F on Ultrafine Xtreme UXF 400 Black & White Negative Film

The roll turned out denser than usual, probably just right for darkroom printing but challenging for the Plustek scanner. Between the scanner likely struggling with the density an and SilverFast trying to defeat the whiteness, all of the photos were tending into the middle gray territory, exactly as I don't like for pure white snow. It took some more excessive adjustments to make everything white again, which was followed by the usual struggle of how bright to make the photos. Past experience has shown that what I see as perfect to my eyes on my monitor can look washed out on a different monitor. Then, each person also likes things a bit different.

Ice & Snow Mound RidgeFrozen Lake Erie

Ice & Snow Mound Ridge, Frozen Lake Erie, Hamburg Beach, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F on Ultrafine Xtreme UXF 400 Black & White Negative Film

So what's with the title of this post? Buffalo, NY sits on the eastern shore of Lake Erie, which creates its local weather. With prevailing winds from the west, they blow over the lake, pick up the evaporated moisture, and take it over the city and the area around. In summer, that can result in lake effect rain and in winter it often results in the infamous lake effect snow! At minimum, it results in very gloomy winter weather with sun making only rare and brief appearances.

DesolationHamburg Beach in Winter

Desolation, Hamburg Beach in Winter
Photographed with a 35mm Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F on Ultrafine Xtreme UXF 400 Black & White Negative Film

When winter is well made though, the lake can freeze either partially or fully, shutting off the evaporation and making for happier people inland with heavy snowfalls less likely, clouds sparse, and sun showing itself more often resulting in wonderful bright sunny days. Yes, they can still be very gold, downright frigid, but with the sunshine everything is instantly better. And yes, crazy people with cameras can have fun on the beach.

Beach ShackHamburg Beach in Winter

Beach Shack, Hamburg Beach in Winter, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F on Ultrafine Xtreme UXF 400 Black & White Negative Film

Winter ShelterHamburg Beach in Winter

Winter Shelter, Hamburg Beach in Winter, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F on Ultrafine Xtreme UXF 400 Black & White Negative Film

Kayakers Launch HereHamburg Beach in Winter

Kayakers Launch Here, Hamburg Beach in Winter, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F on Ultrafine Xtreme UXF 400 Black & White Negative Film

Ice & Snow Mound RidgelineFrozen Lake Erie

Ice & Snow Mound Ridgeline, Frozen Lake Erie, Hamburg Beach in Winter, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F on Ultrafine Xtreme UXF 400 Black & White Negative Film

Up the Snow MoundsFrozen Lake Erie

Up the Snow Mounds, Frozen Lake Erie, Hamburg Beach in Winter
Photographed with a 35mm Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F on Ultrafine Xtreme UXF 400 Black & White Negative Film

Never-ending WhitenessFrozen Lake Erie

Never-ending Whiteness, Frozen Lake Erie, Hamburg Beach, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F on Ultrafine Xtreme UXF 400 Black & White Negative Film

Keep warm and see you soon.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

Do you enjoy reading my photography blog? Would you like to see more photographs from Buffalo and Western New York? Visit my Buffalo Cityscapes and Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! If you liked today's cold white post, the Winter Photo Collection has more. For a collection of black and white photographs, I carved out the World without Color page, and finally, there's a collection dedicated to Orchard Park, NY.

Winter LakeshoreLake Erie in Winter Icicle FormationLake Erie in Winter Frozen Small Boat HarborLake Erie in Winter

Arctic Tundra on the LakeshoreLake Erie in Winter Bone Chilling ColdLake Erie in Winter