Images of Winter

“In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer”
~ Albert Camus


Fire in the horizon
Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 30.8 mm
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
ISO Speed: 5
Modifications: Cropping, adjusted contrast, noise reduction
Date taken: 25 January 2010 at 4.40pm EET
Location: Savonlinna, Finland

I am one of the creatures who head south during winter time. This year, however, is an exception. I was in the Philippines from the second week of November and I flew back north on the 29th of December. I would never leave the lovely tropics at that time of the year, if it wasn't for residence permit renewal. But well.. here I am now, wishing that the temperature would at least be just around -5 degrees Celsius or zero so that I wouldn't have to wear too many layers of clothes.

I miss taking photos of flowers and bugs, but what can I do? It's still a long wait to spring. Days without taking photos can be quite dull. Photography keeps me sane, and that's the reason why I occasionally brave the extremely cold weather. Moreover, I know that some people would be delighted to see images of winter, and they also inspire me to keep on shooting.

Taking photos of trees, sky and sunset is a piece of cake, in contrast to shooting bugs from a few centimeters. Again it was just a matter of waiting for the right kind of natural light. Cloudy weather would make the snow look grey, and the scenery would look quite depressing. It's the clear blue sky that motivates me to take photos. The soft light at sunrise should be lovely, but I rarely wake up that early, hence sunrise shots are totally out of the question. Thank goodness there's always the winter sunset, which is a splendid sight to behold.

I don't have a lot of creative ideas for winter images. I am quite sure that no matter how glorious the sunset is, and how awesome the snow-covered trees are, viewers would soon get bored looking at hundreds of sunset photos taken from the same location. During the summer months, I am confined to our garden and backyard, but nowadays, I really need to get on my feet. It's a good way to shed off some extra pounds though.

Trying new things is not my cup of tea and it's one of the reasons why I've limited my so-called abilities to macro photography. I'm glad that I'm slowly getting the hang of expanding my horizon, as far as photography is concerned. Waiting for spring and summer can be a drag, good thing that I'm finding ways to make the most of the present season. The white color predominates winter, but that is not a reason to ignore the other colors that brighten up the scene.

Here are some pieces of evidence to prove that winter is not always ugly:

At the setting of the sun..

And it's not the thing you do, dear,
It's the thing you leave undone,
Which gives you a bit of heartache
At the setting of the sun.
~Margaret E. Sangster
The Sin of Omission


Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/4.8
Focal Length: 34.8 mm
Date & Time: March 17, 2008 7.03pm (GMT+8)
Location: Alabang, Philippines
Modifications: Noise reduction, cropping

My interest in photography started more than 10 years ago. I always had my little film camera with me wherever I go but I only took photos of sunsets. Back then, I thought that I would never ever get to take good photos because photography could be a very expensive hobby and I had more important things to spend my money on. But look at me now.. I still don't spend anything in the name of photography hahaha! I haven't changed at all. I still take photos of sunsets once in a while though. I think sunset captures will never fail to fascinate most people. Moreover, it is very easy, I bet you can even do it with your eyes closed.

Anyone can take photos of sunsets. Hence, they may sometimes look too ordinary especially for more experienced photographers. However, there are several ways to jazz up sunset shots. I am not talking about over-processing the image. It's more of adding drama to the image through forced perspective. Last year, I saw a wedding photo of a bride 'kissing' the sun. I thought it was a clever idea. I've seen some sunset photos that are rather forgettable but the unique ones have always served as a reminder that sunset shots can be less boring. My friend Romy nicely applied forced perspective on this sunset pic, now compare it with my absolutely predictable shots, and you would understand what I am talking about.

I rarely take photos of sunsets here because tall trees obscure my view. But an idea struck me last Friday as I was arranging our plants in our kitchen. Since plants are within reach and the sunset is in sight, I thought I should combine them in an image. Here's my feeble attempt at spicing up a sunset moment:


I was a bit reluctant to upload that shot to my photo stream, I thought that some may find it weird and ugly. Surprisingly, the super nice members of the Flickr community didn't find it as a lame attempt. Now I am aware that my sunset view isn't that bad and I can occasionally capture sunset moments indoors when I've got nothing else to take photos of. Good thing that I didn't let my doubts take control of me. As a result, I've got no heartaches secondary to things left undone.