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: