Continuing with the winter scenes as rain is in the forecast for the next few days. I’m struggling with it being the middle of January in Upstate NY and there is barely any snow. What am I to do if I want to build a snowman?
Three Sisters
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/160s, 52mm, f/8, ISO 100
Work and the short winter days have a tendency to impede my photography. Not an excuse, a simple statement. Those conditions do afford more opportunities to be creative, but not today. I still have a few images to process from a walk on Sunday along the Mohawk River Trail and the quick run up to Delta Lake.
I liked the snow on top of the bird house. I was high on the bank of the pond for this image, zoomed in to isolate the bird house. I thought maybe a landscape view would be better to give a bigger feeling of isolation. To achieve that I walked closer and zoomed out a little. I failed to watch my background, and I lost the separation of the bird house.
The first image is my “reject” and not fully processed. Notice how the bird house is mixed in with the background. It doesn’t stand out as I wanted. The second image separates the areas of the image and has a greater focus on the bird house, my intended subject. In my rush to capture images before I lost the light I didn’t “see” the scene in my viewfinder.
Home 103 Miss
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/15s, 50mm, f/8, ISO 100
Home 103
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/25s, 70mm, f/8, ISO 100
White Caps
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/25s, 29mm, f/8, ISO 100
There it is!
What?
A little blue color.
Where?
In the sky.
There are clouds in the sky.
No, it is peeking through between the clouds. Look closer. Do you see it?
Stop kidding around. We haven’t seen blue in the sky in a while.
You better look before it disappears…
So, I drove to Delta Lake after work. I was determined to capture a little color. I would have liked a sunset. There was hope for a few minutes, but as I drove to the lake, my chances were getting slimmer. I had to hurry, the sunset was in thirty minutes and the elusive color was fading.
I chose to stay near the entrance of the park. The pond everyone generally passes has provided me with many images over the years. I liked how the clouds were changing as I looked across the pond. There was enough light for hand-held exposures, so no need for the tripod.
I ran around for thirty minutes capturing the color in the clouds. While reviewing images back home I realized I gravitate toward the benches and the trees for my foreground subjects. That’s OK, they work for me. Especially in the winter. They add to the mood.
Sit with Me
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/20s, 70mm, f/8, ISO 100
Stand Tall
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/20s, 34mm, f/8, ISO 100
We got snow! The predictions I was hearing on Friday turned out to be correct. It started snowing Saturday afternoon. Even though it was coming down pretty good I had planned on going out for dinner, and I intended to keep to my plan (at least for food). When I returned, I shoveled. It was wet snow, and I didn’t relish the thought of trying to move that much snow in the morning.
My divide-and-conquer plan worked. Sunday morning, I only needed to shovel half the snow again. I’m guessing about four to five inches each time. I went about my normal chore routine—laundry, breakfast, and groceries—before settling in for the remainder of the morning.
After lunch, the snow tapered off to the equivalent of a rainy mist. I was going to go for a walk. The city was still working to uncover all the roads and sidewalks, so I thought I would be able to capture a few good winter scenes. I drove over and parked in the lot for the Mohawk River trail.
It was a nice afternoon. Although there was a little snow coming down, it was in the low thirties. I walked the trail back toward my place and was able to capture a few good scenes. There was a path by someone and their dog on the trail, which allowed me to follow in their footsteps. It did make the walking a little easier. I had forgotten to bring my snowshoes.
The bridge over the river provides one of the best views looking downstream. I have captured this view on almost every walk. The wet snow sticking to the trees definitely creates a classic winter scene…
Winter on the River
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/80s, 32mm, f/8, ISO 100
Way outside my comfort zone!
I do not like images of myself. Let’s make it worse, as I had to create it myself. What am I thinking?
As I mentioned in another post, I want to challenge myself this year and doing this 52-week challenge is my punishment. I refuse to sign-up in order to post the image so it will only be seen here. I am going to follow the challenge found on 52Frames. The next few challenges will definitely be more my speed. Saying that I will need to find ways to up the challenge rather than fall back into my comfort zone.
Enough babbling… show them the image.
Thoughts in Reflection
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 0.4s, 47mm, f/4, ISO 400
The mirror seemed like the best option for me. The fun part was setting it up (not the best lighting but options are limited) and executing the exposure. Luckily I could connect my phone to the camera through the Nikon SnapBridge app and see what I was doing. I could ensure I was positioned in the mirror properly and set the focus point. Then it was simply clicking the shutter button on the phone.
Nope! Still don’t like images of myself.
