Spring Coming? A Patch of Grass in SnowA Map of a Continent? Or a Head with a Big Nose? I had a different post planned for today but decided to go with a more newsworthy piece instead. I hope you don't mind another white post - just passing on what Mother Nature serves me.

The other day I posted the patch of grass on the right in my Flickr stream. Not only was it a patch of green grass showing through the receding snow it was a patch of grass in sunlight. It felt very warm and seemed to scream spring is coming! I think I convinced myself and all of my followers of that.

- By the way, what does it remind you of? Two things came to my mind when I saw it outside. One when I looked at it as depicted in the photograph here, one when you tilt your head to the left. Hover over the photo and you will see where my imagination took me. -

Quite clearly, nature was not done yet with this solid winter season in Western New York. And yes, this winter was definitely well done, a masterpiece. Good dosage of snow, more than a generous serving of cold temperatures, and well stretched duration. Between Thanksgiving 2013 when it all started and now, it's been quite a cold while. And it will be a little while longer before we see the patches of grass again!

Mailbox in a BlizzardWinter storm around Buffalo, NY - March 2014 So what am I talking about here? Come on and join me on photograph number two. With the steady snowfall and blowing wind there really was not much you could see outside today. It was a white world! Even the colorful mailboxes and their posts did not stand out too well once in the distance. However, up close and personal with a wide angle lens and the whiteout behind them they dominated the scene.

For the photo on the left, I was already fairly low to the ground but looking at the photo now, I wish I dropped all the way down and possibly moved another inch closer. That way, the other mailbox might have come to view under the front one. Work the scene! Work the scene some more! Try a different angle! Higher? Lower! Left? Right! Closer! Further? It's all running through my head now. That's all good though, another opportunity to improve upon a shot next time.

To highlight low visibility in a photograph, whether in fog or falling snow, it's good to use a longer lens to put more distance and weather between the camera and whatever is in the distance. So for these photos I used my older D200 with 18-200mm lens. I stayed at the wide range for the mailbox shot but zoomed in for the next one where I really wanted the whiteness of the day to come through. Older or not, I was not interested in wrecking the camera and was glad I had the rain cover I bought last year (left). It was all heavily wrapped in snow within just a few minutes, yet I could keep going until I tried to take a picture of the snow being blown in buy face :-) Yes, no kidding, I had the great idea to turn right against the wind. Needless to say, that was the last photo I took before retreating to the fireplace.

Can You See?Another Winter Day around Buffalo, New York

Winter 2013/14 Is Reluctant to Give up!

Have fun, it's no fun without it!

PS: Back to the title of the above photograph that displays when you hover over it - Can you see? What does it remind you of? Where have you heard it before? Yes, there I go again with letting my mind wander, as in the Sound of Music Induced Moment of Nostalgia. It took me a while to remember it myself. How about Can … you … see?

Agatha in Minority Report

PPS: Does it scream Global Warming? Was this winter as good to polar bears regrowing there ice patches? Hopefully, since Global Warming moved to Europe this season, they pretty much had no winter there and spring started there in January.

Winter Sunrise Glow at Green LakeCold of the Season, Warmth of the Sunrise This was a wonderful morning for photography, or just a walk around the Green Lake in Yates Park, Orchard Park, NY. It was one of those sunrises that could go either way. The dawn started with a clear sky not promising much color at sunrise but soon, some clouds started arriving and the game was on. Would there be enough of them? Or would too many arrive obstructing the horizon?

It was also a signature Western New York winter morning, with everything covered in white and temperatures just above 0°F. The snow was creaking under my feet and the air was fresh. I was the only one in Yates Park for the moment and everyone around seemed to still be asleep.

I was initially planning on incorporating the pier into my sunrise photos, and managed to do so in a few, but they did not turn out to be my favorite ones from this morning. Instead, the frozen lake covered with a layer of snow captured my attention. I played around with open compositions and also those incorporating the tree you can see in this first photo. I was glad to have arrived with plenty of time before sunrise to work the location and see what I liked. I also had time to position my split neutral density filter and be ready.

Then the sun made it over the tree line in the background and through the clouds. It nicely lit the clouds from below and bathed the lake snow cover in warm glow. Everything was ready and with just a quick tweak of exposure the first sunrise photo was born. The clouds cooperated for a while and I had time for additional compositions with the tree on the right, including the pier, and with the sun shining through the tree trunks.

When I thoroughly enjoyed the western side of Green Lake and started feeling the chill in my feet and fingers I threw the tripod over my shoulder, with the camera still mounted, and headed towards the car. I like not to pack things up until I am at the car and sure the outing is over. It's so easy to pack too early and then either miss a photo or hurry to unpack again. This approach served me well before and again this morning. One of the benches along the lake shore seemed to provide the ideal view of the sun slowly rising over the lake and I liked the whole glowing back-lit scene a lot. The tripod went back on the ground and I was able to get the photo below.

Quiet Sunrise at Green LakeBench with a View

A Bench with a Sunrise View at Green Lake, Yates Park, Orchard Park, New York.

What a beautiful show nature put up! Have fun finding your morning glow!

Nikon D600, Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens, Graduated Cokin ND Filters (ND8,  ND4), Cokin P Holder with a 72 mm Adapter, Manfrotto tripod (055MF3; replaced by 055CXPRO3 with the convenient Q90 column) and head (496RC2), Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack,  Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), Jackery Bar 5600mAh (usually o hand to keep the smart phone going), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards, Nikon Capture NX2.

Using my links to buy your equipment keeps me going and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!

Previous indoor photo projects: Indoor Photo Project: Flying through a Black Hole, or Discovering Refractographs, Indoor Photo Project: The Mysterious Planet, Indoor Photo Project - Recycling at its Best and Free Heat, Indoor Photo Project - Water Gone Wild, Vividly and Colorfully Wild.

The TeleportThe Art of Abstract Refractography I shared my first refractograph with you just a few posts back. Well, not exactly the first one. I shared the first one I felt was presentable. One thing I was proud of with that one was the two color combination that I felt worked really nicely, along with nice sharp edges of light captured by the sensor.

While creating this refractograph, I also had the two lights going for a while but it just did not feel right, it felt forced. As soon as I turned the second light off it immediately felt so much better. The simplification of a single color allowed the intriguing curves and shapes stand out more.

See the black triangular opening into the teleport chamber? And the chute into an unknown destination in top left? Well, I do.

Have fun letting your imagination lose!

Equipment used:

Nikon D600, no lens, Manfrotto tripod (055MF3; replaced by 055CXPRO3 with the convenient Q90 column) and Manfrotto Ball Head (496RC2), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards, Nikon Capture NX2, small LED flash lights, A-clamps, light stand, paper, aluminum foil, pieces of wood of various thickness and sizes, a glass with a stem and a foot, and more.

Using my links to buy your equipment keeps me going and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!