This one is in the done pile. On to the next challenge…
For quite a few years I published a “Best of” post for this blog. With my roller coaster ride last year and lack of interest at the end of the year, I consciously chose not to do one but now I’m having second thoughts. Weird where the mind goes…
I need to back up a little. So, what happened today? I thought of joining a 52-week photography challenge to push myself creatively (historically, they haven’t worked for me). The challenge I read about started out with a “Best of 2023” for week 1. I didn’t like having to sign-up for the website in order to post images in the gallery and changed my approach.
I now want to do the review. Who knew?
I think it is good to review your images. Doing an honest review is helpful to understanding what I gravitate toward photographically, and what I need to improve. Plus, it allows me to show off my images again and let everyone tell me how great I am… just kidding. No, really, I’m not that vain. I swear… ;)
I do not need to post on another site, I can use this one. I did find a 52-week challenge list at 52frames.com which might work for me. The first few challenges will not be favorites of mine but I did say I want to challenge myself. I’ll keep reading the post I wrote on my challenges this year to remind myself “to get off my arse.”
Back to the review…
One of the first few weeks of picking the camera up again I went to the West Canada Creek for long exposure water flows. I can’t get enough of these types of images. I enjoy the challenge of finding the best exposure to showcase the flow of water in the creek.
I was going for more walks in the Spring. It helped that the city completed the trail along the Mohawk River which ends very close to my apartment. I can walk out the door and get in a good five miles all while exploring the river with my camera. I also stop for a lot of macro images. I really enjoyed how this close-up of a dandelion turned out.
I’m a waterfall nut. I don’t have any problem driving to capture a waterfall image. Most of my trips to Ithaca are due to the plethora of opportunities for waterfalls. I also have one (or two) in my backyard. Pixley Falls State Park is twenty minutes north of me. I arrived very early one morning in June and was rewarded with great light.
My trip to Florida was postponed from May until June due to my worry for one of my cats. He was not feeling well until I cancelled the trip and miraculously he seemed OK the next day. It was a Florida coast and short Disney trip. I was fortunate enough to get a sunset image of a sailboat moored in the Indian River as a storm was rolling in.
Stoic
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1/500s, 50mm, f/5.6, ISO 100
Another waterfall. You were warned. This is my favorite section of the gorge trail at Buttermilk Falls State Park in Ithaca. A very good portion of the waterfall images hanging in my place are from this park. I also have a habit of processing the images as B&W unless it is during the fall season. If the color is a distraction I will remove it and this one didn’t need any color.
Hush!
Nikon Z6 II, NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 0.6s, 47mm, f/11, ISO 100
One morning in August I went to Bellamy Harbor Park for the sunrise. The fog had other plans. I rolled with it. I miss the trees that lined the walkway. They deteriorated to far and the city needed to remove them. But, I’m still able to include the benches.
Rest
Nikon Z6 II, NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1.6s, 54mm, f/16, ISO 100
I had a really good time sharing my photography with friends at work. I did a lunch & learn session as well as a few photo walks. Engaging with everyone definitely keeps me going creatively and photographically. This image at the sculpture park is a result of the first photo walk and me attempting to explain the difference between taking a picture and creating an image.
Just Over There
Nikon Z6 II, NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, 1/500s, f/5, ISO 100
I have to include one of the images from my walk on December 31st. I hadn’t picked up the camera in months but due to a conversation with someone I met at my go-to place for dinner I felt the need to go exploring. It was not a particularly good evening and the sunset was non-existent but I made it work. Plus, I can’t resist trees without leaves. This image was also the mood I wanted to capture when I drove to the park.
The Park
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/5s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 400
Well, let me know what you think. Is there a different image that is your favorite. Comments are appreciated.
I’m going to check if the snow has slowed enough for me to go grab a few images. And then I need to figure out what I’m doing for the first week’s challenge. It is a self portrait (which I abhor!). Wish me luck, or this might be over before it even starts… :)
I refuse to call it a resolution because I don’t make those types of statements. Especially since I historically do not keep them. But I will say the photography bug has struck again. Well, not again actually, that implies I didn’t have it. Let’s say it has reached the front of the line.
I knew there would be no sunrise. After my sunset excursion, I wanted to capture Bellamy Harbor in the morning light under the cover of clouds. I wasn’t disappointed in the scene. I was frustrated by my lack of memory. I struggled with the camera settings, which annoyed me immensely. It was too cold to search for what I wanted in the menus. I made it work, but told myself I needed to learn my camera better. Or, at the very least, not forget what I already should have known…
Cold Start
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 2s, 48mm, f/11, ISO 100
